Shallow Fried Paneer Kofta Curry (No Fresh Cream)
A North Indian main course dish made with paneer and aloo kofta dipped in a spicy creamy gravy.This dish is best served with naan, poori, paratha, chapatti or even with plain rice or fried rice.
Ingredients
For making of paneer Kofta balls
- 200 gm potato 3 number
- 150 gm paneer homemade low fat paneer
- 1 green chilli finely chopped
- ½ tsp salt
- 5+1 tsp corn flour
- Oil for frying
For making gravy
- 1 tbsp oil
- 2 small sized onion chopped
- 3 medium sized tomato chopped
- 2 green chilli chopped
- 3-4 garlic clove
- 1 inch ginger piece
- 1 bay leaf tajpatta
- ½ tsp cumin seeds jeera
- 2 tsp coriander seeds dhania
- 4-5 black pepper whole
- 2 clove laung
- 1 inch cinnamon piece
- 1 green cardamom
- 2 tbsp broken cashew
- 1 tbsp watermelon seeds
For making curry
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp red chilli powder
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 2 tbsp fresh malai
- 2 tbsp milk
- 1 tbsp kasoori methi
Instructions
For making gravy
- In a saucepan, heat 1 tbsp oil. Add cumin seeds, coriander seeds, bay leaf, cardamom, clove, black pepper, cinnamon. Sauté them for 1 minute. Then add garlic, ginger and green chilli, sauté them for a minute.
- Now add onion and tomato, cover and cook it for 2-3 minutes. Add cashews and watermelon seeds, and ¼ cup of water. Cover and cook it for 2-3 minutes till the onion and tomato become soft. Switch off the flame. Let it cool.
- Now, grind the cooled gravy into a fine paste by adding some water to it.
For making paneer kofta
- In another bowl, grate boiled potato and paneer. Add green chilli, salt, and cornflour. Mix to make a dough that is soft but not too dry. Cornflour amount depends on the quality of potato and paneer. If paneer and potato is soft then you may need more or less otherwise.
- Dust your palm with little cornflour and make small balls out of the dough. Keep them aside.
- In a frying pan, heat oil. Once the oil is hot, lower the flame to a medium setting. Add few kofta balls at a time. Don't touch them in the first 2 minutes. Then flip them occasionally to fry them evenly.
- It will take around 4-5 minutes for each batch.
- Once done, remove from the oil and transfer to a plate. Keep it aside.
For making curry
- In a saucepan, add 1 tablespoon oil. Then add the ground paste, salt, red chilli powder and turmeric powder. Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Now in a bowl add 2 tbsp malai and 2 tbsp milk, blend them and add to the gravy. Cover and cook for another 2-3 minutes till it starts separating oil.
- Now add around ¾ cup of water and kasoori methi, cook till it starts boiling, simmer for 1-2 minutes and switch off the flame.
- Spread koftas in a serving tray, pour gravy on it and garnish with little fresh cream. Serve warm, ENJOY!
Video
Notes
1. Oil should be hot when add koftas in it. Koftas should be fried on medium heat to avoid breaking.
2. Paneer should be fresh and soft for making koftas. if you are using market bought paneer make sure it is fresh and soft.
3. The water from aloo and paneer should be drained well or we can wrap paneer in a blotting paper before making koftas.
4. Gravy should be little cool down before adding kofta in it.
5. For making gravy rich i have used water melon seed and cashews. You can also add kishmish if you like sweeter taste. Almonds can also be used in place of cashews.
6. Avoid adding a lot of cornflour or maida that will make the koftas hard.