Malai kofta with morel stir fry
Malai kofta is a popular Indian dish, where balls of fresh cheese curd, like paneer or khoa, are deep fried and served in a tomato sauce.
Ingredients
For the filling
- 2 tbsp raisins, roughly chopped
- 4 tbsp cashew nuts, toasted and roughly chopped
- 4 tbsp khoa (dried whole milk), or paneer, grated (optional)
- 2 dried figs, finely chopped
- 1 tsp finely chopped fresh root ginger
- 2 green chillies, finely chopped
For the koftas
- 400g/14oz paneer cheese, finely grated
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- 3 tbsp cornflour
- ½ tsp black cumin
- 2.5cm/1in piece fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 green chillies, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp roughly chopped fresh coriander leaves
- 1 tsp salt
- oil, for frying
For the sauce
- 100²µ/3½´Ç³ú cashew nuts
- 10 large tomatoes, cut in half
- 2.5cm/1in piece fresh root ginger, peeled and crushed
- 2 green cardamom pods
- 3 cloves
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tsp red chilli powder
- 50g/1¾oz unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 70ml/2½fl oz single cream
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- ¼ tsp dried fenugreek leaves, crumbled
- ¼ tsp garam masala
For the stir fry
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil or ghee
- ¼ tsp black cumin
- 2 green cardamom pods
- 1cm/½in piece cinnamon stick
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1cm/½in piece fresh root ginger, peeled and chopped
- 2 tomatoes, roughly chopped
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp caster sugar
- 60g/2¼oz dried baby morels, cleaned, soaked in 200ml/7fl oz water for 30 minutes, drained and patted dry
- 1 tsp finely chopped fresh mint
To serve
- handful cashew nuts, broken into large pieces
- naan bread or pilau rice
- 2 gold leaves, to garnish
Method
To make the filling, mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl. Divide the mixture into 12 equal balls.
To make the koftas, mix all of the ingredients together, except the oil, in a large bowl to form a smooth dough-like texture. Divide the mixture into 12 equal balls, the size of golf balls. Take a ball, make an indent, and keep pressing and rotating it in your hand to make the cavity slightly larger than a ball of the filling. The edges of the cavity should be slightly thinner than the rest of it. Sit a ball of the filling in the cavity and bring together the edges to cover the filling completely. Do not leave any cracks or the filling will come out during frying. Repeat until there are 12 kofta balls and set aside.
To make the boiled cashew paste, cover the cashew nuts with water and bring to the boil. Boil the cashews until soft, then blend to a smooth paste. You may need to add a splash of water to help them blend. Set aside.
To make the sauce, cook the tomatoes in a saucepan over a medium heat and, as they start to soften, pour in 125ml/4fl oz of water. Add the ginger, cardamom, cloves and bay leaf and boil until the tomatoes break down.
Pass the tomato mixture through a sieve to produce a fine tomato purée. Place the tomato purée in a saucepan, bring to the boil and add the chilli powder and 2 tablespoons of the cashew paste. As the purée thickens, add the butter, piece by piece, stirring constantly. When the sauce turns glossy, add the cream and continue to boil for 2 more minutes. Season with the salt and sugar and add the fenugreek leaves and garam masala. Keep warm.
To make the stir fry, heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan and add the black cumin, cardamom and cinnamon. Once they crackle and pop, add the onion and fry over a medium heat until golden brown. Add the garlic and ginger and fry for 2–3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, turmeric, chilli powder and cumin. Season with the salt and sugar. Cook for 10–12 minutes or until the oil starts separating from the edge of the pan. Add the morels and fry for 2 minutes. Sprinkle in the mint leaves and remove from the heat.
To serve, heat the oil for the koftas in a large frying pan and fry the koftas in small batches until golden brown. Transfer to kitchen paper to drain, then place the koftas in the tomato sauce and warm through.
To finish, fry the broken cashews in the large frying pan until nicely toasted, then drain on kitchen paper. Serve the koftas with the stir fry and naan bread and pilau rice. Garnish with the gold leaf and fried cashews.