Malai Kofta (मलाई कोफ्ता)

 

In Hindi, "kofta" (कोफ़्ता) refers to a ball or meatball usually made of minced meat (such as lamb, chicken or beef), fish, vegetables or even paneer (Indian cheese, identical to cottage cheese). These balls are seasoned with spices and are often cooked in a sauce. In other nearby cuisines, such as Turkish, they are called in a very similar way (kofte).

"Malai" (मलाई) refers to the cream that forms on top of milk when it is heated and cooled. It can also refer to cream in general and is commonly used in Indian cuisine to make desserts and sauces. It is a key ingredient in many sweet and savory preparations in Indian cuisine, such as in the very famous rasmalai or in this preparation that concerns us today. Therefore, malai kofta would mean "meatballs in gravy." We have made such a lengthy explanation because these two terms appear in countless Indian preparations and knowing what they are about is important at least when reading a restaurant's menu. Another term that is repeated a lot in Indian cuisine is "masala" (मसाला), which means "seasoning" or mixture of spices, depending on the context.

Malai kofta are a fundamental recipe of North Indian cuisine. As has been said, they are balls or meatballs that in this case are made with potatoes and spices, which are then fried and cooked in a broth composed of cheese and cream (or milk).

India is one of the countries that consume the most dairy products worldwide, in any format (milk, butter, yogurt, etc.). Although for Indians to eat cows is a sacrilege, milking them to obtain milk is something that does not violate religion and they do it without problems. The problem is that the type of cow that is abundant in India, a species of zebu, provides a negligible amount of milk compared to a Swiss cow. For this reason, it is preferred to obtain milk from the water buffalo, which is more productive, has milk with more fat and is also not considered a sacred animal (or at least not at the same level as the cow). By the way, the very common image of cows walking freely through the streets of India or sitting in the middle of the road while vehicles border them does not mean that they are wild or that they have gone feral, or that they do not have an owner. They are domestic animals, unable to survive on their own, and they all belong to an owner. 

It is known that in ancient times Hindus consumed beef without problems, but the prohibition began to spread around the 2nd century BC. Although the reason is not clear, at that time the excess population that the Indian subcontinent was already suffering made it clear that its needs for meat would exceed the possibilities of feeding these animals with the available forage. Therefore it was considered that it would be more sustainable to limit the use of cattle to milk production while at the same time encouraging the consumption of vegetables to the point that India is considered a naturally vegetarian country, that is, the People's way of life has almost completely excluded meat since time immemorial.

Indian cuisine preparations are usually quite easy to make. The greatest complication often lies in finding and gathering all the spices they use, which are not few. I am going to give you the recipe as it is made in India but regarding the spices you can use them or replace them with local spices, depending on their availability or personal preferences. In any case, many of these spices are already available in large stores or in stores specializing in Asian food, generally run by Indian or Pakistani merchants.

INGREDIENTS (serving 4)

• 1 cup (200 ml) of cooked and grated potato
• 1 cup of cooked and grated vegetables*
• 1 cup of paneer **
• 1 cup of chopped onion
• 1 cup of crushed tomato or two heaped tablespoons of tomato concentrate
• Half a cup (100 ml) of cooking cream (18% fat )
• 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
• Cornstarch
• Salt
• Oil for frying (sunflower, corn, olive, etc.)

* The vegetables that are usually cooked are carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, etc.

**Indian paneer is nothing but fresh curd.

spices

• 1 tablespoon garlic and ginger
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
• 1 tablespoon garam masala
• 1 tablespoon red chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• Chopped fresh coriander leaves
• 1 teaspoon sahi jeera
• 1 pinch of turmeric

Indians often use a paste made of garlic and ginger. It can be replaced with half a tablespoon of chopped garlic and half a tablespoon of ginger. Both products are easy to find, as are coriander, cumin powder and turmeric.

Garam masala is a mixture of spices that is found in large stores and specialized stores. If you can't find it, there is no problem not using it.

Chili powder like garam masala, in specialized stores. If you can't find it, you can use sweet or hot paprika, to taste.

Sahi jeera is known as black cumin or black caraway. If you can't find it, there is no problem not using it.

First we cook the potatoes (enough to fill a cup once crushed) and the vegetables. Next, with a fork, we turn them into puree and add half of the cottage cheese. The resulting dough should be firm, so either let it rest in a strainer so that the excess water drains or add a tablespoon of breadcrumbs, whichever is more convenient for you.

You can add a pinch of the indicated spices to the resulting mass or leave them entirely for the sauce. Of course, you should at least add salt (1 teaspoon) or they will be bland.

Once we have the dough, we peel off balls the size of a ping pong ball and in the center of each one we place a few chopped walnuts. We leave them as round as possible and the same size and then we coat them in cornstarch (or wheat flour, whatever you have).

Pour oil into a frying pan over medium heat and fry the kofta in it until they turn blonde. We remove and leave it on a kitchen paper to remove excess fat.

In the same oil where we fried the meatballs, add the cup of chopped onion and when it becomes transparent we add, now, all the spices except the garam masala, the fresh coriander (leaves) and the tomato or its concentrate.

When the sauce has taken shape, add the tomato and let it cook until there is no more water left (if it is tomato concentrate, this step will not be necessary, just dissolve it in the sauce). Be very careful if you use paprika instead of chili powder. In this case it is preferable to add it at the end to prevent it from burning and literally making the food bitter by accidentally burning it.

We then add a little water (enough to make a sauce but not too much or it will be watery, a quarter cup, 50 ml, will be more than enough).

Then we add the cream and half of the remaining cottage cheese and stir well. We add the meatballs and let them cook over very low heat and avoiding boiling. 15 minutes will be more than enough...and ready to be enjoyed!

They are served very hot, sprinkling garam masala and chopped coriander leaves on top. Just take the first bite and it will be the same as if you had teleported to India, and without spending money on the flight.