Since Malai Koftas have been on my mind for a while, I decided to take the plunge one day. It took me a long time compared to how long I usually take to make something. Those are not my favourite kind of recipes. But I had to try malai koftas and I did. Will share the complete recipe when I’ve sorted the pictures out, but for now, here are the aloo paneer koftas that I dunked in the gravy to turn these into malai koftas.
These make for a very yummy and a (relatively) quick snack for a party or just to treat your family on a weekend evening.
Aloo Paneer Koftas
Makes about 15-18 koftas
Preparation time: 20 mins
Cooking time: 20 mins
Ingredients:
1 cup of paneer, crumbled fine
1 potato, peeled and boiled
1 carrot, peeled and boiled (optional)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
A small piece of ginger, grated
1 tsp of red chilli powder
2 of green chillies, sliced into thin discs
A generous pinch of hing
8-10 cashew nuts, broken into small pieces
1 tsp of coriander powder
A generous bunch of coriander leaves / cilantro
1/4 cup of cornflour for dusting (optional)
Oil for deep frying
Salt to taste
How It’s Made:
1. Mash the boiled potato and carrot together until there are no lumps.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients to this mixture (except corn flour and oil).
3. Mix well with fingertips until it’s a homogenous, damp mixture. The moisture from the potato and carrot should be enough to bring it together. Don’t add any water.
4. Roll into small lime-sized balls.
5. Dust with corn flour. This is an optional step because I didn’t find much difference in texture between these and the ones I didn’t dust. Also, if you leave them plain, the oil stays clear and doesn’t leave a white layer on the koftas.
6. Heat a pan and add enough oil to submerge the koftas half way. You can deep fry the koftas but it’s really not necessary. You can also use a paniyaram pan to do the frying. Gently place the koftas in the hot oil.
7. Turn gently when golden brown on one side. Keep the fire medium low to ensure the inside is cooked too.
Drain on to paper towels and serve hot with ketchup or mint chutney. Tastes fabulous on it’s own or you can go on to make malai koftas with them (recipe coming soon!)
What’s your most favourite quick snack recipe for evening tea?
cool! I'll give it a shot. I'm sure cheddar will go well with bunch of Americans that I'm trying to cook for. Will keep you posted.
Thanks for the reply! And also for the recipe 🙂
Looks great! I would love to try this but paneer is not easily available where i live. Is cottage cheese a good substitute for paneer in this recipe?
Thanks!
the cottage cheese i have seen in singapore is too moist and soft so i am not sure that will work well in this recipe. you can omit the paneer and just add some grated cheddar maybe? 🙂
Heya! One last question, I promise 🙂
First of all, Sorry about the substitute question, I hadn't read your FAQ then.
Now the question, I have a few other things on the menu, so I was wondering if it would still taste good if I make gravy and koftas the prev night and refrigerate and then heat & combine them the next day just before serving. Any thoughts?
Thanks!
yep, that should work!! good luck 🙂
The proportion of paneer is wrong here. Once you start deep-frying the koftas, the paneer will keep separating from the kofta and ruin your oil, as it happenned with me.
Do not try this foolish recipe.
calling this recipe foolish only makes YOU look like an idiot because as you can see, it has worked for me and for many others who have tried it since then (you can check my facebook page to see pictures from some of them).
i am sorry the paneer koftas didn't work for you. if you feel proportion of paneer is the issue, then adjust that. ingredients available around the world differ largely and i can only advise on the proportions i used. i can't guarantee it will work for everyone since i can't stand by you personally as you make the dishes. use the recipes only as guidelines.
how abt adding some cheese in this??
This is a great recipe. I found that rolling the koftas in corn flour before frying them will avoid them from scattering while frying, just in case the moisture level in the mixture is not perfect. You can also add the corn flour in the mixture while binding it, this will ensure crisp koftas.
Thanks a lot for leaving this tip divya. The koftas didn't disintegrate and crumble for me but it's still useful for people looking to see what to do if their koftas disintegrate or crumble when frying.
I deep-fried them in my wok and cornstarch was definitely was the difference between greasy exploded haystacks and perfectly formed crunchy little spheres.
I dropped each kofta into a little round (rice) bowl half-full of cornstarch and swirled it around until it looked like a powdered doughnut hole. It was very easy, and then I just rolled them down the side of the wok into the oil.
