Recipes

Malai Kofta Recipe

Published

3 years ago

January 5, 2023

Diaspora

Prep Time : 45 mins

Cook Time : 45 mins

Total Time : 1 hr 30 mins

Ingredients

For kofta

100 grams Paneer or 1 cup grated paneer (Indian cottage cheese)
2 potatoes – medium to large – 200 grams, boiled, peeled and grated
¼ teaspoon red chili powder
2 tablespoons cornflour (cornstarch) or tapioca starch
¼ teaspoon Garam Masala
3 tablespoons almond flour or 2 tablespoons milk powder or 3 tablespoons khoya (mawa or dried evaporated milk solids)
salt as required
oil for deep frying, as required, any high smoke point neutral oil

For stuffing kofta – optional

10 to 12 cashews
1 tablespoon raisins

For gravy

3 tablespoons oil – any neutral oil
½ cup onion paste or about 2 medium to large onions or 1 heaped cup chopped onions
2 teaspoons Ginger Garlic Paste or 1 inch ginger, 4 to 5 garlic cloves crushed in a mortar
1 cup Tomato Puree or about 2 medium to large tomatoes
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
¼ teaspoon fennel powder – optional
¼ teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder or ½ tsp cayenne or red chilli powder
1 teaspoon Coriander Powder
¼ teaspoon Garam Masala
6 to 7 tablespoons cashew paste – 12 to 15 cashews soaked in warm water for 30 minutes and blended to a smooth paste with 2 to 3 tbsp water
½ to 1 teaspoon sugar or as required
salt as required
2 cups water or add as required
1 teaspoon dry fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi)
2 tablespoons light cream or cooking cream or 1 tablespoon heavy or whipping cream – optional

Whole spices

1 tej patta (Indian bay leaf)
1 inch cinnamon
1 black cardamom – optional
2 green cardamoms
2 single strands of mace or a light pinch of ground mace powder
2 cloves

For garnish

1 to 2 tablespoons grated paneer (cottage cheese) – optional
1 or 2 tablespoons light cream or whipping cream – optional
2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves (cilantro) or some mint leaves sprigs

Instructions

Making paneer kofta

Mix all the ingredients mentioned under “For making paneer kofta” ingredient list except oil in a bowl.
Rinse with water if you prefer and finely chop 10 to 12 cashews and 1 tablespoon raisins. Set aside. This will be the sweet-tangy and crunchy stuffing for the kofta.
Make medium sized balls from the kofta mixture. If it feels sticky, rub some oil on your palms before shaping the kofta.
Flatten one kofta ball lightly with your palms on a chopping board or a rolling board. Place a small portion of the cashews and raisins stuffing on it.
Gently bringing the edges together, shape into a neat ball. Rub some oil in your palms while shaping. Make sure that the stuffing remains in the center of the kofta.
Fill and shape all the kofta in this manner.
Cover with a lid and set aside at room temperature or refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Making kofta gravy

Heat oil in a thick bottomed or heavy pan or skillet.
Add all the whole spices and fry for a few seconds or until the spices crackle and the oil becomes fragrant.
First add the onion paste. Stirring often sauté the onion paste until it becomes golden. To quicken the cooking of onions, add a few pinches of salt when you begin to sauté the paste.
When the onion paste has become golden, add the ginger-garlic paste and sauté for about ten seconds or until the raw aroma of the ginger and garlic goes away.
Add the tomato puree and sauté for 6 to 7 minutes on a low to medium-low heat.
Add turmeric powder, coriander powder, fennel powder, kashmiri red chili powder, garam masala powder.
Mix well and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes stirring often.
Add cashew paste. Mix well and sauté until the oil starts to leave the side of the masala paste.
This sautéing takes about 9 to 10 minutes on low to medium-low heat. You will see that the paste becomes lumpy and gathers around itself. It will also become slightly glossy with some oil releasing at the sides.
Then add sugar and salt as per taste.
Add water. Mix thoroughly with a spoon or wired whisk.
Simmer until the gravy begins to thicken. This takes about 8 to 10 minutes on a low to medium-low heat. The consistency of the gravy can be medium-thick to thick. When the gravy is cooked through, you will some oil specks on the top of the gravy.
Lastly add the crushed dry fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi) and cream.
Mix well and set the gravy aside. Check the taste and add more salt or sugar if needed.

