Malai Kofta is a delicious recipe of crisp fried paneer and potato koftas (dumplings) in a creamy, onion tomato gravy.
The word ‘Malai’ means ‘cream’ in Hindi and ‘Kofta’ means fried balls or dumplings. So, it literally translates to koftas in creamy sauce. The word Kofta (called keftedes in Greece) is derived from the Persian word ‘kofteh’, literally meaning ‘pounded meat’. It is first recorded as a recipe in Turkey. There are literally hundreds of versions of Kofta around the world especially from countries such as Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, Albania and Armenia. My version is made from paneer and potatoes with the velvety, creamy onion and tomato gravy making this a distinctly Indian recipe.
Malai Kofta is hugely popular in any Indian restaurant in India and around the world. The koftas are crisp on the outside and soft with melt in the mouth texture inside and served with simple yet heavenly gravy!
Although this recipe might seem complicated- I have divided it into 3 parts- making the koftas, making the gravy base and finally the gravy.
Other recipes you might like to try are Bird’s Nest in Spinach Gravy, Paneer Do Pyaza, Paneer Butter Masala, Afghani Paneer Gravy, Paneer Bhuna Masala, Paneer Tikka Masala, Paneer Lababdar, Kadai Paneer and Tawa Paneer.
