Easy & Delicious Indian Curry – Malai Koftas to Celebrate A Journey of Friendship
~’Friends are the most important ingredient in this recipe of life’ ~Anonymous. Some of them add spices to make it more entertaining while the others enhance, give body and add value to the recipe of life.
Opposites attract…Hmm..yes they do in real life too. I am not a movie person and she hates on-line world, so when we meet we talk everything under the Sun except the above mentioned topics. Celebrity in South India and winner of many national awards Saranya has been a dear friend for past eight years. A passionate dress designer, wonderful cook, cleanliness freak and a dedicated mother of two, she has been one of the most treasured friends of mine. We have seen our children grow together, shared some of our most precious moments, celebrated numerous functions and still continue to guide each other through our thick and thin.
Every year we wait anxiously to co ordinate the New Year celebrations with a few other friends of her. I don’t know to which category should I add these friends of a friend, but I certainly enjoy and look forward to such occasions to celebrate with all of them.
We just need to drop the children to her house, from where she takes on and make sure that the children are comfortable and are sincere in their practice session. They practice their dance moves and drama lines for about 10 whole days.
Her love for perfection in anything she does shows up in all the parties we organize. For every year she takes the pains of selecting songs for the children, choreographing and meticulously deciding upon the dress code for the same. And if that is not all she indulges the children with fresh juices and freshly baked cakes. Here are some snippets of the children performing for us.
Will share more about this journey of friendship, our cooking sessions and some scrumptious recipes from the party menu in the next post. But for now this is one of the dishes that I cooked and took to the party, for 25 persons. The recipe here is for a smaller portion to make it easy for you to follow, and is a slightly lighter version of the authentic Malai Koftas recipe.
Creamy Malai Koftas
Ingredients;
(serve 4)
For Koftas;
- 2 large potatoes
- ½ cup grated cottage cheese
- 1 carrot grated
- 3 slices of fresh bread
- 1 tbsp. shredded fresh coriander leaves
- 1 tsp. red chilly powder
- Salt as desired
- Oil to shallow fry
- A few raisins or cashew to stuff the Koftas
For Gravy;
- 3 medium tomatoes
- 1 large onion
- 2 tsp. ginger-garlic paste
- 1 green chilly
- 5-6 soaked cashew nuts
- 1/4 cup fresh low-fat cream or 1 cup whole milk
- ½ tbsp dried Kasuri methi (optional)
- 1 tbsp. oil
Whole Spices
- 1 inch cinnamon stick
- 2 cloves
- 2 green cardamoms
- 2 tsp. coriander powder
- 1 tsp. red chilly powder
- 1 tsp. garam masala
- ½ tsp. cumin seeds
- ½ tsp. Turmeric powder
Method;Koftas; Wash, boil and mash the potatoes. Take out the sides from the bread slices and crumble it into small pieces. Add salt, chilly powder, fresh coriander leaves, crumbled bread and knead it into soft and smooth dough.
Take another vessel and add grated cottage cheese in it. Add a pinch of salt if you wish.
Pinch small lemon size dough from the potato mix and roll it into a ball, flatten it slightly and make a small circle.
Add a little of cottage cheese (1/2 tp.) and a cashew or a raisin in the centre. Bring all the sides together to close the circle and roll it again into a ball Make all the Koftas in similar way and keep them aside.
Heat a pan and add a few teaspoos of oil in it. Add a few koftas gently into the hot oil and fry it till all the sides become golden brown in color.
Gravy; Soak cashew nuts for an hour. Grind sliced onion, tomatoes, and soaked cashew nuts into fine paste.
Heat oil in a wok and crackle cumin seeds, add the above ground paste, diced green chilly, ginger-garlic paste, Kasuri methi and cook for a few minutes.
Add all the spice mix, cover the wok and sauté for 7-10 minutes till the raw smell from the ground paste disappears.
Pour water to the paste if you require slightly runny gravy. Add fresh cream and immediately take off from the flame. If you are using whole milk, cook the gravy for another 5-10 minutes till the milk is absorbed and the gravy becomes creamy in texture.
Sprinkle chopped coriander leaves over it.
Assemble; Arrange the cooked cottage cheese balls or Koftas in a serving dish, and pour the gravy just before serving the dish.
Notes;
- As you are adding fresh bread slices in making the cottage cheese balls or Koftas, you don’t need any other binding agent to hold the Koftas in shape when shallow frying it.
- Deep fried koftas taste yum, do the same if you are not worried about the calories, you could also brush the Koftas with oil and bake them for healthier version of the recipe.
- Milk powder is added to make the Koftas which gives a rich taste to the curry, but you can avoid it and will not find a much difference (I did not find so).
- Make sure to shallow fry a few koftas at a time, to avoid breaking the koftas.
- Add grated cottage cheese to make koftas, I avoided it to make the recipe a little lighter.
- Reserve a few teaspoons of fresh cream to garnish the dish before serving.
- Do not let the koftas sit in the gravy for more than a few minutes, as they will absorb all the liquid and will make the dish look dry and unappealing.
looks delicious!! loved reading your write up..so nice to have saranya as your best friend..Indeed am a fan of her ..do pass my love and regards from Kerala:)
Oh, yum yum! The malai kofta looks delicious. And your New Years looks like a lot of fun.
Hi Dear.
