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Malai Kofta Recipe-How to make Malai Kofta (Restaurant Style)

March 25, 2013 by PadhuSankar 58 Comments

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Malai Kofta is a classic North Indian dish originated from the Mughlai cuisine. Malai refers to the cream and  koftas are deep fried paneer and vegetable dumplings in rich and creamy tomato gravy. It is a rich dish perfect for parties and special occasions. It goes well with chapati, naan, jeera rice, all pulaos and parathas. Today we will learn how to make malai kofta following this very simple recipe.

 

Malai Kofta

Watch the video of Making Malai Kofta in Paniyaram Pan/Appe Pan

How to make Malai Kofta Gravy
Serves: 4

Ingredients needed

Ingredients needed to prepare koftas (deep fry method)
Yields -9-11 koftas (depending on size)

Potato -2 or 1/2 cup boiled and mashed
Mixed vegetables – 1/2 cup (carrot, beans,peas)
Paneer/ cottage cheese – 1/2 cup

Green chillies -1 finely chopped
Coriander powder -2 tsp
Cumin powder -1 tsp
Red chilli powder -3/4 tsp
Cashew nuts -1 tbsp (finely chopped)
Coriander leaves – 2 tbsp finely chopped
Cornflour – 3/4 tsp
Salt as needed

Cornflour for rolling the koftas
Oil for frying koftas

Ingredients needed for the sauce

Oil -2 tbsp
Onion -1 big
Ginger-garlic paste -1 tsp
Tomatoes -3
Turmeric powder -1/4 tsp
Cumin powder/jeera powder -1 tsp
Coriander powder – 2 tsp
Red chilli powder – 3/4 tsp
Salt as needed

Dairy Cream -1/4 cup
Cashewnut – 1 tbsp coarsely powdered
Garam masala powder – 1/2 tsp

For the seasoning

Oil – 1 tbsp
Butter – 1 tbsp
Shah jeera/Caraway Seeds -3/4 tsp

 

Malai Kofta Recipe

Preparation

Boil vegetables or pressure cook vegetables for 2 whistles. I kept beans, carrot and peas in a vessel without water, closed it with a lid and kept potatoes on top and pressure cooked for 2 whistles. In this method there is less moisture in the vegetables. (Don’t forget to add water in the pressure cooker).Whichever method you follow, put the vegetables in a muslin cloth and squeeze out all excess water. You can use that water for the gravy later. Drain the water from the potatoes immediately after cooking.

Grate paneer and keep it ready.

boiling veggies for kofta

Method 

In a bowl, mix together grated paneer, mashed potatoes, vegetables, finely chopped green chillies, coriander powder, chilli powder, cumin powder, finely chopped coriander leaves, chopped nuts, 3/4 tsp cornflour and salt needed. Mix well.

Divide the mixture equally and make balls.

kofta balls
Roll the balls in cornflour. This is done to absorb any moisture left.

Heat oil and fry the koftas in batches on medium heat until golden brown.

frying koftas

Remove from oil and drain them on a paper towel. Now the koftas are ready. Keep it aside.

Now we will prepare the sauce-

Heat 2 tbsp of oil, fry chopped onions until golden brown. Add salt to speed up the process. Saute continuously for even browning.

How to prepare malai kofta

Add ginger garlic paste and saute for a few more minutes.

sauteing onions

Add chopped tomatoes, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and cook until tomatoes become mushy. Do not add water. If it is too dry, add just 1 or 2 tbsp of water. Allow it to cool. Add salt required. (remember we already added salt to the onions)

Once it cools, blend it to a fine paste.

how to prepare malai kofta

Now heat oil+butter in a kadai again, add shah jeera, when it splutters, add the ground paste and cook for a few minutes.

Add 1 cup of water, cream, cashew nut powder and bring it to boil on low flame.

Add the koftas gently and switch off the flame.(add koftas only at the time of serving)

Sprinkle garam masala and finely chopped coriander leaves.

how to make malai kofta gravy

Serve hot with jeera pulao or chapati or naan.

Recipe Card For Malai Kofta 
5 from 2 votes
Malai Kofta
Print
Malai Kofta Recipe
Prep Time
30 mins
Cook Time
25 mins
Total Time
55 mins
 

Malai Kofta is a classic rich and creamy North Indian dish originated from the Mughlai cuisine. Malai refers to the cream and koftas are deep fried paneer and vegetable dumplings.It is a rich dish perfect for parties and special occasions. It goes well with chapati, naan, jeera rice, ghee rice, all pulaos and parathas.

