Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Fusion - Malai Kofta with Chinese Rice Noodles

I made malai kofta over the weekend for a party and I just used the leftovers to make up malai kofta with chinese rice noodles for Meena's Hooked on Heat - Fusion theme. I was very skeptical of doing this but the end result was really good. I bought the Chinese rice noodles from an oriental store for 89 cents a package and it was a huge package as you can see in the picture below. I only made about 1/2 of the package and later realized that there were a LOT of noodles for the malai kofta I had. But no biggie, as I said I only paid 89 cents for the package. I did stow away the leftover noodles in the refrigerator but I am not sure if I would be able to use them again.

I am dividing this recipe up into different sections so it is easier to follow.

Warning:
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This recipe will make about 30-35 koftas. Please reduce/add the ingredients accordingly to your needs.

Malai Kofta Recipe

Masala
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  • 2 inch Indian cinnamon stick
  • 8 green caradamom pods
  • 8 cloves
  • 2 tsp black pepper corns
  • 1 tsp caraway seeds/shahjeera
  • 2 tbsp coriander seeds/dhaniya

Dry roast all the spices above and dry grind them. Set aside.

Sauce or Gravy for the koftas

Software
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  • 1 medium onion, diced fine
  • 2 cups tomato puree
  • 1 cup canned tomato paste
  • 1 cup khoya/ricotta cheese
  • 1 cup paneer crumbled
  • 1 cup cashewnuts, soaked in water
  • 1/4 cup Indian poppy seeds,dry roasted
  • 1 inch ginger root, minced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp nutmeg powder
  • 3/4 th of the masala powder above
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • red chili powder, to taste
  • salt, to taste
Hardware
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  • One wide saucepan
  • One food processor/blender
Method
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  • Wet grind the cashewsnuts, roasted poppy seeds, ricotta cheese and paneer. Keep aside.
  • Heat the saucepan on medium-high, add the butter and oil, add the onions. Fry till they are translucent.
  • Add the ginger and garlic, the tomatoes puree and the tomato paste and heat through until the raw smell of the tomatoes goes away.
  • Add the wet-ground paste above, stir, add the dry ground masala above, nutmeg, salt and stir. Add more water if necessary. Bring it to a boil.
  • Taste the gravy to see if red-chili powder is needed. If you want the gravy to have a little more spice, add some red chili powder.
Koftas


Hardware
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  • Baking sheet
  • Mixing bowl
Software
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  • 1 pound potatoes
  • 1 cup crumbled Paneer
  • 1 cup ricotta cheese
  • 1/2 cup cashenuts, coarsly chopped
  • 1/2 cup golden raisins, chopped into half
  • 1 inch ginger root, crushed to a paste
  • 3 cloves garlic, crushed to a paste
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 3-4 Indian green chilis chopped fine
  • 1 medium onion chopped fine
  • 1/4 th of the masala powder made above
  • 3 tbsp chopped cilantro
  • 3 tbsp chopped mint
Method
---------------
  • Boil the potatoes in water, peel and mash them completely.
  • Mix together the rest of the ingredients and make them into ping-pong sized balls.
  • Spray the baking sheet with cooking spray and arrange the kofta balls in a single layer.
  • Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 5-10 mins. Broil for a couple of minutes until tops are golden brown. Using a pair of tongs, turn the kofta balls so the bottom side is up and repeat the same. The second side will take a lot less time, so be careful.
  • Alternatively, you can deep fry the kofta balls in oil.
Bringing the kofta ball and the gravy together

About 10-15 minutes before serving add the hot gravy to the kofta balls. Garnish with a handful of chopped cilantro and chopped mint.

Serving Suggestion:This goes very well with paratha, chapathi, puri, rice, fried rice etc.

For the chinese rice noodles

Software
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  • Rice noodles, one half package
  • 2-3 springs of green onions, chopped
  • 2-3 eggs
  • 1/2 tsp blackpepper
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp of sesame seed oil
  • 1 tsp of any oil for the noodles
Hardware
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  • Sauce pan to boil the noodles
  • Colander
  • Non-stick fry pan
Method
---------------
  • Heat water in the sauce pan and bring it to a boil. Add the salt and the drop the noodles. Add the 1 tsp of oil. Check for doneness after about a couple of minutes because they cook very quickly. I cannot emphasize this enough :).
  • After the noodles are done, quickly drain them in a colander and rinse under cold water and drain. Fluff up the noodles, so they don't clump together. Drain completely.
  • Heat the skillet and put the 1 tbsp of sesame oil. Add the eggs and scramble them. Add the black pepper, soy sauce and half of the green onions.
  • Add the noodles and stir fry until the noodles are heated through completely.
To Serve
---------------

Plate up some noodles and add the malai kofta curry on top. Garnish with left over green onions.

Tips and Suggestions: If you do not have the sesame seed oil, just add any oil that you own. I love the sesame seed oil flavor in Chinese cooking.

5 comments:

sailu said...

Fusion foods are one of my favorites.I think I am going to try out your recipe which is interesting over the weekend.

Vineela said...

HI,
Koftas r looking YUMMY.
nice presentation luv2cook
I GOING TO TRY IT.
VINEELA

Luv2cook said...

Sailu, SH, Vineela:

Thank you. Please do let me know how it turns out.

Almond Bread Company said...

Malai Kofta looks delicious. I'm going to give it a try for my party. Thanks for the recipe.

Anonymous said...

Malai kofta looks great - thanks for the detailed instructions - will save for my next party !And also love the baking koftas idea - I am trying to fry as infrequently as possible!