Paneer Koftas

Paneer kofta is a delicious one of the popular north Indian kofta dish. Paneer koftas are made of paneer and stuffed with nuts then deep fried and then immered in spicy gravy prepared with onion, garlic, tomatoes and nuts.

Paneer kofta is served as a main dish and perfect for dinner parties, special occasion and traditional Indian festivals. Paneer koftas goes well with Nan, chapatti or parthas. Paneer is a traditional North Indian cheese and source of protein. It is a very important constituent of the North Indian cuisine. Therefore it would not be surprise if you are invited for dinner and paneer is a part of appetizer or the main course and the sweet dish.

Ingredients for the paneer:

½   Gallon whole milk for paneer
see -  How to make paneer at home)
4   Tablespoons lemon juice
1   Teaspoon all purpose flour (maida)

Milk, Lemon Juice & All-Purpose flour

Crumbled Paneer

Ingredients for the filling:

¼    Cup crumbled paneer
1     Medium green chili- fine
chopped (remove the seeds &
membrane from the chili)
1    Medium onion – fine chopped
12   Almonds or cashew nuts– fine
chopped (raw cashews)
½    Tablespoon fresh fine chopped or
grated ginger
½    Teaspoon salt or to your taste
1     Tablespoon vegetable oil

Onion, Ginger, Green chili, Almonds & Crumbled Paneer

Ingredients for the gravy:

2    Medium size onions
2    Teaspoon minced garlic
2    Medium size ripe tomato pureed or 2 tablespoons tomato sauce
1    Tablespoon fresh grated ginger
1    Medium green chili - chopped (Remove the seeds & membrane to reduce
  the heat)
3    Tablespoons plain yogurt
2    Teaspoons coriander powder
½   Teaspoon red chili powder
½   Teaspoon turmeric powder
½   Teaspoon garam masala powder or to your taste
4    Tablespoons vegetable oil
3    Tablespoons chopped coriander leaves
10 to 15 Raw Cashew nuts -soaked or powdered-optional
½   Cup of whole milk
1    Teaspoon salt or to your taste

Cooking measurement conversion
Measurement conversion

Onions, Tomatoes, Ginger, Garlic, Green Chili & Coriander leaves

Milk, Yogurt and Cashews

Direction for stuffing:

1. In frying pan heat 1 tablespoon oil, add chopped onions and sauté them for
4 to 5 minutes or until they become translucent.

In a pan add oil and onions

Saute onion

2. Add chopped Almonds or chopped cashews and mix with onions and saute for
few seconds.

3. Add, grated ginger, chopped green chilies, and salt mix everything together
with the onions and saute for few seconds.

Add chopped Almonds & saute

Add green chilies & ginger

4. Add crumbled Paneer and mix and saute for few seconds. Turn the stove off
and let them cool down.

Saute Almonds, ginger & green chilies

Add crumbled paneer & mix

4. If you like to make stuffing little spicy add red chili powder or add any other
desired ingredients

Mix cheese and saute

Paneer kofta stuffing is ready

Paneer kofta stuffing

Directions for the Kofta Balls: 

1. Make the paneer and knead it with the palm of the hand till it become soft, or
use the food processer to soften the paneer. If you do not want make paneer
then you can grate store bought paneer.

2. Once paneer become soft add all purpose flour and mix it in the paneer, if the
paneer become too dry add few drops of water, the paneer should be soft and
smooth.

Knead the Paneer

Add All- purpose flour

3. Grease your palms and divide the dough roughly in to 18 to 20 parts without
forming into the balls.

Paneer kofta dough

Grease your palms

Take some dough into your hand

Divide the dough into 18 to 20 balls

4. Take a dough and roll it in between your palms into a ball and keep aside.

Roll the dough into kofta ball

Paneer kofta balls

5. Take a kofta ball and with the thumb press into the middle of the ball and
make a depression.

With the thumb make a depression in the kofta ball

Depression is made in kofta ball

6. With a spoon take some stuffing and fill in the depression of kofta ball, then
close it and roll in to a ball. Repeat it until you fill all the balls.

Stuff kofta ball with stuffing

Close the Kofta Ball

Roll the stuffed kofta ball

Stuffed Paneer kofta

Stuffed Paneer kofta balls

7. Heat 3 cups of oil in a frying pan or a kadhi on medium high heat. In about
    7 to 8 minutes oil will become hot, to test it drop a small piece of dough in the
    hot oil if the dough start sizzling and comes up it means oil is hot enough, turn
    the heat down to medium low.

8. Now gently drop 7 to 8 stuffed paneer ball in the hot oil, do not touch the balls,
let the balls fry.

Heat the oil

Drop kofta balls in hot oil

9. With the spatula flicker oil over the balls, in about 2 minutes the bottom of the
balls starts looking light brown then turn them around, and let them fry for
2 minutes and then flip them around.