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: North Indian
Keyword: Malai Kofta
Servings: 4 persons
Ingredients
Ingredients needed
Ingredients needed to prepare Koftas
  • 2 Potato boiled and mashed
  • 1/2 cup Mixed vegetables (carrot, beans,peas)
  • 1/2 cup Paneer/ cottage cheese grated
  • 1 Green chillies finely chopped
  • 2 tsp Coriander powder
  • 1 tsp Cumin powder
  • 3/4 tsp Red chilli powder (or as needed)
  • 1 tbsp Cashew nuts (finely chopped or coarsely ground)
  • 2 tbsp Coriander leaves finely chopped
  • 3/4 tsp Cornflour
  • Salt as needed
  • Cornflour for rolling the koftas
  • Oil for frying koftas
Ingredients needed for the sauce
  • 2 tbsp Oil
  • 1 Onion big
  • 1 tsp Ginger-garlic paste
  • 3 Tomatoes
  • 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp Cumin powder/jeera powder
  • 2 tsp Coriander powder
  • 3/4 tsp Red chilli powder or as needed
  • Salt as needed
  • 1/4 cup Dairy Cream
  • 1 tbsp Cashew nut
  • 1/2 tsp Garam masala powder
For the seasoning
  • 1 tbsp Oil
  • 1 tbsp Butter
  • 1 tsp Shah jeera/Caraway Seeds
Instructions
Preparation
  1. Boil vegetables or pressure cook vegetables for 2 whistles. I kept beans, carrot and peas in a vessel without water, closed it with a lid and kept potatoes on top and pressure cooked for 2 whistles. In this method there is less moisture in the vegetables. (Don’t forget to add water in the pressure cooker).Whichever method you follow, put the vegetables in a muslin cloth and squeeze out all excess water. You can use that water for the gravy later. Drain the water from the potatoes immediately after cooking.

  2. Grate paneer and keep it ready.

Method
  1. In a bowl, mix together grated paneer, mashed potatoes, vegetables, finely chopped green chillies, coriander powder, chilli powder, cumin powder, finely chopped coriander leaves, chopped nuts, 3/4 tsp cornflour and salt needed. Mix well.

  2. Divide the mixture equally and make balls.

  3. Roll the balls in cornflour. This is done to absorb any moisture left.

  4. Heat oil and fry the koftas in batches on medium heat until golden brown.

  5. Remove from oil and drain them on a paper towel. Now the koftas are ready. Keep it aside.

Now we will prepare the sauce-
  1. Heat 2 tbsp of oil, fry chopped onions until golden brown. Add salt to speed up the process. Saute continuously for even browning.

  2. Add ginger garlic paste and saute for a few more minutes.

  3. Add chopped tomatoes, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and cook until tomatoes become mushy. Do not add water. If it is too dry, add just 1 or 2 tbsp of water. Allow it to cool. Add salt required. (remember we already added salt to the onions)

  4. Once it cools, blend it to a fine paste.

How to prepare malai kofta gravy
  1. Now heat oil + butter in a kadai, add shah jeera, when it splutters, add the ground paste and cook for a few minutes.

  2. Add 1 cup of water, cream, cashew nut powder and bring it to boil on low flame.

  3. Add the koftas gently and switch off the flame.(add koftas only at the time of serving)

  4. Sprinkle garam masala and finely chopped coriander leaves.

Recipe Notes

Serve hot with jeera pulao or chapati or naan.

Note - In the video, koftas are prepared in paniyaram pan/ appe pan. You can follow that also. 

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Filed Under: Side dish, Side Dish For Chapati, Uncategorized, Video Recipe Tagged With: Mixed vegetables, Paneer, Punjabi Recipes, Uncategorized




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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kurryleaves

    March 25, 2013 at 1:32 pm

    Malai kofta looks creamy and delicious…im sure it tasted great too….

    Reply
  2. Madhavi K

    March 25, 2013 at 2:00 pm

    Looks very good Paddu and fairly easy. I never tried make this at home. Feel like trying after seeing yours.

    Reply
  3. AparnaRajeshkumar

    March 25, 2013 at 2:10 pm

    wonderful photos ! lovely recipe !

    Reply
  4. jai kavitha

    March 25, 2013 at 2:14 pm

    wow yummy recipe lookg great tomorrow i will try surely

    Reply
  5. Laxmi

    March 25, 2013 at 2:14 pm

    lovely.. nice clicks.. 🙂

    Reply
  6. Vijayalakshmi Dharmaraj

    March 25, 2013 at 3:03 pm

    very yummy dear…

    Reply
  7. Gayathri Ramanan

    March 25, 2013 at 4:30 pm

    yummy dish…looks tempting…nice clicks too

    Reply
  8. Maayeka

    March 25, 2013 at 4:41 pm

    so creamy and perfectly done..wonderful recipe of malai kofta!

