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Recipe Index » Curry Recipes » Paneer Gravies » Malai kofta recipe, restaurant style

Malai kofta recipe (Restaurant style)

August 30, 2019 By Kanan / 59 Comments

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4.8 from 20 votes
malai kofta pin

Malai kofta recipe – This restaurant style malai kofta recipe is very easy to make at home. Soft, melt in your mouth kind koftas (fried balls) coated with malai and added into the onion, tomato gravy.

Malai kofta recipe

What is Malai Kofta?

Malai = Heavy cream
Kofta = meatballs

Traditionally kofta curry is made from meat. But here I am sharing vegetarian malai kofta curry.

So, here koftas are made from grated paneer (cottage cheese), potatoes, nuts, and dried fruits. They are deep fried into the oil.

These koftas are dipped into the heavy cream. Then they are added into smooth, rich Punjabi red gravy. This red gravy is made from onion, tomato, cashew nuts, and Indian spices.

2 variations of malai kofta:

  1. Punjabi version: Today’s recipe is North Indian style where it has red gravy.
  2. Mughalai version: It has mild, slightly sweet, aromatic white gravy.

This restaurant style malai kofta is a rich dish. So it is made on special occasions or for special guests.

Malai kofta recipe is one of the popular paneer recipes. Other popular paneer recipes that you will find in every Indian restaurant’s menu 
paneer tikka
paneer butter masala
palak paneer
kadai paneer
tawa paneer
shahi paneer

How to prepare malai kofta curry for party?

  • Make gravy ahead of time (same day or a day before). If made a day or two before then store in airtight container in the refrigerator.
  • Shape the koftas, arrange them on tray, cover, and store in the refrigerator. If made a week before then you can freeze them. On the day of serving, bring the kofta to room temperature and then deep fry.
  • Before serving, re-heat the gravy, add malai dipped koftas, garnish with nuts and cilantro.
How to make malai kofta restaurant style

Ingredients for malai kofta recipe:

  • Paneer (homemade or store-bought)
  • Potato (boiled, peeled, mashed)
  • Corn starch (aka corn flour)
  • Cashews and Raisins
  • Fresh produce (onion, tomato)
  • Whole spices (bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cloves, green cardamom)
  • Spice powders (Red chili powder, coriander powder, garam masala, kasoori methi)
  • Oil and butter
  • Heavy whipped cream (fresh malai)

How to make malai kofta (Step by Step Photos):

1) First, make the gravy. Take onion, tomato, ginger, garlic, cashew nuts and water in a saucepan. Turn the heat on medium.

2) Let is simmer for 15 minutes.

cooking onion tomatoes for gravy

3) Onions and tomatoes will get cooked and become soft. Let it cool down a little bit.

4) Then make a smooth puree out of it using a blender or grinder.

grinding tomato onion into smooth paste

5) Heat the oil and butter in a pan on medium heat.

6) Once hot add bay leaf, cloves, cardamom, and cinnamon stick. Fry for 40 seconds, you will get a nice aroma of spices.

sauteing whole spices into butter

7) Add prepared puree, sprinkle some salt and mix.

8) Let it cook till all the moisture is evaporated. and it starts to leave the sides of the pan. While cooking, it may splutter. You can partially cover the pan with a lid.

mixing prepared onion tomato paste

9) Then add red chili powder and coriander powder.

10) Mix well and cook for a minute.

adding spice powders

11) Then add water.

12) Mix well. Adjust the water quantity as per your liking gravy consistency. Let it simmer on low-medium for 5 minutes.

adding water to make malai kofta gravy

13) Then add crushed kasoori methi and garam masala.

14) Mix well. Turn off the stove. Gravy is ready. Keep it covered.

adding garam masala and kasoori methi

15) Now we will make kofta. Take grated paneer, boiled, mashed potatoes, corn flour, garam masala, cashews, raisins and salt in a bowl.

16) Mix well using hand. Knead into a dough.

preparing kofta dough

17) Now divide the mixture into 12-13 equal portions. Make smooth balls out of it.

18) While you are shaping the balls. Heat the oil in a pan on medium heat for deep frying. Once the oil is hot, add few kofta gently into the hot oil.

shaping and frying koftas

19) Keep moving them so it gets even browning from all the sides.

20) Once browned from all the sides. Remove it using the slotted spatula.

fried kofta till golden brown

21) Keep them on paper towel lined plate.

22) Now at the time of serving, reheat the gravy. Take heavy cream in a bowl.

fried kofta in a plate

23) Dip each kofta into the cream. NOTE: here in the USA, I get a thinner variety of cream only. But if you get thick fresh heavy cream, malai kind of consistency. Then use that, the cream should be coated to the kofta. Because of the runny cream, it is not coated well.

24) Add malai coated kofta into the gravy.
Note: Instead of dipping the kofta into cream, you can add cream directly into the gravy. And add fried kofta as such. But traditionally it is dipped into malai, hence called malai kofta.

dip kofta into cream and adding into gravy

25) Repeat the same with all the koftas.

26) Give it a gentle stir, so little cream gets into the gravy. It gives the marble effect.

malai kofta curry

Add the kofta at the time of serving. Once koftas are added, it must be served immediately. Otherwise, kofta will get soggy.

