Malai Kofta

After seeing RedChillies post on her lower fat Malai Kofta, I simply had to try my hand at making these in the kuzhipaniyaram pan. Usually, i'm not capable of frying 7 pieces of anything at one go... so the fact that the kuzhipaniyaram/appe pan could churn out 7 in a couple of minutes was such a time saver as well. So, this would make for a great party dish because it's mild, quick, creamy & a crowd pleaser. I changed the recipe for the filling and the gravy to my usual malai kofta recipe and the resultant dish was perfect and everything i wanted it to be. Thanks RC for this fabulous idea.

LOW FAT MALAI KOFTAS


Ingredients:
For Koftas
Potatoes - 2 medium, pressure cooked or microwaved till soft, peeled & mashed
Paneer - 150 to 200 gms, crumbled
Green Peas - half cup, microwaved with little water & mashed
Raisins - 2 tbsp, chopped a bit
G. chillies - 4, chopped finely
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Kasuri Methi - 2 tsp, crushed
Coriander leaves - 3 tbsp, chopped
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala/Kitchen King Masala - half tsp to 1 tsp
Salt - to taste


For Creamy Gravy
Onion - 1 large, chopped into cubes
Tomato puree - quarter cup OR Tomato - 1, chopped
Garlic - 5 cloves, peeled & cut into bits

Ginger - 1 inch piece, peeled and cut into bits
Chilli powder - 1 to 2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric - half tsp
Garam Masala / Kitchen King Masala - 1 tsp
Cashews - 2 tbsp, soaked in warm water
Almonds - 12 to 15, soaked & peeled

Poppy seeds (khus khus) - 2 tsp, soaked in warm water
Low fat Cream cheese - 2 oz
Milk - 1 cup (I used 1 % since that's what I had)
Salt - to taste
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Butter/Ghee - 1 tbsp

Method
1) In a bowl, combine all the ingredients under the Koftas list. I had no trouble binding them and forming little balls with the given proportions, if you can't you may want to add an extra mashed potato. Make small balls (keep in mind the size of your pan)

2) Heat an aapam pan on medium (mine is non-stick) and add a drop or two of oil in each depression and place the balls... turn them over every 30 to 45 seconds so they brown uniformly all over. Drizzle another drop of oil, if preferred and it looks too dry. Once they are done, move them to a plate and keep aside. Proceed with the next batch until you've made them all. Alternatively you could deep fry these in oil.

3) In a deep pot, heat oil and add some cumin seeds, once they sizzle, add the onions, ginger, garlic and fry till transparent and edges are slightly brown. Now add the tomatoes or puree and some salt. Continue to cook till they turn a bit mushy.

4) Add the masala powders (chilli, coriander, g. masala & turmeric) and saute for a few more minutes. Switch off the stove and allow this to cool a bit.

5) Grind the above onion-tomato masala with cashews, almonds, poppy seeds and the 2 oz of cream cheese to a smooth paste.

6) Heat the butter/ghee now and return this pureed masala to the pan and cook for a couple of minutes. Then add the 1 cup of milk and water as required to make a gravy... it should be on the thin side.

7) Allow this to cook on a medium flame or simmer till the flavours meld and the gravy thickens a bit (but not too much)

8) Add the kofta balls into this, cover and allow to simmer for a minute more before switching off the stove.

9) Garnish with chopped coriander leaves or crushed kasuri methi, you can also drizzle some cream on the top (I didn't have any) and enjoy with pulaos/rotis/naans.

Comments

  1. Dear Lavanya,

    What a coincidence?Everyday i check your website and try new dish and its a hit everytime.And today i was searching for malai kofta recipe but i couldnt find it in ur site but now u have posted it.Thanks a lot!Will try it tom..Looks great..

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  2. that looks so rich and delicious, and you used less fat..great idea of using paniyaaram pan..

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  3. I have been seeing so much kifta around i am sure in the end i will also make them.
    These look so yummy delicious.

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  4. That looks rich and creamy! Photos are tempting!

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  5. I absolutely LOVE malai kofta, its the perfect party pleaser. And the low fat version looks just as tasty. Btw, may I say how impressed I am by the frequency of your posts? Take a bow, girl!

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  6. yumm .. i would love to dif in to those .. looks just yummm

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  7. I am drooling here..I always wanted to prepare this recipe but i donno something stops me...may be its time for me to try this out too!thanks lavi for sharin!