What happens is that when the kofta hits the hot oil, steam from the dough mixes with the corn starch, which instantly gelatinizes, forming a skin which holds everything together. There's a similar technique in Italian cooking for making something called "gnudi," where you roll a lump of very soft filling like ricotta cheese in flour or cornstarch and drop it into boiling water. The starchy coating forms a very thin, rubbery barrier that keeps the water out.
i truly find your recipes inspirational. i don't even like to cook but when i found your blog i became curious after reading all the wonderful comments. I have found that you have some charming ability to make even the most complicated recipes simple to follow and i love your pictures, so easy for me to find out whether i am doing the right thing or not. thank you for taking the time to do this blog. i love and follow almost all your recipes.
thank you so much! 🙂
Can I make these before hand and freeze? If so, how early can I make these and what need to be done after I take it out?
i haven't done any of this but here's my recommendation. make the mixture the night before, make into balls and freeze. when you need them, take out, leave it out to thaw completely, then fry. aloo paneer koftas ready!
Hi, i tried this recipe,following 'malai kofta recipe', everything turned good except, when i put the balls to fry, they scattered and make the oil complete mess, and i could not figure out the balls, because nothing left..anyways i cook few of them on the pan with little oil,and 'malai kofta' has amazingly wonderful taste,even the few ball which were saved has a very good flavour…i want to know what could be the reason that balls scatter..above all 'a very good recipe'
The mixture was probably too moist. You can add some more mashed potatoes or even a bit of plain flour or besan to make it less moist. That way, malai kofta will turn out fabulous!
I made these today minus the corn flour and the chillies…. My picky son asked for seconds 🙂 great as a starter at parties…. This is a sure shot 'will-keep' recipe for me 🙂
it was awsum to have kofta 2dae
Nags you are awesome ! Your recipes are fantastic – Keep em coming.
Nags you are awesome ! Love your recipes 😀
When you refer to the potato, do you use something like a big russet potato, or a smaller red potato?
i used a medium-sized russet, not too big.
Thanks!
Yummy koftas. will re try these on my reluctant family
This is just plain sexy. I loved it with all my heart 🙂
Very good Receipe. I tried it and my hubby and kid loved it. Thanks 🙂
Hi Nags,
I was wondering… have you tried making cheese poppers/balls using Paneer? Shouldn't they ideally come out like this? Crunchy and pretty? Or, are we going to end up with rubbery balls of fried cheese?
not sure what you mean by cheese poppers. do you mean dipping the whole cheese in some batter and then frying it? I haven't tried that, actually
Hi Nags,
I have a passion of cooking sometime but never get inspired with the reading the reciepies but I have started implementing after viewing your blog with recipe in terms of pics.
Small doubt ….I tried this and didn't able to make crunchy/crispy as
shown in ur pic…. but it tastes good.
🙂
that's strange. were they a bit too moist/watery maybe? i have made these aloo paneer koftas a couple of times already and they turned out great each time! 🙂
Thank you and I will give a another try sometime later this week to succeed. 🙂
Looks delish Nags. Without the corn flour will the outer layer texture be same?
Hey there, I actually dipped only two koftas in the corn flour (which you see frying in the pan along with two non-dipped ones). I couldn't tell the difference after they were done. I think the potatoes are enough to make it crunchy.
I love following you – always something unique I haven't seen before… And these are stunning! I have featured your post in today's Friday Food Fetish roundup. Let me know if you have any objections and thanks for the inspiration…
This is sooo tempting.. The pictures are awesome… Bookmarked!
Mouthwatering snack. Nice clicks..
Delish! My fav. snack? Really you want to know? baby carrots with hummus 😐
Wow..You have made it perfectly..Totally YUMMY…Love it..Bookmarked..
Aarthi
Mouthwatering here, wat a terrific and super tempting koftas..
delicious…
Looks crispy and yummy..Perfect starter!
Awesome snack, great with some green chutney and a cup of tea..
Nice recipe! Last picture is very inviting
Looks delicious and beautiful clicks. New look is good.
now tat is a pretty simple snack.. got to try it !!! 🙂
thmmm I almost smell it here delicious.
I love your recipes – keep it up. Im going to make this this weekend, would probably have to omit hing as we dont get it here 🙁 Thanks 😀
wow, its lovely. superb color. will make this for sure 🙂
love the recipe and the idea of using the paniyaram pan to fry…!!!!
Oooh — I LOVE!
mmmm! perfect snack or in Kofta…mmmm
Love stuff that has 2-in-1 uses. Such as this, kofta snack + kofta curry!
wow..this is so easy..looks crunchy…liked the recipe 🙂
Wow, superb, what a clarity! nice recipe, would love to try this!