It was fun reading about your friendship and how kids get to learn new things before the new year. Must say a well chosen recipe for a party menu and I’m sure people must have licked their fingers too.
Wow, what a co-incident. I also cooked malai Kofta on 1-Jan for a get together. Since it is winter here in north, potatoes(type of potatoes is such) did not require binding. I used Mawa instead of cream and it tasted good.
What a delicious recipe & I just love your story about your friend. The photos of the kids & their joy warm my heart!
Happy new year!
a cheerful toast to the healthy f’ship ! Have a great 2012
Oh – so wonderful! I haven’t tasted malai kofta in almost a year. This dish would be a big challenge for me, but I’m determined to try it so I can taste those wonderful flavours again! 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing! xo
This sounds so good! I love that bowl, it’s so pretty. I am making a dal tonight. Was thinking of you.
beautiful post on friendship…hope to read more about this journey. the malai kofta looks scrumptious…creamy and flavourful.
love this post makes me smile
What a beautiful group of friends, the smiles on all your faces were priceless! Your Malai Koftas sounds amazing! Hugs, Terra
What a wonderful way to celebrate. Gorgeous picture of kofta.. Are you also in the picture?
Ummm thy do look deli ious,.:)
A very Happy New year to you, Sanjeeta. The malai kofta looks yum.
loved the recipe and the bowl too:) delicious looking kofta curry..
feeling so good to see your celebration pics..great pics !!!!
Such a treasured friend…love all the happy faces! Your dish is lovely…what a gorgeous serving piece~
Looks interesting. Nice recipe too…………
i love homemade curries. i can’t wait to try making one~ 😀 happy new year sanjeeta!
OH MY – this sounds SO good!!! The process for this is a little more than what I normally do (I’m a lazy cook – remember? 🙂 ) but I’m sure it’s worth it! I’ll put this on my weekend meals list. Of course I might not get past making the Kaftas. These could easily get eaten before the gravy is finished! Thanks for sharing the friendship between you and Saranya. It sounds like a great friendship!
love to try this lighter version of the malaikofta…Happy New Year
Woow nice to have saranya as your best friend.. am a great fan of her, such a fantastic person she is na..Rich looking malai koftas looks marvellous..
Love friends like this. I call them family of chois.
I love your gravy style I make my other way, must try yours 🙂
Misbah/cupcakeluvs
It was a delight reading through your story on friendship and how it weaved through time. Malai kofta looks damn tempting and kudos to u for its healthier version
Friend ship is tonic for life and best that can happen to any one, nice to see celeb Saranya there, oh the kids looks adorable and curry yum!
What a fun celebration. Everyone looks like they’re having a great time…children and adults!
This dish sounds perfect for a celebration!
Lovely pictures and great recipe.. I love malai kofta, though we have a different recipe but your sound pretty amazing too.. I shall give this one a try very soon 🙂
There’s nothing quite as much fun as sharing delicious food with good friends! What a great dish!
Hope u had a great time. Nice and creamy gravy
I hope your New Year is off to a wonderful start, my friend! This meal is perfect — very healthy and full of flavor! My hubby would love it too. 🙂
What a fun celebration!!!! It looks like everyone had a fantastic time. And your curry looks so delicious too!
Sounds like you had a great time! The curry looks delicious! My Indian neighbor makes super delicious curry. I wish I live near your home too! =P
Happy New Year Sanjeeta x
Malai kofta looks so creamy and delicious. Saranya is a fantastic actress and I am a great fan of her natural acting. Happy New Year!
Sanjeeta,
I always tend to avoid Malai Kofta dreading its richness and heaviness that follows after indulging. Should give your lighter version a try..
What a small world this is! I’ve always liked Saranya in every role that she plays, she’s a talented actress. She gets into the skin of every character that she plays and makes it her own. How fascinating to know that she’s your friend and the lovely friendship you two share..
YOu know malai kofta is my husband’s fav recipe and i only wish i could have made this dish perfectly. I tried but failed 🙁 Have to try again and again ! This post is so full of joy 🙂
Love the first photo of all the gorgeous moms cooking together, and this recipe looks so yummy too! What a fun party 🙂
Sanjeeta, what a beautiful post! Lovely friendship! And I love the photos – especially the moms that cook together. How wonderful (oh I am all teary-eyed now!). And fabulous curry! Wow! I am bookmarking this amazing recipe!
love this dish and your story of friendship Sanjeeta!! Now I want this for lunch!!
I am not sure why your post did not show up in my updates even after following you. The dish does look scrumptious. What a delicious way to share your joy.
What a beautiful way to celebrate the new year…the kids look like they are really enjoying themselves. And this dish is just wonderful…amazing flavors and photographs 🙂
wow ! that must have been one wonderful celebration with friends !! and yummy Malai Koftas.. bookmarked and will try soon 🙂
Wish you a very happy new year (and belated Pongal wishes too)
cheers
That looks like a great way to celebrate new year!! And malai kofta is a spotlight in any celebration. Drool-worthy 🙂
Here’s wishing you and the family a very Happy 2012!!!
Wow, those malai koftas look awesome! Happy New year to you and your family!
hey sanjeetha really wonderful malai koftha. it came very well. thanq very much. nice to see u with ur friends enjoying cooking together
This looks amazing Sanjeeta! I have never had it before, but now I am going to be thinking about it all day long! I love it and this post.
xo
Heather
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