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  8. Better than deep frying, Lovely koftas!

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  9. wowww.. looks so rich and can't believe it is low fat. i love the gravy.. it is so creamy.. will try it soon. i had also bookmarked RC's recipe to try... it is such a cool idea.

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  10. I must get one of these paniyaaram pans soon!

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  11. Vow!!! What a nice pair......adding cream chesse will make it even more tastier.....will try urs lavanya....

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  12. lavanya..new to ur space..those koftas luk so lovely..:)

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  13. Wow Lavanya, this sounds great I have used the pan to make egg, pancakes all to give a new dimension... This is really a nice idea... Malais look great...

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  14. Jeez, Laavanya. So glad that you liked the idea. The lowly appe skillet is quite a life saver isn't it? Loved ypur version of the gravy as well.

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  15. The koftas look beautiful! What a great idea to use a kuzhipaniyaram pan. I have an awesome non-stick one thats rarely used. Like you, I dont like to deep fry; but love malai kofta. This recipe is a great solutions!

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  16. Even I am going to try this one Laavanya....:) Looks so tempting!

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  17. wow, yummy koftas! So mouth-watering.

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  18. The dish looks so creamy and its low in fat too, way to go gal :)

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  19. looks rich and cute those koftas...looks great..

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  20. both me and my husband like malai kofta very much.But i didnt make it at home so far becoz i eeds deep frying of koftas.Thank u so much for posting it .Such a nice alternate for deep frying.Now i can make it at home.

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  21. wowowwwwww........mlooks reallly yummmmmmmyyy & awesome.. looks perfect & nice click...

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  22. THis is creamy and yummy! Very nice

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  23. Just what I want right now. Anything with paneer gets my attention. I will try this for sure.

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  24. My fav. gravy with naan! Urs Looks Lovely!

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  25. wow.........tempting........we will this soon........

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  26. This made my mouth water, YUM!!!

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  27. U always rock!where didn't capture it with the sauce?

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  28. This looks really tempting and nice idea of using paniyaaram pan healthy way of making malai kofta

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  29. Wow.. Malai kofta and that too Low fat.. thats great..I am cursing myself for not getting the Appam Pan. I have a non stick one back in Mangalore :(

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  30. this looks perfect... even when I'm trying to cut down fatty stuff :-)

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  31. Now that's a brilliant idea!! I adore malai kofta and will definitely have to try this less guilty version! :)

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  32. Absolutely loved this idea, the kofta looks creamy and perfect...

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  33. Looks creamy n delicious koftas...pics makes me hunger..

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  34. Yum yum yum...the first pic looks so inviting!!Great pics of kofta too..yummy!!!

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  35. Gosh, these look awesome Lavanya.Gotto try these...soooon!

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  36. I just left a comment on Sujatha's blog saying I would have loved her Kashmiri pulao with malai kofta, and here it is:) Strange!

    Delicious koftas!

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  37. Yumm..that appe pan has to be acquired now!

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  38. Thank you for your encouraging comments. I'm sorry for the delay in my reply - was out on vacation for a while.

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  39. wow!! the koftas in malai look sooo rich and creamy!! DROOOL!

    I'm hosting an event on my blog, Laavs! Pls do check back at ur lesiure and try to send in a few entries ;-)

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  40. Hi Laavanya,
    I tried you malai kofta recipe and it came out great! As you said, I did not find any difference between the deep fried and this one. Thanks for the recipe!
    -Nandini

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  41. Thank you so much Nandini for trying this out and your feedback! Am so glad that it worked out well for you too.

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  42. i tried this and it was just out of the world... there is no difference bet low fat version and deep fried one. thx dear.

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  43. I across your blog when I was looking for recipe for Malai Kofta! I tried yours and it was wonderful... I have become a chef overnight!! Thanks :)

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  44. hi lavanya,
    came across your website. very nice one and interesting one also.. thanks for the wonderful recepies and i ndid try this malai kofta.. came out really well and my family loved it a lot.. thanks
    once again.

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  45. Thank you Mahimaa :)

    Thank you P & Anon for trying this and for your lovely feedback.

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  46. Nice recipe... We are having a get together and I'm planning to try this recipe dear. Thanks and do visit my food blog http://preethisculinary.blogspot.com

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