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Malai Kofta in White Gravy

Sweet malai kofta in white gravy is a vegetarian delight made of paneer and potato balls in a rich cashew sauce. Smooth, creamy, and oh so delicious!
Course Dinner
Cuisine Indian
Keyword malai kofta curry, malai kofta in white gravy
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings 6 servings
Calories 293kcal
Author Saima Zaidi

Equipment

  • 1 medium sized bowl for mixing the kofta dough
  • 1 wok or frying pan for frying the kofta balls
  • 1 1 small saucepan for making the gravy
  • Blender
  • 1 medium sized wok or pot for simmering the gravy

Ingredients

For the koftas:

  • 7 oz paneer Indian cottage cheese, grated
  • 7 oz potatoes 2 small potatoes, cooked, peeled and mashed
  • 1 green chilli chopped finely
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper powder
  • ½ teaspoon cardamom powder
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 15 cashews broken
  • 2 tbsp golden raisins
  • cooking oil as needed for frying

For the gravy:

  • 2 onions medium, sliced thickly
  • 1" piece ginger chopped
  • 15 cashews
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 star anise
  • 3 green cardamom
  • 4 cloves
  • ½ tsp black peppercorns
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 tablespoon cooking oil
  • ¼ cup cream
  • ¼ cup yogurt
  • 2 tsp white sugar
  • ½ tsp salt adjust to taste
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the koftas

  • Using your hands, mix all the ingredients except the cooking oil, cashews, and raisins into a dough.
  • Break off equal sized portions of the dough and shape into balls.
  • Flatten the balls to make round discs.
  • Place a few cashews and raisins in the middle of each disc and close to form a ball again.
  • Lightly dredge the balls in some extra cornflour (optional).
  • Fry the balls in hot oil until golden brown.

Make the gravy

  • In a saucepan, add the onions, ginger, cashews, and whole spices.
  • Pour one cup water and bring to a boil.
  • Turn down the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
  • Remove the whole spices if you don't want very strong spice flavors.
  • When cool, blend to a fine paste in a blender. 
  • Heat the oil in a wok or pot and add the puree you prepared above. Fry or bhunao this puree for about 12-15 minutes on medium heat. You might want to add ¼ cup water (to prevent burning) and cover the wok with a lid (to prevent splattering).
  • Add the sugar, cream and yogurt and cook for 5 minutes more, stirring frequently. If the gravy is too thick, add a little water to loosen it. The white gravy is ready.

Assemble

  • Pour the gravy in a wide and shallow dish and place the koftas in the gravy when ready to serve. Or, place the koftas in the dish first and then pour the gravy on top of them.
  • Serve with warm naan or tandoori roti or rice.

Notes

  • Do NOT put the malai koftas in the gravy beforehand. If there is time between making the dish and serving it, keep the two separate. Assemble them only when ready to serve, or the koftas can break.
  • Also if the gravy is very hot, wait for it to cool down a bit before adding the koftas.
  • To avoid overwhelm, it's a good idea to do the prep in advance.

Nutrition

Calories: 293kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 34mg | Sodium: 630mg | Potassium: 334mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 162IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 206mg | Iron: 1mg