Paneer Koftas in Creamy Saffron Gravy

Paneer Koftas in Creamy Saffron Gravy

"When the trees their summer splendour
Change to raiment red and gold,
When the summer moon turns mellow,
And the nights are getting cold;
When the squirrels hide their acorns,
And the woodchucks disappear;
Then we know that it is autumn,
Loveliest season of the year."
- Charlotte L. Riser

It’s fall now as I write this. While walking back to home I noticed the change around me. There is nip in the air, colourful leaves are floating around, the dusk is rapidly approaching on the once bright and blue sky, birds are chirping the last of summer’s song… Summer has come to an end… A wave of nostalgia hit me as I carefully folded my summer dresses and strappy sandals and removed my tall boots and long coat from cupboard. I am going to miss bright sunny spells on my face, lazy weekend afternoon’s BBQ with friends, wearing flowing summer dresses, biting greedily the big crescent of watermelon, licking the ice cream melting down my arm… But the changing colours of leaves thrills me thinking of celebrating Diwali and Christmas with friends and family, smell of apple and pumpkin pie baking in oven, sipping a hot bowl of soup, curling with loved one sitting close to fireplace… Autumn is the season of transition, a season where change is brought before all our senses. How beautifully the leaves grow old!!! Its pleasure to watch fruit trees lavishing their hues on fruits when other trees lavish upon their trees makes me merry. I feel like a Queen when I tread upon carpets of gold and crimson, of brown and bronze leaves, woven by the winds and rains while we slept… I welcome autumn the way I feel, with Paneer Kofta in Creamy Saffron Sauce. Royal and bursting with autumn colour… A dish fit for royalties…

The word kofta is derived from Persian kūfta. In Persian, کوفتن (Kuftan) means "to beat" or "to grind" or meatball. (Source: Wiki) In vegetarian versions of koftas different vegetables like Potato, Cabbage, Beetroots, Spinach, Paneer etc are minced and mixed with different spices. These spicy vegetable balls are then deep fried or grilled or baked and then served with rich creamy, spicy and aromatic gravy.

Unlike vegetables koftas, panner koftas have creamy texture. Grated paneer is added with vegetables of our choice and spices and then deep fried. When deep fried or baked, they are golden and crisp and have rich melt-in-mouth taste. These Koftas are then served with creamy gravy of onion and tomatoes and a pinch of saffron to give it a rich look and flavor. I used fresh homemade Paneer to make this koftes and don’t hesitate to use store bought Paneer if you don’t have homemade ones in hand. This is my contribution to lovely Sunita's Think Spice: Think Saffron event. I am also sending these koftas to Margot of Coffee & Vanilla who is hosting Vegetarian Awareness Month.

Print This Recipe

---

Paneer Koftas in Creamy Saffron Gravy
Prep Time: 30 mins
Cooking Time: 20-30 mins
Serves: 4-5 People

---

Ingredients:

For Koftas:
2 cups Paneer, crumbled or grated
2 medium Potatoes, boiled, peeled and mashed
½ cup Green Peas
1 small Carrot, grated or very finely chopped
5-6 French Beans, finely chopped
1 tsp Garam Masala
½ tsp Kitchen King Masala
3-4 tbsp Corn Flour
2 tbsp Cashew, chopped (Optional)
Oil for deep frying
Salt to taste

Koftas before deep frying

For Gravy:

2 medium Onions, finely chopped
4 large Tomatoes/1 can Tomatoes
8-10 Cashews
2 flakes Garlic, finely chopped
1 inch Ginger, crushed and finely chopped
1 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp Kitchen King Masala
½ tsp Jeera/Cumin Powder, roasted and powdered
½ tsp Coriander Powder, roasted and powdered
½ tsp Kashmiri Chilli Powder
¼ tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tbsp Kasuri Methi
¼ cup Fresh Cream
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
1 inch Cinnamon Stick
2 Green Cardamon
2 Cloves
1 Bay Leaf
A big pinch of Saffron, soaked in 2 tbsp warm milk
1 tbsp Oil/Ghee
2 tbsp Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
Salt to taste

