Paneer Kofta Curry

MMM....(M)outh-Watering (M)onth of (M)ay it is, and like the previous months, this month too will be as delicious as ever. Ah! Can't imagine that I have come this far. Blogging was just a dream 2 years back and finally I have started it and What a start this is. Am fully into it now. Cooking, experimenting stuffs and trying to bring you only the best recipes of the World. And Thank you all for viewing my Food Blog. The Blog has got great number of hits than ever I imagined in just 3 months.WOW!! Ok now then, without wasting your time and mine, Lets Get Cooking with some Love and some Calories. :)

A veggie delight by request, its a mouthwatering "Paneer Kofta" dish. "Paneer" compensates the absence of meat in any dish and is a pure delicacy for the vegetarians. The word "Kofta" has come from the Middle Eastern part of the World, meaning meat dumplings or meatballs. These Koftas slowly started becoming popular in India due to the influence of Mughlai cuisine.Indians of course slowly started making variations by adding all kinds of possible ingredients and seasoning to it to give that Desi touch or here in UK they say the "Apna Style". These Koftas are then fried and simmered in a nice creamy sauce and is eaten with different kinds of Indian breads. So do try making this one at home and why not invite some guests for dinner and flaunt your culinary skills.

Ingredients:

For Koftas:

• 250 gm paneer (Indian cottage cheese) finely grated
• 2 medium potatoes (boiled and mashed by hand)
• 1 tbsp cornflour
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 3-4 green chillies (finely chopped)
• coriander leaves (finely chopped
• oil for deep frying
• salt to taste

1. In a mixing bowl, put in the grated paneer, mashed potatoes, cornflour, red chilli powder, garam masala, green chillies, coriander leaves and salt to taste. Mix everything together with your hand.
2. Make round balls (size of a ping pong ball or a meat ball) out of the above. Keep aside.
3. In a heavy bottomed vessel/Kadhai, heat oil for deep frying these balls.
4. Deep fry the Koftas to an even golden brown on all sides. Keep aside.

For the Gravy:

• 1 big onion (roughly chopped)
• 3-4 medium juicy tomatoes (roughly chopped)
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 cup yoghurt
• 10 cashew nuts (fine powder)

1. Grind the onions and tomatoes together to a fine paste. Do not add water.
2. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a kadhai. Add the cumin seeds and bay leaf into it. Saute for 30-40 sec.
3. Now add the onion & tomato paste into it and stir frequently until all the moisture evaporates, oil comes on the side and the paste turns to brown. It will take approx 10-12 minutes.
4. Add the yoghurt, cashew nut powder, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala and salt to the paste. Stir well for a minute.
5. Now add 2 cups of water to it and close the lid and cook the gravy for 5 minutes. Tase the gravy and add if you need some more spice to it. Switch it off.
6. Add the Koftas in to the gravy 10 minutes before serving the dish. Reheat the gravy and serve hot with any Indian bread or rice.
7. Top the gravy with some grated paneer if u wish.