The Recipe Room

Malai Kofta is a traditional dish and is the vegetarian alternative to meatballs. It is most often eaten on special occassions. The koftas are little fried potato dumplings in a rich, heavy gravy. (Sort of like my aloo bonda snacks, except those don’t have the delicious gravy.) Needless to say this is not a low-fat recipe!

An essential ingredient for Mailai Kofta is paneer, a fresh Indian cheese. It tastes a bit like cottage cheese, so you can substitute cottage cheese if you are not able to find paneer in your local Indian grocery store. But if you can find it, I strongly suggest you buy it. It is quite delicious and will give this recipe a more authentic taste.

Malai kofta is a delicious savoury dish of Moghlai origin; it is a north Indian speciality, and they go very well served with tasty Naan bread and/or basmati rice. There are lots of varieties; in fact, in Pakistan and Iran, koftas are usually made of beef and chicken, and in Bengal, a region of eastern India, koftas are made with prawns, fish, green bananas, cabbage, as well as minced goat meat.

Honestly, it’s not a short or easy recipe, but it’s all worth it in the end – trust me.

 

There is nothing better on a chilly, rainy day than a warm bowl of soup. And the best soups for drizzly afternoons are definitely the creamy ones! My mum used to make this Cream of Tomato Soup for me when skies were grey. It’s comforting and gives you lots of energy.

Another feel-good creamy soup option is this Creamy potato and leek soup.

Ingredients:

• 1kg Tomatoes, finely chopped
• 2 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2tbsp Chopped Ginger
• 1/2tbsp Whole Garam Masala
• 1 Green Chilli Pepper
• 3 Bay Leaves
• 3 Curry Leaves
• 100g Ghee
• 120ml Water
• 150ml Cream
• 1/2l Whole Milk
• 2tsp Coriander Powder
• 1tsp Cumin Powder
• 1/2tsp Lemon Juice
• Pinch of ground Black Pepper to taste
• Pinch of Salt to taste
• 2tbsp chopped Coriander Leaves, for garnishing

Preparation Method:

1. Clean the tomatoes and chop them very finely.
2. Meanwhile, heat up the ghee in a pot on a medium flame.
3. Add the chopped garlic cloves and ginger to the pot.
4. Cut the green chilli pepper into 2 pieces.
5. Add the chilli pepper, garam masala and tomatoes to the pot and stir.
6. Lower the flame and slowly stir these ingredients for about 3 minutes.
7. Add the water, bay leaves and curry leaves to the pot. Raise the heat and bring this to the boil.
8. As soon as it comes to the boil, lower the heat, cover the pot and let the soup simmer for 25 minutes. The tomatoes should become very soft.
9. Remove the soup and blend it in a liquidiser.
10. Place a strainer over the pot. Strain the chunky tomato bits by running the soup through this strainer.
11. Raise the stove to a medium heat and heat up the tomato again.
12. Mix in the cream, whole milk, coriander powder and cumin powder. Stir it all together.
13. Add the black pepper and salt to taste, along with the lemon juice.
14. Let the soup simmer on a low flame for 15 minutes.
15. Garnish it with freshly chopped coriander leaves. It is now ready to serve!

Makes: Enough for 4 servings
Takes: 30 minutes