Koftas after deep frying

Method:
For Gravy:
Make a plus mark on tomatoes and blanch them in boiling water for about 3 minutes and peel their skin.
Grind these tomatoes with cashews, jeera powder, coriander powder, garam masala, kitchen king masala, chilli powder and turmeric powder to smooth paste without adding any water.
Heat oil in a pan and add cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom and bay leaf and sauté it for a minutes on medium flame till you get nice aroma.
Add jeera and when it starts to sizzle add finely chopped onion, kasuri methi, garlic and ginger. Sauté them till onion turns golden brown.
To this add tomato paste, ½ cup of water and salt to taste and cook for 5-7 minutes.
Now mix saffron soaked in warm milk and fresh cream and cook for further 10-15 minutes over a low flame.
Switch off the flame and mix in finely chopped coriander leaves and keep it aside.

Paneer Koftas in Creamy Saffron Gravy

For Koftas:
Take finely chopped carrot, beans and green peas in a microwave safe bowl and cook for 3 minutes or steam cook them for 5 minutes.
Add them with finely mashed potatoes and grated paneer.
Add chopped cashews, garam masala, kitchen king masala, salt to taste and corn flour and mix them well using your hands. The consistency should be as that of chapatti dough to prevent it from breaking while deep frying.
Make small lemon sized balls and deep fry them in batches in hot oil at slow-medium flame till they turn golden brown and crisp from outside. Alternatively you can also bake them in oven at 175 degrees for about 20-30 minutes till they turn golden brown.Transfer the fried koftas on paper towel.
Just before serving arrange the koftas in gravy garnished with finely chopped coriander leaves.

Paneer Koftas in Creamy Saffron Gravy

---

Tips:
When you deep fry the koftas, first make sure that the oil is hot enough before you place them for deep frying.
Place one kofta at a time in a pan when deep frying. If the Kofta starts to break or crumble add about 1-2 tbsp of cornflour and mix well as corn flour helps the paneer and vegetables to bind well and they will not break when you deep fry them.
Always fry the koftas in low-medium flame so that they are cooked well and get lovely golden brown colour.

Other Kofta Recipes from Monsoon Spice:

• Palak Kofta
• Aloo Kofta

Continue Reading...

Qabuli with Plum Tomato-Cucumber Raita

Qabuli with Plum Tomato-Cucumber Raita

Monsoon, just the word is enough to bring back a flood of fresh and drenched memories of magical monsoon rain; the sound, sights and smell of home. Monsoon rains bring down the mercury level and the heavens opens its door to the heated earth giving it new lease of life. The blissful sound of rain lashing the roof tops, the dance of trees swaying to the rhythm of rain leaving the leaves in dripping tears, the heavenly smell of earth leaves every soul sighing in ecstasy.

This is the season which every farmer in India waits for. Monsoon is a life line for many farmers in southern asian countries. Rice being the staple food in many households, its no wonder that India is the world’s second largest producer and exporter of rice. The rainy season blesses Mother Nature with an abundance of water. In most parts of India, rice is grown in flooded plains and fields called Paddy. Paddy fields grins at the passers-by swaying to the cool breeze of monsoon with the backdrop of hills covered with lush green trees and the hustle-bustle of men and women. Paddy rice farmers usually sow the seeds first in the little seedbeds and then later transfer them into flooded fields which were already ploughed. These few centimetres of water in paddy fields prevent weed growth and ensure there’s enough water for plants to grow. Back in my native, men in mundus and women in sarees working in paddy fields wear a cap called Muttale which covers their head and protects from torrential rainfalls and scorching heat. The women sing regional folk songs when planting the rice in fields praying the Rain God ‘Indra’. The scene of snow white cranes flying in V-shaped format against black monsoon clouds over swaying lush green paddy field is something which always took my breath away.

