STUFFFED MALAI KOFTA - Potato and ricotta balls stuffed in a creamy sauce
Good afternoon everyone!
For those who know me, looking at the photos, you already know that today's recipe is Indian and also vegetarian.
On my last trip to India, still quite recent, I had the pleasure of delighting myself with a dish that here in São Paulo is not possible to find. I am referring to the Malai Kofta. For the nostalgic of the Ganesha restaurant, this dish they served was of the gods, but unfortunately it no longer exists. In India, several times I opted for this dish, and only once, it was not good. The koftas were hard and parched, but the other times, Oh my god!! It's an explosion of flavor and an indescribable creaminess.
But for those who don't know what it is or have never tasted it, Malai Kofta are small fried balls of potato and cheese (paneer) that are then cooked in a rich and creamy sauce of cashew nuts, onions, tomatoes, and spices. If it has spices, of course, the aroma and taste are fabulous. We can even say that these are small vegetarian dumplings.
The origin of this dish, of course, is not clear, but it is said that it originates from the Indian subcontinent and became very popular during the period from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century, under the Moghol Empire.
This empire, which controlled much of South Asia for more than two centuries, stretched from the borders of the Indus to northern Afghanistan and Kashmir, passing through regions today known as Bangladesh and Assam. With the reign of the empire covering such a vast area, this dish has become popular in many countries and regions.
Usually prepared from minced meat such as beef, lamb, chicken, or pork. In Hindu cuisine (religion), beef is not used, similarly, pork is not used in Muslim cuisines.
In parts of the Persian Gulf, southern India, and West Bengal, fish and prawns are widely used to make kofta, due to their geographical location. Macher (fish) kofta curry, for example, is a popular Bengali dish.
We can find this version in more than 15 countries. As an example, we have: (gofte) in Albania, (chiftele) Romania, (kofte) Pakistan and Turkey, (kafta) Jordan, (hortokeftedes) Cyprus and Greece (hortokeftedes) made of polenta, mixed leaves, herbs, and spices.
As we have seen, each country has its own recipe. Even in India, we have variations of ingredients such as sweet potatoes and green bananas, and even the sauce can vary, being white based on yogurt, sour cream, cashews, and spices.
As here we are restricted to an Indian recipe, we have that in Hindi "Malai" means cream, while "kofta" refers to the delicious dumplings, and we can call them that, once they are the stars of the dish, a perfect marriage with the rich and velvety sauce in which, after frying, they are dipped and cooked.
Today, Malai Kofta has crossed borders, and we can find it in Indian restaurants all over the world. After all, let's agree that India surprises us with the explosion of flavors in the dishes while maintaining the delicacy of the balance of spices.
To accompany this dish? Basmati rice (as I served here), white rice with or without cumin, or with one of the countless varieties of Indian breads.
Our version will be quite simple, with basic ingredients and spice substitutions or even the omission of some of them. Will It be the same? No, for sure, but I understand that many people may not have much familiarity with spices or even "die of love" for them.
For those who want to replace or omit ingredients, I advise you to see the step-by-step instructions. I am sure you will not fail to make this recipe, which is simply amazing. Although the list of ingredients is, at first, a little extensive and involves several processes, think that you will be making a dumpling in the sauce. Simple as that!!
Step-by-Step
Ingredients
For the sauce:
For the Koftas:
For the stuffing:
Directions
Sauce:
Heat the ghee or oil in a wok. Over medium-low heat, add the onion. Stir occasionally until well browned (approx. 20 min.). Add garlic, ginger, and dehydrated chilli and sauté for 1–2 minutes, then add tomatoes and mix again.
I used red onion because it is sweeter, but you can choose whichever you like best. It should be well browned, taking care not to burn, otherwise, your sauce will be bitter. Preferably, use a tomato that does not have acidity. I used Italian tomatoes. If you don't like the spiciness, the red chilli can be omitted, or you can still remove the seeds or even use only half of it. This observation also applies to ginger, don't use it or use it less, but since we are preparing an Indian dish, it is important that you have all the flavors.
I don't use garlic, so if you like the flavor, you can even add more.
Add the cashew nuts and cook for another 2 to 3 min.
Cashew nuts can be broken, even because, the whole ones are so expensive here. Do not worry about this, because they will be cooked and processed.
Add water, mix well, cover and simmer over low heat until the tomatoes have crumbled.
If the water dries up and the tomatoes are still not falling apart, add a little more water.
Turn off the heat, wait to cool, process, and pass through a sieve so that the sauce is very velvety. Set aside.
In the same wok, place the ghee, and over medium heat add the red chilli powder, turmeric and coriander. Mix quickly until it starts to bubble and add the sieved sauce.
Mix well so that the spices are incorporated. Turn it off and set aside.
Koftas:
Mix the ricotta and grated potatoes, then add the spices and cornstarch. Correct the salt.