    Reply
  9. Suja Manoj

    March 25, 2013 at 6:07 pm

    Beautiful clicks,rich and yummy curry

    Reply
  10. divya

    March 25, 2013 at 8:11 pm

    Makes me drool..tempting

    Reply
  11. Divya Shivaraman

    March 25, 2013 at 9:15 pm

    so inviting and lovely clicks……try toasting them in paniyara kal instead of frying da…it works well too

    Reply
  12. Priya Suresh

    March 25, 2013 at 11:33 pm

    Very rich and flavourful dish..Who can resist to it.

    Reply
  13. ps

    March 26, 2013 at 5:37 am

    very yummy…….

    Reply
  14. Chitz

    March 26, 2013 at 7:38 am

    Awesome clicks.. Kofta & the curry looks very tempting 🙂

    Reply
  15. faiza kader

    March 26, 2013 at 9:12 am

    Very delicious

    Reply
  16. Sona - Quick Picks

    March 26, 2013 at 4:24 pm

    very tempting bowl and loved the creamy rich texture

    Reply
  17. Saranya Balaji

    March 27, 2013 at 9:49 am

    Beautiful clicks and lovely presentation…curry looks delicious

    Reply
  18. UndeniablyBlah

    April 2, 2013 at 1:43 pm

    It's such a celebratory dish, perfect for a Friday night or Sunday lunch! Definitely intend on trying it this week 😀 Thanks!!

    Reply
  19. Saravanan V R

    April 4, 2013 at 10:01 am

    Dear padhu, thanks for ur posts, i need parotta recipe,kindly post the same.

    Reply
  20. Toshi

    May 16, 2013 at 1:29 pm

    I tried n its awsome in taste..thnx 4 sharing….

    Reply
  21. saranya gopalan

    May 20, 2013 at 7:21 am

    Padhu, each and every post is awesome… The taste is so perfect… Lovely presentation.. 😀

    Reply
  22. angel antelina

    June 30, 2013 at 11:20 am

    super job u have done posting such wonderful dishes

    Reply
  23. Daisy Bandha

    August 6, 2013 at 1:57 pm

    Hi
    Right now…I m trying your recipe for dinner todsy….tomorrow I will surely give you the feed back….I must say..the way u have shown pictures at every step is appreciating

    Reply
  24. sush arun

    August 6, 2013 at 5:08 pm

    rich n yummy curry dear……..

    Reply
  25. ritika sharma

    October 2, 2013 at 5:54 pm

    what is this ground paste????????

    Reply
  26. Padhu Sankar

    October 3, 2013 at 12:48 pm

    Ritika sharma -Did you not read the line before that. Kindly read the whole recipe carefully. Ground paste is that onion + tomato paste.

    Reply
  27. swarna a

    October 4, 2013 at 3:16 pm

    Recipe looks yummy n sounds easy..will try for my dinner evening next Saturday….

    Reply
  28. Rikky Kochhar

    October 17, 2013 at 12:59 am

    I found this receipe so easy to follow and it taste so good..Thanks for sharing it with us

    Reply
  29. Valeria Level

    October 21, 2013 at 10:35 pm

    i am planning to cater a party that is about 30 mins away. are the koftas able to hold up during transport?

    Reply
  30. Padhu Sankar

    October 22, 2013 at 2:23 pm

    Valeria Level – That is not a problem at all. The koftas will retain its shape.Take it separately, add it to the gravy at the time for serving and reheat the gravy.

    Reply
  31. Pranathi Aedla

    October 28, 2013 at 7:53 pm

    Made it last week. Came out very nicely. Thank you for sharing the recipe.

    Reply
  32. Parmeshwar

    November 4, 2013 at 12:46 am

    Turned out OK…I had sour cream handy and added this. We have to be careful with tomato puree…can make the thing sour.

    Reply
  33. shveta agarwal

    November 4, 2013 at 5:39 am

    Do we require to add some malai or oil to koftas dough

    Reply
  34. Padhu Sankar

    November 4, 2013 at 8:50 am

    Shveta – No need to add oil or malai to the koftas. I think I have explained it very clearly. Kindly read the paragraph after method.You have to add only grated paneer.

    Reply
  35. ramandeep pawar

    December 17, 2013 at 4:21 pm

    Its very easy to cook n tasty too thank you sir for this recipe

    Reply
  36. ramandeep pawar

    December 17, 2013 at 4:52 pm

    Today I tried this recipe its very easy to cook and tasty too Thank you so much

    Reply
  37. Pankaj Prakash

    December 27, 2013 at 8:26 am

    Nice and easy recipe.. sure I am going to try today..
    Thanks.

