Shahi Paneer Kofta

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Crispy paneer balls known as kofta are served with a creamy, and super luxurious gravy. This Shahi Paneer Kofta is a delight for your senses. It smells great, looks so wonderful, and melts in your mouth.

The best part is you can split the cooking process for two days by preparing the gravy on one day and making the koftas on the next day. So it’s the perfect make-ahead recipe for parties, get-togethers, and potlucks.

Paneer kofta dunked in shahi tomato onion gravy

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Why this recipe works
Ingredients required
Step-by-step process
Variation
Freezing Instructions:
Tips, Notes, and quick FAQs
More Paneer recipes
Shahi Paneer Kofta

Diwali is a few days away and like every year I have planned many fusion as well as traditional recipes to share with you all.

So I am starting with this Shahi Paneer Kofta. This Paneer recipe is perfect for festival gatherings.

As the name implies, this Shahi Paneer Kofta curry uses all the shahi ingredients like paneer, Khoya, dry fruits, saffron, and cream.

The word kofta means fried balls in Hindi.

So Sahi Paneer Kofta translates to Koftas made with paneer, khoya, and nuts and dunked in a rich and creamy tomato-onion-based sauce.

This curry sounds very difficult to make but it's not at all. And also, this curry is a bit different than Malai Kofta.

In Malai Kofta, we make koftas from paneer and potato, whereas in this Shahi paneer kofta, we make kofta with paneer, nuts, and khoya.

This Shahi Paneer Kofta is a very rich dish. Don't feel guilty about eating this kofta. After all, it’s not every day that you cook such rich food. This Indian recipe is a recipe that is worthy of a royal feast!

Crisp on the outside and heavenly smooth on the inside, these tasty fried dumplings are dunked in a smooth, mildly sweet, and lighted spiced gravy. The combination of the kofta with the gravy tastes awesome.

I call this creamy paneer kofta curry Melt-Away Kofta simply because they melt away as soon as you put them in your mouth.

Have this paneer koftas with Indian Naan, Paratha, or Basmati Rice, and dine like the Mughals used to!

This recipe is nothing short of a gift. You'll just have to try it to find out!

Why this recipe works

Made from scratch, no shortcuts!
Better than any restaurant curry
Perfect for planning an Indian party menu
Perfect make-ahead recipe
Can be made without deep frying the koftas

I don't know about you, but all this talk about paneer kofta is making me HUNGRY! Let's get to cooking, shall we?

Ingredients required

Paneer – Homemade paneer works best in this recipe. If you are using a store-bought one, make sure it is soft and fresh.
Dry fruits – you will need Cashews, almonds, and raisins.
Khoya - I use Khoya (Mawa) in gravy as well as in kofta to make it shahi (rich). You can make your khoya or you can use store-bought.
Onions - red, white, or yellow onions, and work fine.
Tomatoes – can be substituted with tinned tomatoes
Red dried chilies – use Kashmiri whole dried chilies for their deep red color and mild heat
Other spices – Turmeric powder, salt, garam masala, and kitchen king masala. Kitchen king masala is easily available at any grocery store. If you cannot find it, use garam masala instead of gravy.
Ginger and garlic paste – Use either minced ginger and garlic or homemade ginger-garlic paste. Make sure to use fresh.
Green chilies - for kofta.
Cream – I use heavy whipping cream.
Kasoori methi – I highly recommend using Kasoori (or Kasuri) methi for bringing out that rich flavor of the sauce.
Sweetener - You can use sugar or honey. This is used to balance the tartness of the tomatoes.
Crushed bread or bread crumbs – Bread is added as a binder.

premeasured ingredients for shahi paneer kofta recipe

Step-by-step process

For Kofta stuffing

Mix all the ingredients of stuffing (Khoya, dry fruits, cardamom powder, and milk) in a bowl and divide them into 14 equal portions and make balls.

The outer layer of Kofta

Crush the bread slices into a blender. Keep it aside.
Take a big mixing bowl. Add grated paneer, crushed bread, green chili, salt, milk, and garam masala. Mix well. Divide them into 14 parts. Make round balls. Keep them aside

Shape the kofta and fry them

Take one ball of paneer mixture and flatten it. Place one portion of the prepared Nut-khoya stuffing mixture in the center.
Bring the edges toward the center and seal the khoya and dry fruit mixture completely with the outer covering.
Make all the koftas the same way. You can shape them in any way you like.
Heat the oil well.
Add 3 to 4 koftas and deep fry them until golden brown from all over. Keep the flame on medium heat.
Take them out on absorbent paper.
Tip - If koftas are breaking while frying, coat the remaining koftas in corn starch before frying.

stuffing the kofta with shahi ingredients and frying them in oil.

