A Brimful of Kofta
PLUS tips for deep fat frying
I love potato in all its forms, I love cheese in all its forms, and I love curry in all its forms, so logic dictates that Paneer Malai Kofta sends me wild. Potato and paneer dumplings fried, and then briefly simmered in a tomato and cashew gravy, rich with flavour from cardamom and fenugreek? Don’t mind if I do!!
I first got hooked on this dish when I lived in Melbourne at a place called Base Camp in Northcote, whose menu paid homage to the Baltis of Birmingham. It’s all the comforting things in one: soft, with just a little crunch, a rich curry sauce, and plenty of cream (malai) to cool off the chilli heat.
There are 2 things you need to know for Malai Kofta success. You need to make sure the oil is properly hot before you add the kofta to it, otherwise they can cool the oil down too much and fall apart to a horrid mess. In the same vein, don't try to fry the kofta from fridge cold if you’ve pre-prepared them. Bring them up to room temperature before frying.
Second, I’ve said it once and I’ll say it a thousand times: always soak your paneer in salted boiling water for about 30 minutes before you use it!! It makes such a difference, it’ll be as if you made the damn cheese yourself! It’s a crying shame when people cut and fry hard yellowed rocks of the stuff…
Let’s cook!
Paneer Malai Kofta
For Kofta
1 cup mashed potatoes
1 cup paneer
2 tbsp chopped coriander
½ tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp salt
1 green chilli, finely chopped
For Batter
2 tbsp plain flour
4 tbsp cold water
Sunflower/veg oil for frying (You’ll need at least 400ml)
For Gravy
2 tbsp veg/sunflower oil
2 black cardamom pods
2 green cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick (or a pinch of powder)
2 garlic cloves, finely grated/crushed
1 tbsp ginger, sliced
2 medium tomatoes
2 green chillis
40g cashews (about 3 tbsp)
⅛ tsp asafoetida
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp coriander powder
½ tsp turmeric
1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder (or more to taste)
¼ cup yogurt
½ tsp corn/gram flour
1 cup water
1 tsp tomato purée
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp kasoori methi leaves
½ tsp salt
½ tsp garam masala
2 handfuls of finely chopped coriander
Tbsp butter, to finish if you like
Soak your paneer in boiling salted water for 30 minutes or more. Remove from the water then crumble and mash with your mashed potatoes, finely sliced green chillies, finely chopped coriander, cumin seeds and salt. Knead into a soft dough until all the elements are well incorporated. Divide your dough into about 15 small balls, and roll between the palms of both your hands until they are pleasingly smooth and as formulaic as you like.
Now make your sauce. Blend the tomatoes with the cashews, green chillies and ginger in a bullet blender or with a hand blender, until they’re smooth. Put the yogurt into a small bowl and stir in the ½ tsp of corn/gram flour.
Heat your oil in a heavy based pan and add your cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, cumin seed and asafoetida. Add the coriander powder, turmeric, Kashmiri chilli powder and garlic and cook gently for 2 minutes or until you can smell it. Add the blended tomato mixture to the pan, along with the water and salt to season. Cook for 5 minutes until the mixture reduces and colours. The ground cashews really thicken things, so if you need to add more water: do.
Allow the sauce to cool and then slowly add some of it to the yogurt in its bowl, mixing to incorporate. Add that orange mixture back to the pan, then finish with crumbled kasoori methi, the garam masala, a tsp of sugar and any more salt if you would like. Taste for seasoning and leave to one side, off the heat. You can leave this sauce in the fridge for up to 2 days if making ahead.
When ready to eat, get your kofta balls ready. Make your batter by mixing 2 tbsp plain flour with the cold water and whisk until smooth. Test it’s runny with your finger, you just what it to be a thin coating - about the texture of double cream. Heat the frying oil to between ⅓ and ½ way up your pan (I usually use a wok for this, but use whatever pan you are most comfortable frying with). When the oil sizzles when you drop a drop of batter in, dip each ball of kofta into the batter, shake, and then carefully place into the hot oil. You will probably need to do this in 3-4 batches. Turn them occasionally and fry until they're golden brown all over. Drain each batch on kitchen towel.
Reheat the sauce then add the freshly fried koftas. If you need to thin the sauce add a touch more water. You can add a tbsp of butter here to make things extra-rich if you like.
Stir very gently so all the koftas are covered in the sauce and then garnish with finely chopped coriander and green chilli if you like. Drizzle a little cream over the curry. Enjoy!
Confessions of a Fry Cook…
As a general rule, deep fat frying is probably one of the more frightening ways to cook. But I’m not scared, and you shouldn’t be either!
The leftover oil and mess are just two things that put people off deep fat frying. So here are a few tips for those who love to eat fried food but can’t abide the faff… Hell yes you’re tuss enough!
DON’T OVERFILL YOUR WOK/FRYER. Once, when I worked at Taco Queen, I added a little too much oil into the deep fat fryer and proceeded to add poached gelified chicken wings to said fryer, which resulted in boiling oil overflowing all over the fridges/floor, and nearly me and my fellow cook. Luckily there were no flames in sight, but what I learnt from this experience was: only fill your wok/pan up to a ⅓ of the way with oil! When you add things to it, it will increase in volume, like when you get in a bath and the water goes higher. I’m sure you know this, but it bears repeating.
Only add your ingredients when you’re sure the oil is hot enough. Check it with a small crumb of bread or a drop of batter, it should be instantly surrounded in bubbles and sizzle. Otherwise, what you’re putting in (these kofta balls, say) will absorb too much of the oil and become soggy and disintegrate. They might even sink too, causing all sorts of trouble.
Fry in batches and don’t try to rush it. Enjoy the shimmering oil, enjoy the moment. You are in control. Keep an eye on the heat and if you feel it’s going too quickly, turn to medium. When you’re happy each batch is cooked, gently use a spider or slotted spoon to remove the items and allow as much oil as possible to drip back into the pan. Lay the fried goods on kitchen towel or paper in a metal dish or similar to soak up excess oil.
Keep the oil. I know what you’re thinking, that stuff’s gross! But, when all your batches are fried, you can strain and re-use the oil again up to 3 times, honest. Allow the oil to completely cool in the pan away from any open flames (perhaps while you eat). Once cold, drain it through a strainer into a clean glass jar for which you have a lid. Pop that into the fridge, and you’re a money saving mastermind.
Season the fried goods when just out the fryer so the seasoning sticks where it should!
And that, folks, is what I’ve learnt from my time behind the fryer.
I hope that was helpful.
Happy frying, my friends.