Malai Kofta.

Get ready to treat yourself (and whoever is eating this amazing dish you’re about to make)! I air fried my koftas, but if you don’t have an air fryer feel free to shallow fry, deep fry, or even bake your balls. Below are instructions for all the different methods. My measurements made about 15 kofta balls, so if you’re only cooking for yourself or just a few people, cut the measurements in half, have fun!

Ingredients:

Kofta:

• 1 package of extra-firm tofu

• 3-4 large potatoes

• ½ cup corn starch

• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

• ½ lemon

• 3 teaspoons garam masala

• 2 teaspoons cumin powder

• 2 teaspoons coriander powder

• 2 teaspoons red chili powder

• 2 teaspoons pomegranate seeds (optional)

• salt

• cooking oil

Gravy:

• 6 tomatoes

• 1 large onion

• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

• ½ cup cashews (soak for a minimum of 30 minutes)

• 4 cloves of garlic

• 2 inches of ginger

• 1-2 green chilis

• 4 teaspoons garam masala

• 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds

• 1 teaspoon turmeric

• 2 teaspoons cumin powder

• 2 teaspoons cilantro powder

• 4 teaspoons red chili powder

• 2 teaspoons salt

• ½ cup non-dairy milk (oat is the best)

• cooking oil

Recipe:

Kofta

1. Start by placing your potatoes in a boiling pot for about 15 minutes or until they are cooked all the way through. (You can begin working on the rest of the ingredients while these are cooking, but keep an eye on them!)

2. Take the tofu out of the package and cut it in half horizontally. Wrap each half in paper towels and putting a plate on top of each wrapped tofu. Leave this anywhere from 10-15 minutes.

3. Peel and place your potatoes in a large bowl. Unwrap the tofu, and in the bowl with the potatoes crumble the tofu into a very fine consistency - similar to ricotta. Mash both of these together until there are no large chunks left.

4. Now, add your garam masala, cumin powder, coriander powder, red chili powder, salt, and pomegranate seeds.

5. Mix this all together until the spices are evenly distributed. Add your cornstarch and again, spread this evenly throughout the whole mixture. This will help your balls stick together and also give them that nice crisp that you’re looking for.

6. Now start rolling your dough into large balls. I air-fried my balls, so if you’re doing the same, coat the balls with a thin layer of oil and place in your air fryer for 15 minutes at 400 degrees. Check on these after about 10 minutes to see if they’re the color you want. They should form a brown and crispy coat and be thoroughly cooked from the inside. If you’re baking them, bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes, flip them over halfway. If you’re either shallow or deep frying, make sure your oil is hot before adding your koftas in. Keep turning, until they are brown and crispy from all sides.

Gravy

1. The tomatoes are going to take you a while, so start on these. You’ll need to start by peeling all your tomatoes before roughly chopping them. You’ll need to keep the tomato juices, so don’t drain or transfer your tomatoes to another bowl after chopping them.

2. Now, dice your onion, slice your green chili in half, mince your garlic, and chop your ginger into small pieces. All of these veggies will be going in the blender, so it doesn’t need to be perfect.

3. Heat up a large pan with your cooking oil and when warm, add your onion. Cook these for about three minutes on medium heat and add your cashews, ginger, garlic, and green chilis. Let these cook together for another three minutes and then add your tomatoes (with the juices!).

4. Add two teaspoons of salt and your garam masala and squeeze your lemon right on top. Mix this all together and then cover the pan and let this sit on low heat for about fifteen minutes. After fifteen minutes, turn off the heat and allow the mixture to cool before you blend it.

5. Once your tomato-onion mixture has cooled, add it to a blender along with your non-dairy milk. Blend this all together until you get a smooth gravy-like consistency. If yours still looks too thick you can add water until you get the consistency you want.

6. Once your gravy is blended, pour it back into your pan and cook at medium heat. After about two minutes, add your cumin powder, cilantro powder, red chili powder, and a little more salt if needed.

7. Bring your gravy to a simmer and allow to cook for another 5-10 minutes. Once your koftas are done, add them to your gravy and garnish with cilantro.

8. Eat this with some rice, roti, or naan and enjoy!