Indian Veggie Balls (Malai Kofta)

By
Petrina Verma Sarkar
Petrina Verma Sarkar
Food writer Petrina Verma Sarkar is a native of India with extensive knowledge of the country's regional cuisines.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 07/8/21
Indian Veggie Balls (Malai Kofta)

The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn
Prep: 30 mins
Cook: 90 mins
Total: 2 hrs
Servings: 4 servings
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
2063 Calories
206g Fat
50g Carbs
16g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 2063
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 206g 264%
Saturated Fat 19g 96%
Cholesterol 29mg 10%
Sodium 927mg 40%
Total Carbohydrate 50g 18%
Dietary Fiber 9g 32%
Total Sugars 17g
Protein 16g
Vitamin C 48mg 241%
Calcium 337mg 26%
Iron 5mg 26%
Potassium 1375mg 29%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Malai kofta is a hugely popular dish on Indian restaurant menus all over the world. It is a special occasion food probably because making it is a labor of love and takes time and effort.

Malai (meaning creamy in Hindi) kofta is the perfect vegetarian alternative to meatballs. It goes very well with naan (tandoor-baked flatbread) or Jeera rice.

Ingredients

For the Koftas

  • 2 cups potatoes, peeled and diced

  • 1 cup cooked mixed vegetables

  • 1 cup diced paneer

  • 2 tablespoons heavy cream

  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin

  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander

  • 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder

  • Salt, to taste

  • 1/2 cup coarsely chopped nuts, such as almonds, walnuts, and cashews

  • 1/4 cup raisins, finely chopped

  • 3 cups vegetable oil

For the Sauce

  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

  • 2 large onions, quartered

  • 2 medium tomatoes, quartered

  • 2 tablespoons garlic paste

  • 1 tablespoon ginger paste

  • 2 teaspoons ground coriander

  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin

  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder

  • 1 teaspoon toasted poppy seeds, ground

  • 3 tablespoons nuts, such as cashews and almonds, ground into a paste

  • 1 cup warm water

  • Salt, to taste

  • 2 teaspoons garam masala

Steps to Make It

Make the Kofta

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for kofta

    The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  2. Wash, peel, and dice the potatoes.

    Wash and peel potatoes

    The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  3. Boil them in a pot of water until fork tender.

    Boil potatoes

    The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  4. Drain and set aside.

    drain the potatoes

    The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  5. Next, boil the veggies until crisp-tender.

    boil vegetables in a pot

    The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  6. Drain and set aside.

    drained boiled vegetables

    The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  7. In a large bowl, mash the boiled potatoes, mixed vegetables, paneer, and cream together.

    vegetables mashed together

    The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  8. Add the kofta spices - cumin, coriander, and red chili powder - to this mash and mix well. The resulting dough should be firm. If not add some more boiled potato. Season with salt.

    spiced vegetable mixture

    The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  9. In a small bowl, combine the chopped nuts and raisins.

    nuts and raisins in a bowl

    The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  10. Make this dough into balls and put a 1/2 teaspoon of the nut and raisin mix in the center of each ball.

    vegetable mixture wrapped around the nut mixture

    The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  11. Roll into perfect rounds.

    kofta balls

    The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  12. In a large pot, heat the oil kept aside to fry the koftas, on a medium flame.

    oil in a pot

    The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  13. Deep fry these rounds till pale golden in color.

    kofta frying in a pot

    The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  14. Drain on paper towels and keep aside.

    Indian Veggie Balls (Malai Kofta)

    The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

Make the Sauce

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for sauce

    The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  2. Heat the 3 tablespoons of oil in a deep pan and fry the onions till light brown.

    onions cooking in a pan

    The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  3. In a small food processor, place the fried onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, coriander, cumin, and red chili powder, and grind into a paste.

    place the fried onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, coriander, cumin, and red chili powder in a food processor

    The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  4. Put this paste back into the pan and fry till the oil begins to separate from the masala.

    spice paste cooking in a pot

    The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  5. Add the poppy seeds powder and nut paste and fry for another 2 to 3 minutes.

    sauce cooking in a pot

    The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  6. Add 1 cup of warm water (the sauce for this dish is meant to be thick so do not add too much water) to this masala to form a gravy. Mix well. Season with salt.

    add water to the sauce in the pot

    The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  7. Bring the gravy to a boil and then reduce the fire to a simmer.

    gravy cooking in a pot

    The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  8. Gently add the koftas to this gravy and cook uncovered for 2 to 3 minutes.

    kofta cooking in the sauce

    The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  9. Turn off the fire and sprinkle the garam masala all over the top of the dish.

    kofta cooking in the sauce

    The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  10. Cover immediately and allow to sit for 5 minutes.

    kofta and sauce cooking in a covered pot

    The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  11. Serve with hot naans (tandoor-baked leavened Indian flatbread) or jeera rice.

    Indian Veggie Balls (Malai Kofta)

    The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

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