“Chicken Malai Kofta- it’s luxury on a plate.”

Koftas are usually made out of minced beef, chicken, mutton or vegetables. I have also made fish kofta masala, which is quite awesome too. Spices, herbs and a binding agent are added to the mince and formed into balls or patties. Koftas can be fried lightly or added directly to the sauce/ gravy.

Chicken Malai Kofta as the name suggests, has added cream and a little milk to make this dish a lot more richer and creamier. All the spices blend together to make this dish a show stopper as and when you serve it.

When we were growing up, being part of a big family mummy used to always make beef ball curry in coconut milk.We used to have it with rice or chapattis. Growing up in a large family taught me values and countless lessons I never would have learnt otherwise. Be it sharing, taking on responsibility, looking out for the younger ones,wearing hand me downs, to just name a few. Those were the golden days of our childhood- forever etched in our hearts.

Ingredients:

For the Kofta

• Chicken mince -1/2 kg
• 1 onion
• Ginger- garlic paste – tbsp
• Green chilli-3
• Coriander leaves -1/2 cup
• Chilli powder-1/2 tsp
• Coriander powder -1/2 tsp
• Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp
• Garam masala -1/2 tsp
• Roasted gram flour -2 tbsp
• Salt
• Ghee-1 tbsp

Method:

Take all the above ingredients in your food processor and blitz it for a few seconds till it all comes together. No water to be added. Keep it aside and cover the dish so that it does not dry out.

Make koftas and keep aside. You should get 12-14 koftas.

For the gravy:

Ingredients:

• Oil- 3-4 tbsp or a mix of oil and ghee
• Whole spices ( 2 each of bay leaves,cloves,cinnamon and cardamom)
• Fried onion paste -2 onions fried till golden brown and ground to a paste
• Kashmiri chilli powder-11/2 tsp
• Coriander powder-21/2 tsp
• Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp
• Garam masala -1 tsp
• Cashewnuts – 6-8 whole( paste)
• Curd -1/2 cup( not sour)
• Water-1/4-1/2 cup
• Cream -1/2 cup
• Milk – as required
• Salt to taste

Method:

• In hot oil or ghee, add the whole spices and fry lightly.
• Add the fried onion paste along with cashewnuts paste and all the spice powders. Fry well.
• Add beaten curd and a little water and keep frying till the raw smell disappears. Fry on a low flame.
• Add the chicken koftas carefully and let it simmer on a low flame for a few minutes till coated with the masala and cooked. Cooking process should take 10-15 minutes. A little water can be added to thin down the gravy/ sauce.
• Add cream and a little milk if required and simmer on a low flame.
• Add salt and taste.
• The gravy should be thick and creamy.

Garnish:

• Cream
• Coriander leaves-1/2 a bunch

Garnish the dish with cream and chopped coriander leaves.

Chefs tips:

• Always use fresh boneless chicken cubes or fresh mince. Either ways wash thoroughly and place in a colander for all the water to drain off.
• If using boneless chicken, mince the chicken first and then consequently add all the given ingredients to make the kofta.
• You can substitute chicken for mutton but the cooking time will vary.
• Instead of gram flour, you can add breadcrumbs.
• This dish serves 6-8.
• It is a great accompaniment to a simple pulao or any flatbread along with a salad and a bowl of raita or can be had as a wrap or just on its own. It’s a very versatile dish.

Till my next post,

Cheers

Rose