For Gravy

Heat butter and oil in a pan.
Now add red dried Kashmiri chilies, ginger, and garlic. Saute for a few seconds.
Now add tomatoes, onions, 1 cup of water, and cashew nuts. Mix well, cover the pan and let it cook for 15 minutes on medium flame.
Switch off the flame and let them cool down a little bit.
Take this mixture into a blender jar and make a puree.
Now take a strainer and strain this puree.

Take the prepared gravy into a pan. Switch on the flame.
Add 2 cups of water, salt, turmeric powder, kitchen king masala, and sugar, and let it cook for 5 to 6 minutes or until bubbling over medium heat. Stir in between. Add water if the gravy is very thick and is sticking to the bottom.
Add Khoya, Kasuri methi, saffron, and heavy cream. Mix them very well and cook them for 5 minutes over medium heat.

adding basic indian spices, khoya and cream to the kofta gravy.

Let’s assemble them

At the time of serving, Heat gravy and add Paneer koftas. Let them cook together for about 2 to 3 minutes over medium heat.
Shahi Paneer Kofta is ready. Garnish it with cilantro and cream. Serve them with Naan, Paratha, Roti, Kulcha, or jeera rice.

Shahi paneer kofta served with paratha and onion.

Variation

Gluten-Free: Use gram flour, rice flour, tapioca starch, or gluten-free flour to bind the kofta mixture. The gravy of this kofta curry is gluten-free.

Baked Kofta: Baking or air frying the kofta does not give the same results as deep-frying. However, you can cook them in an appe (paniyaram) pan to save a few calories. It tastes so good without deep frying them.

Freezing Instructions:

If you are making shahi paneer Kofta for a big occasion such as Diwali Party and have less time on your hand because of the festival, you can make this ahead of time and store it in the fridge or freezer

Here are some suggestions,

Don't fry paneer balls (Kofta) and freeze them.
Store gravy and paneer balls separately.
Do not add cream to the gravy if you are planning to freeze this. Whenever you are ready to eat, add at that time.
Store it in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 to 3 months.
The day you want to eat, take them out of the freezer, bring them to room temperature, and deep fry the paneer balls in oil, add heavy cream in the gravy, add kofta in the gravy, and heat them together.

Tips, Notes, and quick FAQs

Always use grated paneer for the kofta mixture.
For binding, I add fresh bread crumbs to the kofta mixture. The cornstarch or all-purpose flour also gives a crisp, golden exterior to the kofta.
I do not recommend shaping kofta more than the size of a small lemon - too big kofta do not soak the gravy sauce very well and often deflate after adding in gravy.
Fry kofta in small batches over medium heat. It is best not to rush the frying process. We need a golden exterior of the kofta without breaking them apart.
The silky smooth, mouth-melting texture is the key feature of the paneer kofta gravy. Hence, it is essential to sieve the gravy mixture after blending.
The bright orange color in the gravy comes from Kashmiri Red dried Chili, tomatoes, and saffron. There is no artificial color added to the gravy.
The addition of cashew nuts and khoya adds a nice thickness, creaminess, and rich and nutty taste to the shahi kofta gravy.
If you have a party, just prepare the kofta and gravy a day before the party day and just assemble them on the party day.
Don't add too many fresh bread crumbs. Or else it will affect the taste and texture.
Seal kofta properly.
If your koftas are breaking or separating in oil, coat them in a LITTLE BIT of cornstarch or arrowroot before frying. this step prevents kofta from separating in the oil.
Make sure the oil is hot enough. Or else the koftas can break when dropped into the oil.
Fry koftas on medium heat.
If you want to make restaurant-style malai kofta, don't skip heavy whipping cream or butter. They add flavor and richness to the dish.
Don't forget to add Kasuri Methi in the end, it adds a fantastic aroma and flavor to it.
Add more sugar if your tomatoes are sour.
Drizzle some cream before serving the dish for that ohhh yummy taste.
I would recommend following the recipe as is and don't compromise on spices and any other ingredients, because this recipe has its charm and we are sure once you try it, you will make it again and again.

What can I substitute for the cashews?

You can use almonds instead!

What is the best type of paneer to use for this recipe?

To make any paneer dish, it is always better to use homemade paneer.

What is the best way to serve paneer kofta?

Paneer kofta is best served with roti, paratha, naan, or tandoori roti. I also love serving it with phulka and jeera rice.

Can you make vegan malai kofta?

Koftas can be made vegan as well, with vegan substitutions for the paneer cheese and the dairy cream. Replace the paneer with extra-firm tofu and potatoes, use almond flour instead of khoya, and for the sauce, replace the dairy cream with cashew cream.