Paneer or cottage cheese Kofta is a North Indian cuisine from Punjab. It is a delicious mouth-watering wholesome dish usually eaten along with chapatti or paratha. It tastes equally good, even with plain rice or jeera rice. The Paneer Kofta recipe is easy to follow. Paneer Kofta recipe consists of two parts. Firstly, the koftas (round-shaped balls) are prepared with several ingredients. Secondly, a tomato and onion-based rich and creamy gravy is prepared in which the koftas are mixed.
Paneer kofta is a lip-smacking dish. Do not miss out on this delicacy. You can easily make a paneer kofta recipe at home, but it takes a bit of your time, so you prefer making it on a holiday or weekend. Please invite your friends and family over for lunch or dinner and surprise them with this delicious protein-rich and flavor-rich dish.
Paneer Kofta ingredients
The ingredients that are essential for the preparation of paneer kofta are listed below:
- Two hundred grams of Paneer (cottage cheese), grated or minced
- Two medium-boiled potatoes, scrape off the skin, and grate or mince it.
- One finely chopped green chili
- Half a teaspoon of grated ginger
- Lemon juice (half lemon should be enough)
- Chopped coriander leaves
- One and a half tablespoons of cornflour
- Salt as per taste preference
- Oil for deep frying the koftas
Paneer Kofta Recipe – Method for preparation
In a large bowl, take the grated paneer (cottage cheese), boiled grated potatoes, cornflour, green chili, ginger, lemon juice, coriander leaves, and salt, mix everything well, like a dough.
Now divide the dough into equal koftas or balls (two inches in diameter is a good size).
Heat oil in a frying pan to deep fry the koftas. Once the oil is heated, deep fry the koftas on a medium flame and put them on kitchen napkins so that the napkins soak up the extra fat. Keep it aside and prepare the gravy.
Ingredients for the preparation of gravy
- Three medium-sized potatoes
- Two tablespoons of cashew nuts (Kaju), soak in water for about twenty minutes
- One chopped green chili
- One large onion, finely chopped
- Two garlic cloves finely chopped
- Half a teaspoon of cumin seeds or jeera
- Two cloves or laung
- Half inch piece of cinnamon or daalcheeni
- Pinch of turmeric powder
- Red chili powder according to preference
- One-fourth garam masala powder
- One and a half teaspoons of coriander powder
- Half a teaspoon of sugar
- Half a teaspoon of dried fenugreek leaves (methi)
- Two tablespoons of oil
- Three-fourth cup water
- Salt to taste
- A pinch of sugar
Method of preparation of the gravy
This is the second step of the paneer kofta recipe
Blanch the tomatoes and make them into puree form. Also, make a puree of the soaked cashew nuts.
In a pan, heat some oil. Once the oil is hot, put cumin seeds over medium flame. Once the cumin seeds start to change color, add cinnamon and cloves, add ginger and garlic to this and stir and saute for a few seconds. To this, add chopped green chili and onions. In about two to three minutes, onions will turn golden brown. Once the onions are golden brown, add the prepared tomato puree to the pan. After this, saute till the oil separates, then add the cashew puree prepared earlier. Also, add salt, red chili powder, sugar, turmeric powder, coriander powder, and garam masala.
Stir and cook for a minute, add water, cook for two minutes, then add to this gravy the prepared koftas and let it cook for another three to four minutes. In the end, crush the dried fenugreek leaves and sprinkle them over the paneer kofta.
Your Paneer kofta is ready to be served and enjoyed.
Pro tip: The above-mentioned paneer kofta recipe is a simple paneer kofta recipe. There is space for variations to this recipe. Before adding the tomato puree, let the ingredients present in the pan cool and blend them into a paste. This will make the gravy smoother.
You can also pour a dollop of cream over the paneer kofta at the end.
Paneer kofta is a protein-rich dish due to cottage cheese in it.
A few benefits of Paneer or cottage cheese
Paneer or cottage cheese is a perfect substitute for chicken for vegetarians. Cottage cheese is a healthy option for people who are suffering from diabetes. Paneer is rich in protein which aids in the regeneration of new cells. Paneer is also rich in Omega 3 vitamin that is essential for the mental development of growing children. It is also beneficial for people suffering from heart diseases as paneer regulates blood pressure, especially hypertension, and controls cholesterol levels.
So wait no more and arrange the ingredients for the paneer kofta recipe for your upcoming holiday to experience a state of true happiness at home.