Andhra Pradesh, a southern Indian state, is known as Rice Bowl of India is famous for its hot and spicy cuisine which includes original Andhra cuisine and the famous Hyderabadi cuisine. While the traditional Andhra pickles makes me dance to their tunes, the mouth watering rich and perfumed Hyderabadi Biriyani undoubtedly rules my senses. Biriyani, one of the India’s most popular foods, is flavoured fragrant Basmati rice which is layered with meat or vegetables marinated in yogurt and spices and was usually cooked for Nizaams and Nawabs . Check here and here to read more about Biriyani Stories.

When Sharmi of Neivedyam announced JFI-Rice for this month’s Jhiva, little did she know about my love affair with Rice. Rice is a staple food in our home and many a days we eat rice for breakfast (Dosas and Idlies), lunch and dinner. After considering and rejecting almost all the Rice recipes I ended up cooking Qabuli/Qabooli/Qubuli which is originally from Afghanistan. When rich Kings and Emperors lavished on Biriyanis which uses the most expensive ingredients like Basmati Rice, Saffron and Dry fruits, common man created their own version of Biriyani using Chana Dal (Spilt and Whole Bengal Grams). The sweet and nutty Chana dal cooked with aromatic spices and yogurt is layered in between flavoured Basmati Rice, fresh mint and coriander and sweet fried onions in ghee. The finishing touch of saffron gives it wonderful colour and tickles one’s taste bud. I referred this, this, this and this for the recipe of Qabuli and made changes to suit our palette.

---

Qabuli:
Prep Time: 15-25 mins (excluding soaking time)
Cooking Time: 45-60 mins
Serves: 3-4

---

Ingredients:
2 cups Basmati Rice
¾ cup Split Chana Dal
2 large Onions, thinly sliced
½ cup Mint Leaves, finely chopped
½ cup Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
2-3 Green Chillies, finely chopped (Adjust according to taste)
1 Maratha Moggu/Star Anise
2 Green Cardamoms
1 inch Cinnamon
2 Cloves
¼ tsp Saffron/Kesar
3-4 tbsp Milk
½ cup Coconut Milk
Few Cashews
3-4 tbsp Ghee
Salt to taste

For Yogurt Base:
¾ cup Yogurt
1 tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
1 Bay Leaf
1 tsp Shah Jeera
1 tsp Shah Biriyani Powder
1 tsp Chilli Powder
Powder using Pestle and Mortar:
2 Green Cardamoms
½ inch Cinnamon
3 Cloves
Small Piece of Nutmeg

Qabuli

Method:
Wash and soak Dal and Rice separately in water for about 20-30 minutes.
Heat about 2 tbsp of oil in a pan and fry thinly sliced onions in medium flame till they turn brown and keep it aside. Usually takes around 20-25 minutes.
Cook split chana dal with a pinch of turmeric and drop of oil in microwave for about 15 minutes. The dal should be cooked thoroughly but it should retain its shape.
Heat a tbsp of ghee in a heavy bottomed vessel and add marata moggu, cinnamon, green cardamom and cloves and sauté for about 20-30 seconds till nice aroma is released.
Drain water from rice and add it to sautéed whole spices and sauté over a medium flame for one minute till all the water is evaporated and grains are separated.
To this add ½ cup of coconut milk and about 3 cups of water and salt to taste. Cover the pan and cook this rice in medium flame till all the water is absorbed and rice is almost cooked. Generally takes around 20-30 minutes.
Heat little ghee in a pan and add ground spices. Sauté in a medium flame for about 15-20 seconds and add ginger-garlic paste.
Sauté it for another 20-30 seconds till the raw smell of ginger and garlic is reduced. Now add beaten yogurt, biriyani powder, chilli powder and little salt. Keep stirring this gravy till it thickens and reduces to 2/3 rd size.
Add cooked dal to yogurt gravy and mix well. Cook uncovered for 1-2 minutes.
Soak saffron in warm milk for about 15 minutes.
Preheat oven at 375 F. Now take large oven proof dish. First layer it with half of cooked rice and then add all the cooked dal mixture. On top of it add half of finely chopped mint+coriander+green chilli mix and half of fried onions. Again place other half of cooked rice and layer the rice with chopped greens and fried onions.
Pour the saffron milk and cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil. Place this dish in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes.
Once it’s done, gently mix the rice and garnish with fried Cashews before serving hot with any curry or Raita of your choice.

