Paneer Kofta

I am quite fond fo kofte..an Indian preparation of food where small balls of the desired material is deep fried and then eaten along with a rich-creamy gravy. These kofte that you see in the pictures are made out of paneer, or cottage cheese. Generally many cooks prefer to stuff the paneer balls with finely chopped dry fruits like cashews, raisins and almonds - I personally feel that depends on how rich do you want your dish to be. So for me, the stuffing is generally optional.

The kofte are quite simple to prepare, the gravy requires a bit more of preparation:).

Paneer Kofta - Grate 250 g of soft fresh paneer (cottage cheese) along with 1 medium sized boiled potato. Season with salt and pepper/red chilli powder. Shape into elongated balls - use cream if required, and deep fry to get crisp golden kofte balls. If you want - stuff with either grated cheddar cheese, or even chopped dry fruits.

Gravy - Soak 10 odd cashews in water. Meanwhile fry some chopped onions, garlic and ginger in oil and keep aside to cool. Finely grind onion-garlic-ginger to a fine paste, and also the cashew. Next, keep oil in a kadhai, and pop some cumin seeds, cinnamon sticks and green cardamom pods. Add the onion and cashew paste and fry for a little while. Season with salt, red chilli powder or white pepper powder, and garam masala powder. Add water to get a thick rich gravy. Add the paneer balls/kofte and simmer gently. Garnish with fresh gren coriander and serve while hot. I like to have my kofta with buttery naans