Haryali Aur Malai Kofta

I find weekends really boring in Bangalore nowadays, I long to be with family. Then it is the kitchen that beckons to experiment. Yesterday I decided to make Naan and a kofta curry but I was tired of all the red curries that I see every where in restaraunts, weddings, cafeterias etc. We are so obsessed with the color red in our curries. So I went ahead to experiment on some thing.

I decided my Koftas should be coated in green textured curry not a creamy one. I looked around my pantry and collected all I needed and set out on getting the chemistry right.

I got the kofta material ready. While working on the curry I got the dough ready for the Naan. Lately I have become a fan of Tava roasted Naan. It turns out luscious better than the oven roasted ones. I got the yeast foaming and mixed in the flour and left it to rise.

The koftas were turning golden. The Naans were resting and rising.

It is so much fun when you have all the stuff and you can actually think of a lunch that will pamper your senses. Then you think of an afternoon siesta after the sapid. Aha! It is a typical weekend thing to do and that recharges your batteries for the whole of next work week.

Ingredients

For Malai Kofta

The cover
5-6 big potatoes boiled
3 slices of bread
salt to taste

The core
1/4 cup crumbled paneer
handful raisins
handful cashew nuts
handful green peas
salt to taste

For Haryali (Green Gravy)

1/8 cup cashew nuts
1/4 cup green peas
1 cup chopped cilantro
2 green chilies
1 big onion
1 teaspoon garam masala

1/4 cup pineapple pieces

Ghee to fry koftas and for seasoning

1. First mash and knead together the bolied potatoes and bread with a bit of salt to get a smooth, lump free dough.

2. Now mix in a bowl paneer, peas, raisins, cashews, salt. This is used to stuff the kofta.

3. Now pinch of the dough from step1 and form a basket. Fill a bit of the stuffing. Seal together the edges of the basket to get a ball. Shape it evenly into a nice roundball. Like this make all the balls. I got about 10 ping pong sized balls. Keep aside.

4. In a shallow frying pan heat about 3 tablespoons of ghee. Put in the koftas and fry till golden and crisp. Keep rolling the pan so they are done to golden from all sides.

5. Remove the koftas in a serving dish. Keep aside.

6. While the koftas were frying I got the Haryali masala ready. I put all the ingredients together in a chutney grinder and ran it for a while to get a grainy blend. I did not want another pasty curry. If you are in a mood for the silken thing grind it further.

7. In the same frying pan in which I fried the koftas, I added about 2 teaspoons of ghee. Transferred the ground masala. Fried it on slow.

As I meditated on it thinking about W and Gulabi, wondering if things were Ok with them. Every person has to deal with their past and we feel helpless when we are kept at a deliberate distance.

To distract the thoughts I switched on the music on my cell phone. Cuz S has loaded a 1GB card with some beautiful old songs. It was playing "Iftada-e-ishq me hum sari raat jaghe, allah jaane kya hoga aage, oh mollah jaane kya hoga aage.." from the old Hindi movie Haryali Aur Rasta.

Hey I almost said aloud in a eurekaish exclamation that can be the name of my dish "Haryali Aur Malai Kofta" !! ;)

It is after all a green gravy.

8. After about 5-7 mins of frying added about 1.5 cups of water and stirred well. Left the gravy to simmer for another 5 mins.

9. Once the curry bubbles, add the pineapple pieces and cover and simmer for just 2 mins more and cover to let the volatiles from the spices flavor the gravy.

To serve spoon the green gravy over the golden fried koftas. I cut up one to show you the stuffing. Decorate with more pineapple wedges.

The Malai kofta gets its name from the paneer that turns creamy in the core on frying and the Haryali (Hindi) gets its name from ofcourse the green gravy of coriander and peas that lend their color.

This kofta curry is an original from my kitchen lab. Hope you will like it.

I wish to make this again for someone who has a thing against North Indian food. Will teach to appreciate the succulent Naan dipped in a rich kofta curry and know what bliss is. The pursuit of happiness should end here! Just wishful thinking.