---

Variation:
Use Black Channa in place of split Chana Dal. Remember to soak black channa in water for minimum 1 hour.

---

Qabuli with Plum Tomato-Cucumber Raita

---

Plum Tomato-Cucumber Raita
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: -
Serves: 2-3

---

Ingredients:
6-8 Plum Tomatoes, quartered
1 cup Cucumber, quartered and sliced thinly
½ small Red Onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp Coriander Leaves, chopped finely
1 tsp Mint Leaves, very finely chopped
Pinch of Salt

Method:
Mix all the ingredients and keep it in fridge till required.
Serve chilled with any Rice of your choice.

Plum Tomato-Cucumber Raita

---

Time for more bragging. Its pouring awards in blogsphere and Spice Corner’s hall of fame is giving tight competition to my ever expanding waistline;) While lovely girls Richa and Pravs have sent me The Power of Schmooze Award, pretty Raaga, SeeC and Sukanya think I am a Rocking Girl Blogger. And if that was not enough for my never ending bragging Sandeepa and Kribha feels I am Thoughtful and Inspirational Blogger too. Girls, I am really flattered with all these awards and love you are showering upon me. More than these awards I am thankful to all you people out there who were with me during tough times. Your kind comments, messages and mails helped me a lot in past cople of weeks. Thank you friends…

For those who answer blog comments, emails, and make their visitors feel at home on their blogs. For the people who take others feelings into consideration before speaking out and who are kind and courteous. Also for all of those bloggers who spend so much of their time helping others bloggers design, improve, and fix their sites. This award is for those generous bloggers who think of others.

For those bloggers who inspire others through their words and actions. With a positive attitude, and an uplifting spirit these bloggers make the blogosphere a better place, and encourage others to do the same. This award is for bloggers who rise up to set an example but continue to reach out and support others.

Continue Reading...

Palak Kofta Curry

Every weekend is a big cooking bash for us. By the time we drag ourselves from bed and have our brunch it will be past one in the noon. So we start cooking dinner in leisure and I love every moment of it. Our usual Saturday dinner is quite special and exotic Indian food and this weekend was no exception. And what else can be exotic than Koftas!!! I didn’t want to make the regular Aloo Koftas in basic onion and tomato base curry and opted Palak/Spinach as the base curry. As kofta is prepared by deep frying, I wanted to make it packed with whole lot of nutrition and nothing can beat spinach in that case. This time I went for simple, straight forward recipe which I am sharing with you all.

Palak Kofta Curry

Ingredients:
3 bunches Palak/Spinach, wahed and finely chopped
1 cup Milk
3 Onions, finely chopped
4-5 Potatoes
4 slices of Bread
1/4 cup Green Peas
1 inch Cinnamon
2-3 Green Cardamom
3-4 Cloves
2-3 Green Chillies
1 inch Ginger, minced
1 tsp Chilli Powder
1/2 tsp Turmaric Powder
1/2 tbsp Amchur/Dry Mango Powder
1 tbsp Garam Masala
1/2 tsp Kitchen King Masala
1 tbsp Cashew nuts, cut into small pieces
1 tbsp Raisins
2 tbsp Butter/Oil/Ghee
2-3 tbsp of Gram Flour
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

Green Green... Palak Kofta Curry

Method:
For Koftas:
Pressure cook potatoes,peel and mash thourougly.
Soak bread in water, squeeze and add to the potatoes.
Mix with finely cut onion, chillies, cooked green peas, coriander leaves, garam masala, salt, amchur powder, cashwes, raisins and small amount of finely chopped palak.
Mix well and prepare small balls.
Dip them in gram flour paste and deep fry in hot oil and keep aside.

