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Malai Kofta Recipe Restaurant Style served in a copper kadai
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Malai Kofta Recipe Restaurant Style | How to make Malai Kofta

Deep fried balls prepared with potato & paneer (koftas) are dunked in a creamy spiced tomato based smooth gravy.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Main Course / Side dish, Side Dish / Curry
Cuisine: Indian (North Indian)
Keyword: Malai Kofta, Koftta Curry, Aloo Paneer Kofta, Veg Kofta
Servings: 4
Author: Padma Veeranki

Ingredients

For the Koftas:

  • 1 Cup Mashed & boiled potatoes
  • 1 Cup Grated Paneer
  • 1 inch Ginger Finely chopped
  • 3 Garlic Pods Finely chopped
  • 2 Green Chillies Finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp Coriander Finely chopped
  • 3/4 tsp Salt
  • A Pinch of Baking Soda
  • 1 tbsp Cornstarch
  • Oil for frying

For the Gravy/Curry Sauce:

  • 2 tbsp Ghee + 1 tbsp Oil Divided
  • 2 Bay Leaf
  • 1 inch Cinnamon Sticks
  • 4 Cloves
  • 2 Whole Green Cardamoms
  • 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
  • 1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds
  • 2 Large Onions Roughly Chopped
  • 1 inch Ginger Roughly chopped
  • 6-8 Garlic cloves Peeled
  • 3 Green chillies Halved
  • 2 Large Tomatoes Roughly Chopped
  • 15 Cashews Whole & Raw (Handful)
  • 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
  • 2 tbsp Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder Divided
  • 1 tbsp Coriander Powder
  • 3/4 tsp Salt or To taste
  • 1 tsp Sugar
  • 2 tsp Crushed Kasuri Methi Dried Fenugreek Leaves
  • 1/4 Cup Heavy Cream
  • Coriander to garnish

Instructions

For making Koftas:

  • Boil potatoes & peel & them. In a wide bowl, mash or grate completely cooled potatoes.
  • Grate paneer as well and add in the same bowl. Add in all the ingredients for kofta - finely chopped ginger, garlic, green chilli, coriander, salt, baking soda & cornstarch. Mix well with your hands until you form a soft dough. Taste the masala and adjust salt if needed.
  • In the meantime, set up a pan with oil for deep frying. Turn on the flame to medium heat.
  • Start making koftas from the dough. Pinch a little dough and roll between your palms to make round balls. Dust each ball with cornstarch as shown in the video. Similarly make all the koftas.
  • Once the oil is hot enough, gently drop few balls. Make sure oil is hot, else koftas can stick to the pan and will disintegrate in the oil. If the balls crack, you can add 1 tablespoon additional cornstarch and proceed.
  • Fry until golden brown from all sides. Remove the fried koftas on a paper towel. You can also follow other methods as discussed above & fry them.
  • Continue with this process until you have fried all the koftas. Set them aside until you prepare the gravy or let them cool completely before storing.

For Making curry sauce/gravy:

  • Heat a deep kadai/pan over medium heat. Once hot, add 1 tbsp ghee & 1 tbsp oil and then add the bay leaf, cinnamon, green cardamom, cloves, black pepper and cumin seeds .
  • Let the spices sizzle for few seconds until aromatic. Then add in the chopped onion, ginger & garlic. Sauté for about 2 minutes, do not brown the onion.
  • Then add green chillies, tomatoes along with cashews and a little salt. Mix well and add in the turmeric powder, Kashmiri red chilli powder & coriander powder. Sauté for about 5-7 minutes until the tomatoes soften & the raw smell of the spices goes away. Turn off the heat.
  • Let the mixture cool down down a bit. Now, discard the bay leaf and transfer mixture to a blender & blend to a smooth paste.
  • Use a strainer and strain the puree into another bowl. This makes sure the gravy is really smooth. This step is completely optional though.
  • Put the same pan on medium heat again. Once hot, add 1 tbsp ghee.
  • Once it is hot, add in 1 tbsp Kashmiri red chilli powder & sauté for a minute.
  • Add in the pureed gravy and cook for 2 minutes. Then add salt & sugar. Mix well & bring it to a boil. Let the curry cook for about 3-4 minutes.
  • Add crushed kasuri methi and then cream.
  • Cook for additional 2 to 3 minutes on medium-low heat. The gravy is now done. Turn off the heat &set aside.

Serve the malai kofta

  • To serve, transfer gravy to a serving bowl, drizzle with cream and place koftas on top. Or you can place koftas on plate and top with the gravy. Garnish with cream, sprinkle some kasoori methi and coriander.


  • If you like melt in mouth soft koftas, let the koftas simmer in the gravy for 2 minutes before serving.

If you prefer the koftas to be on the crispier side, then add gravy on top only before serving.


  • Enjoy malai kofta with Garlic Naan, Plain Naan, Kulcha, Roti, Paratha , Jeera Rice or just with plain basmati rice !

Recipe Video

Notes

  • Use homemade paneer in the kofta if possible, the fresh paneer makes them taste much better.
  • If using store bought paneer for the kofta, make sure to put the block of paneer if hot water first for at least 20 minutes. Then remove from hot water, pat dry with a paper napkin and then grate the paneer for the kofta. If using homemade paneer, you don't need to do this step.
  • Strain the puree using a strainer so that the gravy is silky smooth gravy.
  • Do not add too much cornstarch to the kofta as it would change the taste & flavour of the kofta. 
  • Fry koftas on medium high heat. So, make sure the oil is hot before you drop the koftas in oil. If not, the koftas can break or when dropped into oil. They can also stick to the bottom of the pan while frying. 
  • Never add koftas to the gravy hours before you intend to eat. The balls will soak up all the gravy within minutes. I suggest adding them just before serving the curry. Heat up the gravy & add koftas to hot gravy and serve immediately.
  • Finally, do not cut down too much on the fat especially if you want to make restaurant style malai kofta. The butter/ghee and cream add to the flavour and richness of the dish.