Frying kofta

Heat oil in a frying pan or a wok (kadai).
Before shaping and frying the entire batch, check a small tiny piece of the paneer kofta in hot oil. If it does not break, then you can easily fry the remaining koftas.
If it does break, then add 1 to 2 tablespoons of cornflour (cornstarch) as a binder. Mix the binder in well, then shape into koftas.
The kofta should also come up swiftly yet gradually in the hot oil. This means the oil is hot enough for the kofta to be fried. If it browns too quickly, the oil is very hot and if the kofta remains at the bottom, the oil is warm.
Carefully add the paneer kofta to the hot oil, being careful not to spatter the oil. The oil should be medium hot and have a temperature of 180 to 190 degrees Celsius (356 to 374 degrees Fahrenheit).
When one side becomes golden, gently turn over with a slotted spoon and fry the second side. Fry turning over a couple of times until golden on both sides.
Remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined plate. Working in batches, fry all the paneer kofta this way and drain them on a paper napkin so that the extra oil is absorbed.

Serving malai kofta

If serving immediately, add the fried paneer kofta to the gravy in the pan.
Or if you want to serve it in a better way, take some of the gravy in a serving bowl. Place the kofta neatly on the gravy. Drizzle some cream or top with grated paneer. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves or mint leaves and serve.
If serving a few hours later, reheat the gravy until hot. If it looks very thick, add a bit of hot water. Warm the kofta in an oven at 120 degrees Celsius or 250 degrees Fahrenheit for some minutes. Place kofta on the gravy. Add the garnishes and serve.
Note that these paneer kofta are really soft. So if you add them to the gravy and serve them later, they will break. You have to serve them immediately as soon as you add them to the gravy.
Serve malai kofta hot or warm with roti, naan, steamed basmati rice or jeera rice.

Recipes

Vegetable Fried Rice Recipe

Published

1 year ago

October 1, 2024

Diaspora

Prep Time : 15 mins

Cook Time : 30 mins

Total Time : 45 mins

Ingredients

For cooking rice

1 cup basmati rice or long grained rice – 190 to 200 grams
4 to 4.5 cups water
½ teaspoon salt or add as required
2 to 3 drops toasted sesame oil or any neutral oil

Other ingredients

3 tablespoons oil – any neutral flavored oil
1 star anise
¾ to 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic or 3 to 4 small to medium garlic cloves
½ teaspoon finely chopped ginger or ½ inch ginger – optional
¼ cup chopped spring onion whites (scallions)
¼ cup finely chopped french beans
¼ cup finely chopped carrots
¼ to ½ cup finely chopped cabbage – optional
¼ cup chopped bell pepper or capsicum – red, green or yellow
1 cup chopped button mushrooms
1 tablespoon finely chopped celery – skip if you do not have
3 tablespoons soy sauce (naturally brewed) or tamari – can add as required
1 teaspoon rice wine or rice vinegar
½ teaspoon black pepper powder or add as required
2 tablespoons chopped spring onions greens
salt as required

Instructions

Cooking rice

Rinse rice very well till the water runs clear of starch. Soak rice in water for 30 mins. Drain and keep aside.
In a pot, bring water to a gentle boil with salt and 2 to 3 drops of toasted sesame oil.
Add the soaked and drained rice to the hot water.
On a low to medium to medium-high heat simmer rice without the lid.
When rice becomes al dente or just about cooked, remove the pot from the heat. Strain the rice in a colander or sieve.
You can also gently rinse cooked rice in water so that they stop cooking and don’t stick to each other. Cover the cooked rice and set aside until the rice cools completely. You can even refrigerate rice with a covered lid for 30 minutes.

