Indian Veggie Balls (Malai Kofta)

 Indian Veggie Balls (Malai Kofta

             Malai kofta is a hugely popular dish on Indian restaurant menus all over the world. It is a special occasion food probably because making it is a labor of love and takes time and effort.

             Malai (meaning creamy in Hindi) kofta is the perfect vegetarian alternative to meatballs. It goes very well with naan (tandoor-baked flatbread) or Jeera rice.

Prep:30min       cook:90min        Total:2hrs          serving:4

Ingredients:

For the Koftas:

2 cups potatoes, peeled and diced

1 cup cooked mixed vegetables

1 cup diced paneer

2 tablespoons heavy cream

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon red chili powder

Salt, to taste

1/2 cup coarsely chopped nuts, such as almonds, walnuts, and cashews

1/4 cup raisins, finely chopped

3 cups vegetable oil

For the Sauce:

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 large onions, quartered

2 medium tomatoes, quartered

2 tablespoons garlic paste

1 tablespoon ginger paste

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon toasted poppy seeds, ground

3 tablespoons nuts, such as cashews and almonds, ground into a paste

1 cup warm water

Salt, to taste

2 teaspoons garam masala

Steps to Make It:

Ingredients for kofta:

1)Wash, peel, and dice the potatoes.

2)Wash and peel potatoes

3)Boil them in a pot of water until fork tender.

4)Boil potatoes

5)Drain and set aside.

6)Drain the potatoes 

7)Next, boil the veggies until crisp-tender.

8)Boil vegetables in a pot 

9)Drain and set aside.

10)drained boiled vegetables In a large bowl, mash the boiled potatoes, mixed vegetables, paneer, and cream together.

11)vegetables mashed together 

12)Add the kofta spices - cumin, coriander, and red chili powder - to this mash and mix well. The resulting dough should be firm. If not add some more boiled potato. Season with salt.

13)spiced vegetable mixture 

14)In a small bowl, combine the chopped nuts and raisins.

15)nuts and raisins in a bowl 

16)Make this dough into balls and put a 1/2 teaspoon of the nut and raisin mix in the center of each ball.

17)vegetable mixture wrapped around the nut mixture 

18)Roll into perfect rounds.

kofta balls :

1)In a large pot, heat the oil kept aside to fry the koftas, on a medium flame.

2)oil in a pot 

3)Deep fry these rounds till pale golden in color.

4)kofta frying in a pot 

5)Drain on paper towels and keep aside.

Make the Sauce:

Ingredients for sauce:

1)Heat the 3 tablespoons of oil in a deep pan and fry the onions till light brown.

2)onions cooking in a pan 

3)In a small food processor, place the fried onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, coriander, cumin, and red chili powder, and grind into a paste.

4)place the fried onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, coriander, cumin, and red chili powder in a food processor ,Put this paste back into the pan and fry till the oil begins to separate from the masala.

5)spice paste cooking in a pot .Add the poppy seeds powder and nut paste and fry for another 2 to 3 minutes.

6)sauce cooking in a pot 

7)Add 1 cup of warm water (the sauce for this dish is meant to be thick so do not add too much water) to this masala to form a gravy. Mix well. Season with salt.

8)Add water to the sauce in the pot ,Bring the gravy to a boil and then reduce the fire to a simmer.

9)Gently add the koftas to this gravy and cook uncovered for 2 to 3 minutes.

kofta cooking in the sauce :

1)Turn off the fire and sprinkle the garam masala all over the top of the dish.

2)kofta cooking in the sauce ,Cover immediately and allow to sit for 5 minutes.

3)kofta and sauce cooking in a covered pot 

           Serve with hot naans (tandoor-baked leavened Indian flatbread) or jeera rice.

                                                                                                                                          Thank You!