Shahi Malai Kofta - Potato Cheese Dumplings in Gravy

I was occupied with a number of things since last few days .... It was a bit hectic since the last two weeks. I hurriedly logged into my blog this morning .... I had to catch up with what's cooking in my blog friends' kitchen. I drooled over all of them wishing if I could have them right away !!

This weekend I was away from the hustle bustle of life. J and I were off to the Catskill mountains camping. It was a perfect idea to free oneself from the mundane life. Sleeping in a tent without a comfy bed, eating not so perfectly food cooked over the campfire, no electric lights, no internet .... nothing perfect yet enjoyable to the core.

The weather was gorgeous .We drove around the beautiful Catskill mountain gazing and gasping at the beauty of nature. I awed each time I saw a deer, rabbit or raccoon. Sometimes even at the squirrels !! Was a little disappointed as I could not capture them in my camera. They vanished into the deep woods in a fraction. How much I wished to capture each and every bit of the place in my camera. But yes I did capture all the moments in my mind.

As we drove the winding roads through the mountains our tires screeched and J stopped the car all of a sudden ..... I wondered if he spotted an animal. He parked our car on the road side and asked me to follow him. After taking a few steps back, I saw a man capturing the magnificent view on his canvas. He looked like a countryside fellow in his late 60's. I carefully walked towards him trying my best not to disturb his concentration, yet enjoy his artwork from close proximity. The dry leaves below my feet rustled as I walked towards the artist. The sound was loud enough .... I expected him to turn around to look behind . This guy was so lost in his world that he hardly heard us walking towards him. I cleared my throat and complimented him for his excellent work ..... an old wrinkled face turned towards me and all I heard was 'Thank you". He continued to paint ignoring our presence. I felt a bit awkward wondering if I disturbed him. We walked back as he continued to add colors to his canvas.

We drove past many small towns, farmers markets and local artisans. We stopped by one of the farmer markets and picked up fresh corn, tomatoes on the vine, gooseberries, a watermelon and some Kirby.

We returned to our camp at dusk.I could already smell the campfire smoke of fellow campers. We too lit ours before it was dark .... we slow roasted the fresh corn on the camp fire that we bought from the farmers market, grilled chicken. We could call it a day !!

Now I am back energetic and charged up to take up the chores ..... well this recipe had been sitting in my drafts for a while now. I had prepared this long time back. It is one of my favorite dishes. I hope you enjoy preparing and eating it as much as I did.

Have a lovely week ahead .....

Preparation Time - 40 minutes

Serves - 4

Ingredients

Cottage Cheese - 1 cup

Potato - 2 medium sized

Corn Flour - 2 tsp

Raisins - few

Onion - 1 small

Chopped Ginger - 2tsp

Chopped Garlic - 2 tsp

Chopped Tomato - 2 cups

Cashew Paste - 1/3 cup

Heavy Cream - 2 tsp

Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp

Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp

Coriander Powder - 1/2 tsp

Whole Cinnamon - 1 inches

Cardamom - 4

Bay Leaf - 1

Garam Masala Powder - 1 pinch

Sugar - 1 pinch

Butter - 1 inch cube

Salt per taste

Oil for cooking

Method of Preparation

Preparation of Malai Kofta

1 Prepare cottage cheese from whole milk. (Boil whole milk and squeeze some lime juice or use vinegar). Squeeze out the water content using a muslin cloth or cheese cloth.

2 In a bowl, mix cottage cheese, mashed potatoes, corn flour and some salt. Mash and mix well to form a dough. Pinch out small balls and roll them to form dumplings. You can place a raisin in the centre of each dumpling.

3 Deep fry the dumplings till golden brown on each side.

4 Keep aside to cool.

For the Gravy.

5 Heat butter and little oil in a kadhai. Add whole cinnamon,cardamom and bay leaves. Remove them when you smell of the garam masala infuses into the butter + oil.

6 Add the onion, ginger and garlic. Saute till golden brown. Add chopped tomatoes and fry well till the masala is mussy and cooked properly. Add salt per taste.

7 Add coriander + cumin powder and fry for 1 minute. Add half a cup water and simmer for 2 minutes.

8 Remove and cool the masala. Grind the cooked masala into a puree.

9 Again add a little butter/oil and pour the pureed masala into it.

7 Add the cashew paste and heavy cream. Let is shimmer for 2-3 minutes.

8 Add a pinch of sugar and a pinch of garam masala before removing from heat.

Serving Tips

Add the dumplings into the gravy immediately before serving. Heat the gravy if needed. Shahi Malai Kofta goes well with any Indian Flat Bread or Pulao.

Notes

Do not over fry the Kofta. Make sure the dumplings have no moisture content, else it may break while frying. Do not add the dumplings way before you serve it, else it will soak all the gravy making it dry.

Variation

You may opt not to add the heavy cream, tastes equally good.

Adding some crushed kasuri methi also enhances the flavor.

Other Names

Shahi Malai Kofta - Malai Kofta/ Kofta curry/ Potato Cheese Dumplings in gravy, Coriander - Dhaniya,Cumin - Jeera, Rasins - Khismish, Cinnamon - Dalchini, Bay Leaf - Tej Patta, Cardamom - Elaichi.