Chopping veggies

When the cooked rice is cooling, chop the veggies finely and keep aside.
Remember to chop the french beans very finely. They take more time to cook than other veggies. You can also blanch them first and then cook. Another option is to add the beans first and then add the other vegetables.

Making fried rice

Heat oil in a wok or a pan. First add the star anise and fry for a few seconds or until the oil becomes fragrant.
Add the garlic, ginger and sauté for some seconds. No need to brown the garlic.
Add the spring onions whites and sauté for about 2 minutes.
Then add finely chopped french beans.
Stir fry french beans for 2 to 3 minutes over medium to medium-high heat.
Add the remaining finely chopped veggies, including mushrooms and celery. Increase the heat to a high to thoroughly cook all of the vegetables.
You have to continuously toss and stir while frying so that the veggies are uniformly cooked and do not get burnt.
The vegetables have to be stir-fried, until they are almost cooked and yet retain their crunchiness and crispiness. Stir-frying vegetables on high heat takes about 4 to 6 minutes.
Add the soy sauce, salt and pepper. Stir quickly and add cooked and cooled rice. Stir fry for a few minutes until the sauce has coated the rice well. Keep a check when adding salt, as soy sauce already has salt in it.
Serve the fried rice hot as it is or with with your favorite Chinese side.

Serving suggestions

Though fried rice tastes great on its own, you can pair it with Veg Manchurian, Gobi Manchurian, Chilli Paneer, Spring Rolls or Chilli Mushroom. More side recipes for veg fried rice are linked and listed in the main post.

Storing fried rice

Vegetable fried rice stays good for a couple of a days. But I would recommend it to be eaten as soon as you can since many days old rice is not good for health.

Recipes

Methi Matar Malai Recipe

Published

1 year ago

August 4, 2024

Diaspora

Prep Time : 10 mins

Cook Time : 20 mins

Total Time : 30 mins

Ingredients

For the paste

⅓ cup chopped onions or 1 medium-sized onion
¼ cup cashews – whole cashews
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon chopped garlic or 4 to 5 medium-sized garlic cloves
1 teaspoon chopped ginger or 1 inch ginger
1 teaspoon chopped green chilies or serrano peppers or 1 to 2 green chilies

Other ingredients

2 tablespoons oil or ghee
1 cup chopped fenugreek leaves (methi leaves)
½ cup water or the stock/water of boiled green peas – add as required
½ cup green peas – boiled or steamed
½ cup light cream or low-fat cream, check notes below for whipping or heavy cream
½ teaspoon sugar or add as required
salt as required

For garnish

1 to 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)
1 to 2 tablespoons green peas boiled or steamed – optional

Instructions

Preparing the ground paste

In a grinder jar or blender, add cumin seeds, chopped onions, cashews, garlic, ginger and green chilies.
Blend or grind to a smooth paste withput adding any water.
If you are not able to blend, then you can add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water.
For cooking the green peas, you can either boil them in a pan with 1.5 cups water for 7 to 8 minutes until tender or steam them in an Instant pot for 3 to 5 minutes adding about 1 to 1.25 cups water in the steel insert.
You can also boil the green peas in a stove-top pressure cooker for 5 to 6 minutes. Reserve ½ cup of the cooked water if you have boiled the peas.

Sautéing ground paste

Heat ghee (clarified butter) or oil in a pan or kadai.
When the ghee melts or becomes lightly hot, add the ground paste.
Sauté the paste for 6 to 7 minutes on a low heat until you see the fat separating from the sides.
Stir often when sautéing so that the paste does not stick to the pan. You should see fat releasing from the sides and the paste will also have a nice aroma.
You will see the paste coming together and becoming glossy. Do not brown the paste.
If the ground paste sticks to the pan or gets browned add a few splashes of water. Mix, deglaze and continue to sauté.

