Malai Kofta

Malai kofta is very rich, heavy and creamy Punjabi Sabji, where kofta or dumplings are made out of paneer and potatoes and later they are mixed in creamy and buttered gravy. Its very delicious and easy to make. See its Recipe below

Ingredients:

For Gravy: 2 tbsp oil
1 tsp ginger paste
2 green chillies finely paste
2 tsp garlic paste
1/2 cinnamon stick finely powdered (2 tsp)
1/2 tsp black cloves powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chilly powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
1 large tomato, finely pureed
2-3 medium onion paste
7 cashews and 2 tsp khas khas (mix both and soak in little qty of water for 15-20 minutes, later grind and make a fine paste of it)
1 cup water
1/4 cup cold milk
3 tbsp fresh cream or makhan
Salt to taste

For Kofta
250 gms Potatoes
1 tsp green chilly paste and pinch of red chilly powder
2 tsp white corn flour
3-4 tbsp bread crumbs (or if you do not have bread crumbs handy, simply sprinkle water on bread and squeeze the water out of it by pressing it in between your palms and crumble it)
100 gms paneer (cottage cheese)
7 pcs of almond (grind it in to a powder)
7-8 pcs of pistachios (grind in to powder)
Oil for frying koftas
1 1/2 cup of gravy prepared
2 tsp fresh cream or makhan
Salt to taste


Recipe:

For Gravy:

• In a pan, heat oil, and saute ginger-garlic-green chilly paste, cloves powder, cinnamon powder, cumin powder and coriander powder for 2-3 minutes.
• Now add in and saute onion puree, salt, turmeric powder, red chilly powder and garam masala powder. Later, Add tomato puree, Cashew-Khas khas finely grinded paste, and water. 
• Cook all for 5 minutes on medium-low flame.
• Once done, turn the flame to low and add cold milk to the gravy. (keep stirring gravy while adding milk to it, this will avoid curdling).
• After adding milk, stir the gravy for a minute continuously and add fresh cream or makhan to it and after 2-3 minutes of it, turn the flame off. The consistency of the gravy should be little thick by now and its ready.
• Keep it aside and let make koftas now.

For Koftas:

• Grate Paneer and knead it until it becomes soft and forms like a dough. Add grinded almond, pistachios powder and Salt to taste. Mix in well.

• In a bowl, mash boiled potatoes, add bread crumbs, white corn flour, green chilly paste and salt to taste. Mix all well and spread it with your fingers in a plate. See below the picture..

• Now Spread kneaded dough like paneer mixture over potato mixture.

• Roll the Potato Mixture with paneer inside till the end and make small kofta balls out of it. 

• Heat Sufficient oil on medium flame in a pan for frying koftas. (Make sure oil is real hot before frying koftas in it, else it will break down).
• Fry all the kofta balls in it on medium flame only, until golden.

• And yesss you are done. Add this ready koftas in a gravy, before few minutes when you are ready to serve. and garnish it with fresh cream or makhan.
• Serve it with plain paratha.

Punjabi Rajma Masala (Kidney bean curry)

Very often i make Punjabi rajma masala. And is always a hit everytime...Rajma is a famous North indian vegetarian dish having rajma (red kidney beans) in thick gravy. Gravy is nothing, but a blend of indian spice with tomatoes and onion paste. Rajma Masala is either served with naan, or simple tawa roti or with rice. Most of the time i serve it with rice and accompany it with boondi raita or cucumber raita.
Do check its recipe below...

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup Rajma soaked in water 6-8 hours (red kidney beans)

For Gravy:
2 Onion puree (1 large and 1 medium-small)
1 large tomato puree
1 tsp garlic paste (about 3 pods)
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp green chilly paste
11/2 tsp khas khas soaked in 1 tsp water for about 10 minutes and finely paste
1  tsp Cumin powder
1 tsp Coriander powder
1/2 tsp dry ginger powder
1/4 tsp black pepper powder
1/2 tsp black cardomom powder (remove its seeds and crush it)
1/2 tsp cloves powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp dry mint leaves powder (can use fresh one too, just paste it)
1 tsp dry methi leaves (dry fenugreek leaves)
1/2 tsp nutmeg powder
3/4 tsp garam masala powder
1/2 tsp aamchur powder (dry mango powder)
1 tsp Saunf powder (Dry fennel powder)
3/4 tsp methi powder (Dry fenugreek powder)
1 tsp red chilly powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp whole cumin seeds
1/2 tsp whole mustard seeds
Salt to taste
1 bay leaf
pinch of Hing (asafoetida powder)
1 tbsp Oil
1 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)


Recipe:

• Pressure cook soaked rajma (red kidney beans) with water.
• Once cooked, do not drain its water, use the same while making gravy.
• In a deep kadai or wok, heat oil and ghee with whole cumin seeds,and mustard seeds. As as it splutters add pinch of Hing powder (asafoetida powder), bay leaf and onion puree. Saute until light pink with little salt. 
• Now add tomato puree with all the spice powders mentioned above.
• Add Rajma water to this mixture, about 1/2 cup. Simmer it on low flame and let it cook for about 5 minutes with its lid covered.
• After cooked, add rajmas in to this gravy with its remaining water.
• Again cook furthur for about 10 minutes on a low flame, or until you get nice thick gravy.
• Garnish it with fresh Coriander leaves and serve hot with rice, sliced onion rings and with grated cucumber raita.