The potatoes should be at the point where, when you insert the fork, it will enter with a little resistance. If it gets too soft, the dough will be very sticky. Ah! Yes, chilli again, but don't worry, you can replace it with sweet paprika. Garam Masala is essential and easy to find. If you want one of excellent quality, go there at Shopee in the End of the World Kitchen (Cozinha do Fim do Mundo) and order yours.
As for the ginger, please put it in, it's super healthy. Think about it, and your health will thank you.
Open in the palm of your hand and put the stuffing: raisins and cashew nuts.
If you don't have the practice, like me, to make the koftas the same size, I advise you to separate a spoon, an ice cream scoop, for example, or any measure, so that they are in the same proportion and fry at the same time, besides the visual, of course.
Ah, I can feel someone asking, “Do I need to stuff them?” No, you don’t. If you want, you can mix the raisins with the dough. You can replace it with chopped apricots or even cashew nuts, or use all three ingredients in the stuffing. I emphasize that the cashew nuts should be replaced only here and not in the sauce. But let's agree, it's an easy job and an excellent pastime to stuff the balls, in addition to being easy and fast.
Roll each ball in wheat flour and remove the excess, rolling it in your hands.
I prepared the koftas dough the day before and kept it in the fridge until it was time to fill, breaded, and fry. This means that you cannot leave them breaded, as the dough will moisten the flour, and you will have to breaded them again.
As you can see in the photo, I made 24 koftas with the ice cream scoop.
Roll each ball in wheat flour and remove the excess, rolling it in your hands.
Heat a wok with plenty of oil over medium heat and, once hot, fry the koftas until golden brown. Remove them and place them on paper towels to remove excess oil.
To know if the oil is hot, dip a bamboo skewer in it, and if the part that is in contact with the oil bubbles, it will be at the correct temperature.
Try not to add too many at once, so as not to lower the oil temperature too much. And this, of course, will depend on the size of the pan or wok you are using.
Remember that when you turn them over, do it gently so they don't crack.
Heat the sauce, add the cream, mix, and add the koftas. Leave for about 7 min, stirring gently so that they are impregnated with the sauce. Garnish with chopped coriander and a drizzle of cream.
I didn't use the cream, in fact; I forgot, but you should add 200 ml of cream to the sauce to make it velvety. It is true that it will get more caloric, but from time to time, what harm will it have?
To accompany this dish, I also used basmati rice prepared with Garam Masala.
Note that in the following two photos, when repeating the recipe, I redeemed myself and sifted the sauce. As mentioned above, it is essential to both sieve and add the cream; it will certainly be much creamier. Ah! You will also notice a variation in the color of the sauce. In the first recipe, I used fresh tomatoes, and in the second, I used canned peeled tomatoes and also added apricots to the filling.
STUFFED MALAI KOFTA
Ingredients
Sauce:
200 g chopped onion
200 ml water
500 g peeled tomatoes, chopped
40 g cashew nuts
2 tbsp grated ginger
2 tbsp of ghee or oil of your choice
2 dehydrated red chilli
To season the sauce:
1 tbsp red chilli powder
1 tbsp of ghee or oil
1 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
200 g cream
salt to taste
Koftas:
800 g boiled and grated potatoes
1 cup grated ricotta cheese
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp ginger powder
1/2 tsp Garam Masala
Dumpling filling:
Raisins
Cashew nuts
Other ingredients:
Wheat flour for breading
Oil for frying
Directions
Sauce:
Take the ghee or oil in a wok to heat and add the onion. Over medium-low heat, fry until well browned (approx. 20 min.). Stir from time to time so as not to burn.
Add the garlic, ginger, and dehydrated chilli and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes.
Add the cashew nuts and leave for another 2 minutes.
Add the water, mix well, cover, and cook over low heat until the tomatoes have broken down (add a little more water if necessary).
Turn off the heat, wait for it to cool, process it, and pass it through a sieve so that the sauce becomes very velvety. Set aside.
In the same wok, put the ghee, and over medium heat, add the red chilli powder, turmeric, and coriander. Mix quickly until it starts to bubble, and then add the sifted sauce, stirring well so that the spices incorporate into the sauce. Correct the salt and set aside.
Kofta:
Mix the ricotta and grated potatoes, then add the spices and cornstarch. Mix well and correct the salt.
Take some part of the dough and roll between your palms to make it round.
Press the center, put the filling (cashew nuts and raisins) and close it.
Roll each ball in wheat flour and remove the excess by rolling it in your hands.
Heat a wok with plenty of oil over medium heat and, once hot, fry the koftas in small portions until golden brown. Remove them and place them on paper towels to remove excess oil.
Heat the sauce, add the cream and koftas and leave for about 7 min, stirring gently so that they are impregnated with the sauce.
Mix the ricotta and grated potatoes, then add the spices and cornstarch. Mix well and correct the salt.
cozinhadofimdomundo@gmail.com