Malai Kofta

Indian food is one of my favorite things to order when we get take-out and I have the most difficult time trying to recreate things I love at home. Although the sauce for this kofta wasn't as rich as my favorite take-out place I thought the kofta had great texture. To be fair, the kofta I usually order have paneer in them but this vegan version was light and crispy at the same time. The sauce itself was good but now I'm wondering what ingredient my take-out place is using to make their sauce so rich (to be honest, I probably don't want to know). Dave and I both enjoyed this recipe and the leftovers held up really well for lunch the next day -- you'll just want to package the kofta separately from the sauce. 

Recipe slightly adapted from The Curious Chickpea.

Ingredients:

Kofta

-1 1/4 lb small yukon gold potatoes, quartered

-14 ounces extra-firm tofu

-1/2 cup corn starch

-1 tablespoon lemon juice

-2 teaspoons garam masala

-1 3/4 teaspoons salt

-1 cup frozen green peas

Curry Tomato Cream Sauce

-1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped

-2 14-ounce cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes with garlic

-1/4 cup cashews

-1-inch piece fresh ginger, minced

-1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala

-1 teaspoon ground turmeric

-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

-1 teaspoon salt

-1 15 ounce can coconut milk

-A pinch of ground fenugreek
-1-2 dried chiles, optional

To Serve
Naan, optional
Basmati rice, optional

Kofta
Preheat the oven to 425. Boil a large pot of water and cook the potatoes until they are fork-tender (10-15 minutes). While the potatoes are cooking start the sauce (below). Once the potatoes are done drain the water and combine the potatoes and tofu in a food processor. Blend until combined. Mix in the corn starch, lemon juice, garam masala, and salt. Test to make sure the mixture is the right consistency to form balls -- if it's too wet add more corn starch. Add the green peas and then shape the mixture into evenly sized balls and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet about 1/2 inch apart. Spray the kofta with cooking spray and then bake for 30-40 minutes, flipping halfway through.

Curry Tomato Cream Sauce

For the sauce heat a large pot and add the onion, canned tomatoes, cashews, ginger, garam masala, turmeric, cayenne, and salt. Bring the mixture to a simmer and let simmer for 15 minutes stirring occasionally. After 15 minutes transfer the onion/tomato mixture to a blender and blend until smooth (make sure to vent the blender). Pour the mixture back into the pot and add the coconut milk and fenugreek. Keep warm.

To Serve
Pour the sauce over the kofta only when ready for serving. When I brought the leftovers to work the next day I kept the rice, sauce, and kofta separate.