Palak Kofta Curry

For the Gravy:
Heat a tsp of oil in a pan and fry the palak with a little sugar added to it.
Sprinkle little water if necessary.
Remove from flame after few minutes when it becomes soft.
Cool it and grind to a smooth paste.
Heat butter in a pan and add cinnamon, cloves and cradamom.
After 1 minutes add onions and fry till the turn transparent.
To this add ginger, ground palak with milk, salt, chilli powder, amchur, turmaric, kitchen king masala and garam masala.
Mix well and cook it till the gravy thickens in a medium flame.
Add Koftas just before removing from fire or while serving.
Serve hot with roties/chapaties/rice.

Golden Sun Rising from Green Mountain... Palak Kofta Curry

Final Verdict:
It looked good and tasted amazing. The golden brown Koftas in rich green curry reminded me of sun rising from Green Mountain. (Am i sounding too melodramic?;) The blandness (???) of spinach complimented the rich taste of potatoes. I made it little mild than usual as I didn’t wanted the spicy taste to dominate. One more thing i noticed was because the kofta’s were coated with thin paste of gram flour before deep frying, the amount of oil absorbed by kofta’s were comparatively less. So all together it tasted heavenly.

Stuffing of Palak Kofta Curry served with Jeera Rice

Tip:
Add sugar while frying the palak so that the green colour of palak is preserved.

Palak Kofta Curry

Continue Reading...

Aloo Kofta

Last week we had invited one of our family friends for our Sunday Diwali Lunch. I wanted to cook something different than usual currys and subjis. After long brainstorming session with my better half and rejecting almost every suggestion from him at last I settled for aloo kofta.
Kofta’s has always maintained a special place in Indian cuisine, when it's good, nothing beats it, but even when it's bad, it's better than most of the other options.
Here is a very simple recipe, agian from my mom's kitchen. Well...Did I say simple recipe? Yup...its indeed. Try it and you will know how simple it is to make kofta's at home.

Rich Aloo Koftas

Ingredients:

For Koftas:
2 Potatoes
1 Carrot, finely chopped or grated
1/4 cup Green Peas
2 Green chillies, finely chopped
2 tbsp Gram flour
1 tbsp Garam Masala
2 tbsp Raisin
2 tbsp crushed Cashwew nuts
Salt to taste
2 tbsp Plain flour/Maida
Oil for deep frying

For Gravy:
1 Onion, Chopped
2 Tomatoes, Chopped
1 tbsp Garam Masala
1 tsp Chilli Powder
1/2 tbsp Kitchen King Masala(optional)
1/2 cup Cream
1 tbsp Butter
Salt to taste
Grind together:
1 Onion
2 Cloves
1/2 inch Cinnamon
2 Cardamom
1 inch Ginger
3 Garlic pods

Kofta stuffing

Method:
For Kofta:
Boil potatoes, peel and mash it. Add finely cut carrots and steam cooked green peas to it.
Mix it together with salt, chillies, gram flour, garam masala, cashwes and raisins.
Make into lime sized balls and coat them with think flour paste mixed with water.
Deep fry until they turn golden brown in medium flame and keep aside.

For Gravy:
Heat butter in a pan, fry onions until crisp.
To this add ground masala, garam masala, kitchen king masala, chilli powder and fry in medium flame till oil separates from it.
Add chopped tomatoes, cream, salt and enough water and allow the gravy to boil till it becomes tthick.
Gently slip koftas and boil for a minute.
Serve Koftas with rice or roties.

Mmm...Kofta...

Continue Reading...