Making methi matar malai

Add in the chopped fenugreek leaves and sauté further for 2 to 3 minutes.
Then add ½ cup water or the stock/water in which the green peas were cooked in two parts. Mix thoroughly and simmer the gravy for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir at intervals.
Add the boiled peas and cream.
Simmer the gravy for 5 to 6 minutes on a low heat.
Finally add the sugar and salt. Mix again. At this step, you can opt to sprinkle 2 to 3 pinches of garam masala powder.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve methi matar malai hot or warm with naan, paratha or roti.

Recipes

Rava Idli | Suji ki Idli

Published

2 years ago

May 28, 2024

Diaspora

Prep Time : 35 mins

Cook Time : 12 mins

Total Time : 47 mins

Ingredients

For frying & roasting

2 tablespoons Ghee (clarified butter)
14 halved cashews
½ teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon chana dal (husked and split bengal gram or split & husked chickpeas)
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
10 curry leaves – chopped
1 pinch asafoetida – optional
1 teaspoon or 1 inch finely chopped ginger
1 green chilli – finely chopped

For batter

2 tablespoons finely grated carrots – optional
2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)
½ teaspoon salt or add as required
1 cup or 175 grams cup rava (sooji, semolina, cream of wheat)
½ cup Curd (yogurt)
½ to ¾ cup water or add as required
1 teaspoon eno (fruit salt) or ¼ teaspoon or 2 to 3 pinches of baking soda

Instructions

Frying & Roasting

Heat 2 tablespoons ghee in a pan. Keep the heat to low or medium-low. Add the halved cashews. Stirring often fry the cashews till golden. Remove fried cashews with a slotted spoon draining the ghee and keep aside.
To the same pan add mustard seeds and let them begin to splutter. Keep the heat to low or medium-low
When the mustard seeds begin to splutter add the chana dal. Stirring often fry chana dal till they look golden and crunchy. Then add the cumin seeds and fry for 4 to 5 seconds.
Now add the chopped curry leaves, asafoetida, finely chopped ginger and green chillies. Mix well and fry for 10 seconds. Keep the heat to a low.
Next add rava (cream of wheat, suji, semolina).
Mix well and stirring often roast the rava till they become aromatic, change color a bit (but should not get browned or golden) and the grains look separate. Roasting rava will takes about 5 to 7 minutes depending on the thickness and heaviness of the pan, and the flame intensity. Once the rava is well roasted, keep the pan aside. Let the rava become warm.

Making Batter

To the roasted rava, add 2 tablespoons finely grated carrots, 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves and ½ teaspoon salt or add as required.
Next add curd (yogurt) and water as required. Depending on the quality of rava and the thickness of curd, you can adjust the water from ½ to ¾ cup. If the curd is liquid and has whey in it, then add ½ cup water. If the curd is very thick, then add ¾ cup water. Basically you need to get a medium consistency batter.
Mix very well and let the batter rest covered for 20 minutes. The rava idli batter is neither thick nor thin in consistency and has a medium consistency.
Brush oil or ghee on the idli pan moulds. Place a fried halved cashew in the center of the moulds. Also heat 2 to 2.5 cups water in a pot. Keep a small length trivet stand or a rack in the pot. Heat the water till it comes to a boil.
After 20 minutes this is the consistency of the batter after resting. If in case the batter looks thick, rava idli batter looks thick, then add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water to get a medium consistency. Rava absorbs water and so the batter might thicken after 20 minutes. If the curd is thick, then also you may need to add more water. If you have added more water in the beginning, then you may not need to any water at this step.
Sprinkle 1 teaspoon eno or ¼ teaspoon baking soda evenly over the batter. Quickly mix very well.

Steaming

Pour the batter in the idli moulds. Place them in the pot with the hot water. Cover with a lid and steam rava idli for 10 to 12 minutes.
To check the doneness, a toothpick or wooden skewer inserted in the rava idli should come out clean. Remove the idli plates carefully and let them rest for 3 to 4 minutes. Then with a spoon remove the rava idli.
Serve the steaming hot rava idli with sambar and your favorite coconut chutney.