What to serve with Malai Kofta?

  • Serve with naan, garlic naan or paratha
  • Also serve onion lachha, salted lassi, and papad on the side to complete the meal.
malai kofta restaurant style
Step by Step Photos AboveWant to make it perfect first time? Don’t forget to check out Step-by-Step photo instructions and helpful Tips & Tricks !!
How to make malai kofta restaurant style
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Malai kofta recipe (Restaurant style)

4.8 from 20 votes
Tried this recipe? Leave a comment and give ★ ratings
This restaurant style malai kofta curry is so delicious and very easy to make at home. Deep fried paneer balls are coated with cream and added into rich red gravy. 
Servings 4 servings
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

To boil and grind into puree:

  • 1 large or 1 cup Onion roughly chopped
  • ½ inch Ginger
  • 2 cloves Garlic
  • 3 medium or 2 cup Tomato roughly chopped
  • 5-6 Cashew nuts
  • ½ cup Water

For malai kofta recipe:

  • 1 tablespoon Oil
  • 1 tablespoon Butter
  • 1 Bay leaf
  • ¼ inch Cinnamon stick
  • 2-3 Cloves
  • 2 Green cardamoms
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 ½ teaspoons Red chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon Coriander powder
  • ½ to ¾ cup Water or as needed
  • ½ teaspoon Garam masala
  • 1 teaspoon Kasoori methi (Dried fenugreek leaves) lightly crushed between your palm
  • ¼ cup Heavy whipping cream or fresh cream or malai

For kofta:

  • 2 small or 1 cup Potatoes boiled, peeled and mashed
  • 1 cup Paneer grated or crumbled
  • 3 tablespoons Corn flour (corn starch)
  • 1 tablespoon Cashew nuts chopped
  • 1 tablespoon Raisins
  • Oil for deep frying kofta

Instructions

Making malai kofta curry recipe:

  • Take onion, tomato, ginger, garlic, cashew nuts and water in a saucepan and turn the heat on medium.
  • Let it simmer for 15 minutes till it is soft and cooked.
  • Once cooled down, make a smooth puree using the blender.
  • Heat the oil and butter in a pan on medium heat. Once hot add bay leaf, cloves, cardamom and cinnamon stick, fry for 40 seconds.
  • Add prepared puree, sprinkle salt and mix. Let it cook till all the moisture is evaporated and it starts to leave the sides of the pan.
  • Then mix in red chili powder and coriander powder and cook for a minute.
  • Add water to make gravy and simmer for 5 minutes.
  • Mix in crushed kasoori methi and garam masala.
  • Turn off the stove. Keep it covered.

Making kofta recipe:

  • Take all kofta ingredients except oil in a bowl, knead into a dough.
  • Now divide the mixture into 12-13 equal portions and make smooth balls.
  • Heat the oil in a pan on medium heat for deep frying.
  • Once the oil is hot, add few koftas gently into the hot oil. 
  • Once browned from all the sides remove it using the slotted spatula and keep them on paper towel lined plate.
  • Now at the time of serving, reheat the gravy. 
  • Take heavy cream in a bowl, dip each kofta into the cream and then add into the gravy.
  • Give it a gentle stir, so little cream gets into the gravy then serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 381kcal | Carbohydrates: 23.7g | Protein: 11.2g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 5.9g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 852mg | Potassium: 566mg | Fiber: 3.7g | Sugar: 6g
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate for 1 serving
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Punjabi
Calories: 381kcal
Author: Kanan
Did you make this recipe?Snap a pic, mention @spice.up.the.curry or tag #spiceupthecurry. I would love to see.
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Comments

  1. Astitva Rana

    January 5, 2019 at 11:06 am

    I like it! These are outstanding.

    Reply
    • Kanan

      January 8, 2019 at 6:11 am

      glad to know that you liked.

      Reply
  2. Kamal

    December 22, 2018 at 12:38 am

    Very good and easy to make recipe.5 ⭐️

    Reply
    • Kanan

      January 2, 2019 at 2:01 pm

      glad that you liked.

      Reply
  3. swapna dey

    December 2, 2018 at 1:21 am

    nice reciepe

    Reply
    • Kanan

      January 3, 2019 at 4:16 pm

      thank you

      Reply
  4. Amalia

    October 8, 2018 at 1:15 pm

    Amazing!!!! I thought that this type if dish would take hours to make but surprisingly it was very quick to make. The recipe was so good that I made it twice in a row!
    Thank you! Oh and I put halumi cheese instead of paneer and found that it was tastier in chunks and not grated 🙂

    Reply
    • Kanan

      October 9, 2018 at 2:48 pm

      Very happy to know that the recipe was helpful.
      Thank you for detailed feedback

      Reply
  5. Poonam Kumari

    September 14, 2018 at 4:10 pm

    If I have any questions about cooking I can ask here?

    Reply
    • Kanan

      September 14, 2018 at 4:38 pm

      yes, you can ask any question. I would be happy to help.

      Reply
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KananHi, I am Kanan!

I share easy, delicious vegetarian recipes (mostly Indian), Eggless and vegan baking recipes that will make your life easy in kitchen.

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