Malai Kofta

the first thing I do (or almost the first) when I am in Holiday in Kathmandu, Nepal is eating Malai Kofta. I never have to think about what to order on the first evening. During the long weekend I had some time to experiment myself and made my own version. Of course it is not even close to the real version, but it tasted well anyway. The paneer balls made me think a bit of falafel, also one of my favourite vegetarian dishes.

Ingredients:

for the balls:

• 200 grams of cottage cheese
• 100 gram deep-frozen peas
• 1 carrot
• 3 small potatoes (or 1 large)
• a handful of freshly cut fresh coriander
• 50 grams cashew nuts
• 50 grams of raisins
• herbs: coriander powder, cumin powder, curry

For the sauce:

• 3 cardamon seeds (remove the hull)
• a green chili pepper
• 1 onion (cut finely)
• 1 clove of garlic
• 5 medium tomatoes (finely chopped)
• 200 ml coconut milk
• herbs: ginger, chili powder, ground coriander, kukurma, salt, sugar, curry, fresh coriander
• olive oil

Method:

• Peel the potatoes and cook them.
• Mix the carrots, peas, cabinets, coriander, cashew nuts, raisins, and boiled potato with the blender into a kind of dough.
• Add the herbs and mix well again.
• Roll the balls with the dough and put in the fridge to stiffen. If necessary, add some flour to the dough.

• Bake the onion in olive oil for a few minutes.
• Then add the garlic and the green pepper.
• Add the tomatoes and herbs and let it cook well on medium heat.
• Then add the coconut milk and the fresh coriander.
• Keep the sauce warm.

• Preheat the oven to 180 ° C.
• Bake the balls in a pan on a high fire, so that the outside is golden brown.
• Put the balls and sauce in a saucepan and pass through the oven for 15 minutes.
• garnish with fresh coriander and cashew nuts.
• Serve with rice, or naan (Indian bread)

You may roll the balls in fine breadcrumbs before frying, this makes it easier to make them golden brown.

I am already looking forward to our Nepal trip next year, and not just because of the Malai Kofta, but also because of Solukhumbu treks  🙂

Other Indian-style recipes on my blog are:

• mango lassi with saffron and cardamom
• vegetarian pumpkin noodles
• vegetable curry
• chicken chowmein