Flicker oil over kofta balls

Turn the koftas to other side

10. With the spatula keep flipping the koftas around for 6 to 7 minutes or until the
koftas become golden brown.

11. Once the balls become golden brown or the desired cooler take them off the oil
and place them in a plate over the paper towel so that extra oil could be
absorbed.

Paneer kofta's become golden brown

Take the kofta's out of the oil

Place kofta's over paper towel

Fried Paneer kofta's

12. Turn the heat down because the oil is hot and you do not want the other batch
of balls fried quickly.

13. Drop another batch of paneer balls then raise the heat a little. Repeat the
process until all the paneer balls are fried.

Directions for the gravy:

1. Soak Cashew nuts in hot water.

Place the cashews in a bowl

Soak Cashews in hot water

2. Once Cashews are soaked transfer them in a chopper or blender. Add yogurt
and grind them to the paste.

Add soaked cashews & Yogurt

Grind cashews

3. In the same chopper or blender add chopped onion and garlic and mince .
Mixture should be coarse.

In the chopper add onion & garlic

Mince onion and garlic

4. On high heat add the oil in a wide nonstick frying pan, add minced onions and
     garlic and sauté them while periodically stirring.

5.  Onions will have a lot of water so for the first 8 to 10 minutes keep the heat
  high so that all the onion water evaporates quickly.

6. Once the onion water evaporated turn the heat down to medium and let the
     onions fry for 8 to 9 minutes, frequently stir the onions.

In a pan add oil, minced onions & garlic

Mix minced onion, garlic with oil fry

7. While onions are frying in the same chopper add Tomatoes and Puree.

In the chopper add tomatoes

Puree tomatoes

8. Once the onions become light brown add Coriander powder, Red chili powder,
Turmeric powder and mix with the fried onions and fry for few seconds.

Onions become light brown

Add coriander powder, turmeric powder & red chile powder

9. Add Tomato Puree and Yogurt and cashew mixture to the the Onion Masala
and mix.

Mix spices with fried onion & fry

Add tomato puree

Mix tomato puree well

Add yogurt cashew paste

10. With the Tomato puree and yogurt cashew paste onion masala become watery.
turn the heat high for 2 to 3 minutes so that water evaporates quickly then turn
the heat down to medium, while keep string occasionally so that onion Masala
does not stick the pan.

11. Once all the water evaporated and you see the oil in the pan that means onion
masala is done.

Mix yogurt cashew paste well

Onion masala is ready

12. Add 4 cups of water and salt and mix with onion masala,

Add water in onion masala

Add salt

13. Cover the pan and cook for 10 to 12 minutes.

Mix gravy well

Cover the pan and cook

14. Once gravy is cooked add ½ cup of milk and mix it well with the gravy and
  stir constantly for 1 minute so that milk blend in well with the gravy. Let the
  gravy cook for 8 to 10 minutes, while frequently stirring the gravy. Milk binds
  the gravy with onion masala

Gravy is cooked

Add Milk in the gravy

Mix milk with gravy well

Gravy is cooked

15. Add grated ginger, chopped green chilies and Garam masala in the gravy and
mix and let it cook.

Add grated ginger & green chilies

Add garam masala and mix

16. Once gravy is cooked add ½ cup of water and bring to boil, because koftas
will soak in lot of water.

Gravy is ready

Add water and mix

17. Add fried kofta ball's in the gravy.

18. With a spoon take some gravy and cover the Kofta's.

Add fried Paneer koftas in the gravy

Pour gravy over kofta's

19. Cover the pan and simmer for few minutes.

Kofta’s are covered with gravy

Cover the Pan & simmer

Kofta’s are ready they are soaked in gravy

Sprinkle coriander leaves & mix

20. Once koftas are soaked in the gravy and gravy becomes thick add little water
and give a boil, turn the stove off.

21. When ready to serve gently transfer the koftas into a serving dish and garnish
with coriander leaves.

Paneer Kofta

Tips:

1. If you do not have the time to cook everything in one day for paneer kofta then you can split the cooking process in two days by preparing kofta in one day and make the gravy other day. If you are cooking it for the party you can even make koftas’s in advance and freeze them, and the day you are going to serve mix them with gravy and heat.

2. If you have nut grinder then you do not need to soak the cashew nuts just grind
them dry and make a powder then add in the onion masala.

3. Make extra paneer kofta and freeze them for later use.

Please take the time to let me know what you think about my recipe. Your comments would be helpful to me to improve the recipe.

Thank you
Geeta Seth

Other recipe:

Cabbage kofta (Bandh gobi)                           Lauki kofta (Bottle gourd, Ghiya)

Palak kofta (Spinach kofta)                            Masoor dal kofta (lentils)

Muttar paneer                                                  Palak paneer
(Paneer with green peas)                                (Paneer with spinach)

Paneer stuffed paratha                                  Crumbled paneer curry