This Malai Kofta recipe tastes like it’s straight out of a restaurant. What’s not to love about deep fried vegetable dumplings floating in sea of rich, creamy curry? When it comes to eating out at an Indian restaurants, malai kofta is to vegetarians what butter chicken is to us meat eaters. They’re equally good but in different ways. Truthfully, if I HAD to choose… I think the malai kofta would win. Yup, I went there.
This dish is fit for a king. Literally. Malai Kofta is part of Mughlai cuisine, a style of cooking that developed in royal kitchens during the Mughal era in India. Mughlai cuisine is known for its use of rich ingredients including nuts, cream, butter and dried fruit. Malai Kofta is typically made with “malai” which means heavy cream and and koftas, which are deep fried vegetarian “meatballs.” For this recipe, I use the cream from a can of refrigerated coconut milk. The koftas are made of mashed vegetables, sweet potato and chopped cashews. The cashews give the meatballs texture which goes perfectly with the creaminess of the dish. Serve this alongside naan, roti or a paratha. This dish is really simple to make – BUT – it takes time. That’s because you have to first make the veggie balls, roll them in tapioca flour and then shallow fry them. Then you have to make the curry. If you don’t want to do all of this in one day, you can make the veggie balls in advance. I think they taste best when fresh, but I’ll sometimes fry these koftas a day or two before making the curry – and they’re still crazy good. If you’re looking to impress dinner guests, this recipe is sure to do it. Enjoy! 🙂 Like this recipe? Pin it to your favorite Pinterest board now so you will remember to make it later!
