Oriental malai kofta recipe (creamy meatballs)

October 31, 2022

This malai kofta recipe is particularly creamy and incredibly delicious! It is also super easy to prepare, using ingredients that you can find in any supermarket. It’s best to try it yourself and see for yourself 🙂

With this Malai Kofta recipe, you have conjured up a great dish for yourself and your loved ones with very little effort! Before we get to the recipe, I would like to give you some important information about this dish.

What does Malai Kofta mean?

Malai means creamy. The creamy consistency of the sauce is achieved by the cashew nuts in it. If you don’t like cashews, you can also use coconut milk.

Kofta means something like balls. In Indian and Pakistani cuisine, there are many different types of kofta: aloo kofta (potato balls), paneer kofta (cheese balls) or, as here, keema kofta (minced meat balls).

What ingredients for the malai kofta recipe?

For this recipe, I used 100% minced beef and seasoned it with paprika and chili powder as well as my homemade garam masala . Sn Pakistani and Indian cuisine, chickpea flour is often used to bind the meatballs instead of eggs. This gives this malai kofta recipe a very special taste. Chickpea flour is available in almost every supermarket these days. If you don’t have chickpea flour, you can of course also use an egg to bind the flour. That’s up to you.

The base for the sauce here consists of onions, garlic, ginger and tomatoes. Spices such as garam masala, turmeric and coriander powder provide an extra kick. The special thing about the sauce is that it is incredibly creamy, and that’s only thanks to the soaked cashew nuts! This also gives the sauce a particularly creamy taste – a real dream dish!

What goes well with malai kofta recipe?

I recommend naan bread, roti or white basmati rice as a side dish for malai kofta.

Ingredients for Malai Kofta

500g minced beef
80-100 g chickpea flour
80-100 g breadcrumbs
1 onion – medium sized pureed
1 bunch parsley – chopped
1 tsp garam masala
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 tsp salt

Sauce

1 onion – long strips or diced
4 cloves garlic
2-3 cm ginger
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
Salt – to taste
Pepper – to taste
2-3 medium-sized tomatoes (diced)
50g cashew nuts
Water

Other:

fresh coriander
some cream or coconut milk for decoration
Lemon
1 red onion

Preparation:

Soak the cashew nuts in lukewarm water for approx. 10-20 minutes. Peel the garlic and ginger and pound to a paste in a mortar (alternatively chop finely)
Place all the ingredients for the kofta balls in a bowl and mix well.
Lightly moisten your hands with water and form small balls (as smooth as possible).
Fry the meatballs until golden brown, remove from the pan and set aside for later (they may still be a little raw on the inside).
In the same pan, sauté the onions over a medium heat.
Add the garlic and ginger paste and the spices and fry briefly.
Deglaze with tomatoes and water (approx. 150ml).
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Cover and simmer over a medium heat for approx. 5 minutes until the tomatoes are soft.
Meanwhile, mix the cashew nuts with a little water to form a paste.
Puree the sauce with a hand blender until creamy and add the cashew paste.
If the sauce seems too thick, dilute with a little water at this point.
Season to taste with salt and pepper and add the koftas to the sauce.
Simmer with the lid closed on a medium heat for approx. 5-7 minutes.
Serve with fresh coriander and lemon juice.

Tips and comments?

I definitely recommend seasoning to taste with salt and pepper before forming the meatballs and adjusting to taste if necessary.
When frying, they should be crispy on the outside and still slightly raw on the inside, as they will be cooked in the sauce later.
Instead of making your own cashew paste, you can also use 1-2 tablespoons of cashew butter from the supermarket.

Video about the Malai Kofta

@shibaskitchen MALAI KOFTA. The full recipe on my homepage. Link in profile #ramadanrecipes #malaikofta #koftarecepie #fyp #simplerecipes #pakistani food #indian food #minced meat recipes #minced meatballs ♬ Italian Dinner Party - Italian Restaurant Music of Italy

What do you think of Malai Kofta?

If you have tried the recipe, I would be very interested in your opinion. Just leave me a comment below or let me know what you think of this recipe on Instagram. I’m always happy to receive praise, more tips and friendly criticism.

Best regards

Oriental malai kofta recipe

4.95 from 17 votes

This malai kofta recipe is particularly creamy and incredibly delicious! It's also super easy to prepare, with ingredients that you can find in any supermarket - it's best to try it out yourself and see for yourself 🙂

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 25

Total Time 45

Servings: 4 People

Course: Main course

Cuisine: Afghanistan, India, Pakistan

Calories: 549

Ingredients Equipment Method Nutrition Notes

Ingredients

For the meatballs:

500 g Minced beef
80-100 g Chickpea flour
80-100 g Breadcrumbs
1 medium-sized onion pureed (alternatively finely chopped)
1 Covenant Parsley chopped
1 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp Paprika powder
1,5 tsp Chili powder
1 tsp salt

For the sauce:

1 Onion elongated strips or diced
4 Garlic cloves
2-3 cm Piece of ginger
½ tsp Turmeric
1 tsp Coriander powder
1 tsp Chili powder
½ tsp Garam Masala
Salt & pepper to taste
2-3 medium-sized tomato diced
50 g Cashew nuts

Equipment

1 kleiner Mixer Foodprocessor

Method

Soak the cashew nuts in lukewarm water for approx. 10-20 minutes. Peel the garlic and ginger and pound to a paste in a mortar (alternatively chop finely)
Place all the ingredients for the meatballs in a bowl and mix well.
Lightly moisten your hands with water and form small balls (as smooth as possible).
Fry the meatballs until golden brown, remove from the pan and set aside for later (they may still be a little raw on the inside).
In the same pan, sauté the onions over a medium heat.
Add the garlic and ginger paste and the spices and fry briefly.
Deglaze with tomatoes and water (approx. 150ml).
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Cover and simmer over a medium heat for approx. 5 minutes until the tomatoes are soft.
Meanwhile, mix the cashew nuts with a little water to form a paste.
Puree the onion and tomato sauce with a hand blender until creamy and add the cashew paste.
If the sauce seems too thick, dilute with a little water at this point.
Season to taste with salt and pepper and add the koftas to the sauce.
Simmer with the lid closed on a medium heat for approx. 5-7 minutes.
Serve with fresh coriander and lemon juice.

Nutrition

Calories: 549kcalCarbohydrates: 31gProtein: 31gFat: 33gSaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 89mgSodium: 353mgPotassium: 656mgFiber: 4gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 355IUVitamin C: 0.3mgCalcium: 76mgIron: 5mg

Notes

I definitely recommend seasoning to taste with salt and pepper before forming the meatballs and adjusting to taste if necessary.
When frying, they should be crispy on the outside and still slightly raw on the inside, as they will be cooked in the sauce later.
Instead of making your own cashew paste, you can also use 1-2 tablespoons of cashew butter from the supermarket.

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Hi, I’m Shiba

I’m glad you’re here. My dishes are very much inspired by the cooking skills of my mother, who comes from Pakistan. I also present Palestinian dishes that I learned about from my husband’s family. So you’ll find lots of dishes from 1001 nights here!

I hope you enjoy browsing and cooking.

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