A favorite at many Indian households, malai kofta wins hearts with its creamy and tangy sauce, and the soft cottage cheese dumplings.

I made my koftas (dumplings) with home made paneer and cooked them in the microwave instead of frying. Accompanied by a rich and creamy sauce these are hard to resist, even if you are not much into vegetarian food.

It’s a mild curry and therefore enjoyed by the young ones as well. Add it to the menu of your next dinner party and you are sure to rock. Malai kofta is paired well with white/brown rice, cauliflower rice, quinoa or chapati.

Here is the recipe (written instructions below).

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Ingredients Serves 6/ Preparation time: 15 minutes / Cooking time:

For the koftas (cottage cheese dumplings):

• Paneer 500 gm
• Chopped cashew nuts 1/4 cup
• Raisins 1/4 cup
• Chopped coriander leaves 1/4 cup
• Chopped green chilies 2
• Boiled and mashed potatoes 1/2 cup
• Salt to taste

For the curry sauce:

• Ghee 2 Tbsp
• Ginger 1 inch piece
• Red chili 1 (add more for a spicier sauce)
• Green cardamom pods 2
• Onion medium 1
• Tomatoes medium 4
• Coriander powder 1 tsp
• Red chili powder(or kashmiri chili pd) 1/2 tsp
• Salt to taste
• Fresh cream 1 cup

Instructions:

For the koftas (dumplings):

1. In a big, flat tray, add all the kofta ingredients.
2. Knead into a smooth dough.
3. Grease your hands with some ghee and form into oval shaped koftas.
4. Place the koftas on a greased microwave plate.
5. Microwave on high for 8 minutes. Alternatively, you can also shallow fry them in a pan with some ghee. Set aside.

For the sauce:

1. Roughly chop the ginger, red chili, onion and tomatoes.
2. Heat a pan on medium high heat and add 1 Tbsp of ghee.
3. Add the chopped ginger and red chili, and the cardamom pods.
4. Fry for 1 minute.
5. Add the onion and saute until translucent (about 2-3 minutes).
6. Add the tomatoes, coriander powder, red chili powder and salt.
7. Mix well. Cover and cook on low heat for 8 minutes.
8. Allow to cool.
9. Transfer to a blender jar and make into a smooth paste.
10. Heat a pan on medium high heat and add 1 Tbsp of ghee.
11. Add the paste and cook for 2 minutes.
12. Add the fresh cream and mix well.
13. Cook for another 2 minutes and then take off from heat.

For serving:

Arrange the kotas in a serving bowl. Pour over the sauce. If making ahead of time, store the koftas and the sauce separately. When serving, heat up the sauce and pour over the koftas (room temperature) just before serving.

ENJOY!!!