    Reply
  38. Tapan Kumar

    January 19, 2014 at 3:11 am

    i tried it and it blended fantastic in the true indian aromatic cuisine… it was too easy to explore wid ur easy to cook recipes… thanx

    Reply
  39. Lalitha

    January 21, 2014 at 6:49 am

    Hi Padhu! Your recipe looks yummy!! Planning to give it a try. Can I substitute yellow corn flour instead of white? Will it make and difference?

    Reply
    • Padhu Sankar

      January 22, 2014 at 7:07 am

      The texture of the yellow will be coarser. White cornmeal is finer than yellow cornmeal.I think you can substitute the yellow for the white but I have not tried it.

      Reply
  40. Jean Putcha

    January 27, 2014 at 6:10 pm

    Nice, clear directions, thank you for the recipe! I plan on making them tonight!

    Reply
  41. sweety dixit

    January 28, 2014 at 12:36 pm

    Very nice and tasty ecipe…..its very easy to cook too. Surly i"ll try it very soon same like as your method..i hope it will make with a yummy taste. Thanks for sharing this..

    Reply
  42. Prarthana Mahesh

    January 29, 2014 at 10:36 am

    can you teach us how to prepare donuts?

    Reply
  43. Suhanya Sivasubramaniyam

    June 23, 2014 at 2:32 pm

    Hi padhu.. Wat do I do if cream is unavailable ??

    Reply
    • Padhu Sankar

      July 9, 2014 at 7:04 am

      Cream gives richness to the gravy. If you cannot get it, skip it.

      Reply
  44. Malini Shanmugam

    September 4, 2014 at 12:58 pm

    Hi padhu…do u mean diary cream as fresh cream.

    Reply
    • Padhu Sankar

      September 5, 2014 at 4:44 am

      Yes, you get amul fresh cream

      Reply
  45. Vaths

    February 9, 2015 at 1:59 am

    Thanks for sharing the recipe. First attempt turned out ultra delicious.

    Reply
  46. yasmin banu

    November 25, 2015 at 2:34 am

    Very nice gravy…

    Reply
  47. Madhu Priyanka

    December 13, 2015 at 11:36 am

    Am a die hard fan of ur blog.. Really u r dng a grt job mam.. And I tried malai kofta for a dinner and it turned out really well..my hubby loved it a lot and he asked me to prepare it for lunch one day to share with his friends.. I remember that u have told kofta should b added to the gravy at d tym of serving but wat I thought is if I keep koftas separately then at lunch time they will combine with gravy but koftas will not take in d taste of d gravy so I just put d koftas in d gravy n packed.. But it dissolve in d gravy and ma hubby said it not tastes good like wat v had fa dinner. Then how can v pack for lunch mam?? Can u pls ?reply all in our family fond of this kofta recipes.. Ur reply will help me a lot

    Reply
    • Padhu Sankar

      December 14, 2015 at 9:26 am

      Thank you Madhu for liking my blog and recipes. If you pack koftas for lunch, it will definitely break. You should pour hot gravy on the koftas only 10-15 minutes before serving.

      Reply
  48. sai maa

    January 1, 2016 at 7:18 am

    Very delicious nice recipie thanks

    Reply
  49. Vidya Sindhu

    September 22, 2016 at 5:49 pm

    Can I add cream cheese spread which is made with fresh Milk and real cream ?because I don't have dairy cream

    Reply
    • Padhu Sankar

      September 24, 2016 at 6:28 am

      I am not sure. I don't think it will work out.

      Reply
  50. Elise deSomer

    September 22, 2016 at 9:22 pm

    Excellent recipe. Thank you!

    Reply
  51. Zyanya

    November 5, 2016 at 2:52 am

    This was excellent, thank you! I pureed the kofta dough in a food processor and used extra paneer. The result was a very smooth dough and very soft and yummy! It also made perfectly round balls because the dough was so smooth. Followed the recipe very closely and it came out great, thanks so much!

    Reply
  52. Victor Murat

    February 17, 2017 at 5:28 am

    I used your Malai Kofta recipe to make an Indian dish for the first time and it was so rewarding. All my friends absolutely loved it.
    There are a lot of ingredients but I'm sure these will be used again in future recipes. I also like the way you set out your page, the photos gives me confidence in what I'm doing.
    Thank you from Australia.

    Reply
  53. Padma Siva

    April 23, 2018 at 3:56 pm

    I am a big fan of your blog and prepare many recipes. Recipes alongwith step by step photos are very helpful and awesome. Today I prepared Malai Kofta and it was fantastic .My family people enjoyed it. Thank you.

    Reply
5 from 2 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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Meet Padhu, the Chef, the photographer, recipe developer and web designer behind Padhuskitchen which features Simple Indian Vegetarian recipes, healthy recipes, kids friendly recipes, Indian festival recipes, traditional South Indian Vegetarian ...

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