I just made this for the second time. The first time it was years ago and I had forgotten that this is a tricky recipe. Malai Kofta
My dish has turned out perfect but, frying the koftas was a delicate balance and so was getting all the Mawa made for the gravy. Please attempt, only if you have ever had Malai Kofta and you want to impress yourself!!!
That looks really interesting. What’s mawa?
Mawa or Khoya is dried milk. One way to make it. is ofcourse to heat the milk for ever and ever. I have made it that way but it gets burnt easily. Today, I looked up a tip, given to me long ago. Mixed milk powder and cream and microwaved them, but had to keep checking every 30 secs or so until I got Mawa. In a matter of seconds this rich dried milk, can turn black and smoky.
Thanks! I’m going to try it out. :lick:
Really??? You’ll make cottage cheese and paneer??? Then you deserve this tip;
take a cup of milk powder and put in half a cup of cream. kind of doughy and microwave for about 2 mins till you get a brown mixture. but be sure to keep checking after the first min, coz …it can burn quickly.
Be careful, during the deep frying process, be very gentle with the koftas or they splutterand they should be very lightly golden. You need not worry about frying the insides, its supposed to be all white and squishy.
Well I don’t know how it will turn out, but I’ll definitely give it a try. Thanks for the tips, Ms Divea. 
Nah, you’re welcome. Let us know how it turned out. Its a pity I will have to share mine tomorrow 
Question:
What is the Indian name for the lentil dish?
All lentils are called Dal/Daal. Which one?? Depends on the colour and shape.
Divea,
Can you please post your instructions for the butter chicken recipe you use? I have looked online but your way was much simpler! Thanks!
Hey Sorry for not telling you earlier. Me bad 
Peel 3 medium onions, cut them into halves and boil with a cup of water for ten minutes. Drain excess water, cool onions and grind them into a smooth paste. Heat oil in a thick bottomed pan. Add boiled onion paste and cook for five minutes. Add 1tbsp each of ginger paste, garlic paste, 2 chopped green chillies(if you want the heat), 1 tsp each of coriander powder, turmeric powder and salt. Cook for a minute. Add 1/2 cup tomato puree and 1/2 tsp red chilli powder (optional) and cook on medium flame for eight to ten minutes or till oil separates from the masala. add chicken pieces about a kg, stir for 2-3 mins. Add a cup of water, cover and cook for 20 mins. Check the gravy, if you think more water is needed, add acordingly. Later if you want a dryer gravy you can just evaporate the water. Stir in fresh cream and garam masala (aka curry) powder.
Most of the spices here are optional. Indians use all of them, but go with what you got. If you don’t have turmeric, its fine. FYI. If you don’t have any spice powders, you can use whole spices for tempering like cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon sticks…use what you have and don’t fret about what you don’t.
Again, I apologise for being tardy.
Wow! So simple! No saffron? Great recipe. I’m going to try it!
JP, this is for non gourmet moms. We cook to feed our families, not run restaurants right??? In any case, the best way to hinder someone from trying a dish is to had them a list of ingredients. I do use saffron, I would even roast the chicken before putting it in, but then, this is the easy way out. Once Asiababy has made this, she can always try variations and improvise.
I hope you enjoy the dish!!For a side, slice onions, sprinkle it with salt and lemon juice. Yummy.
That IS nice! I usually do sliced onions and tomatoes in vinegar. Apricot chutney. Atchar. Freshly grated coconut. But I’m South African. We have a wonderful mixture of cultures and it normally manifests itself in the side-dishes. We even do cucumber and yoghurt as a curry side-dish. :lick: Malaysian, Indian, North African and Southern African pot pourri!
heheh a staple for my guests!!! you know your cuisines. 
Thanks, Divea! I actually went online and made something last night (had leftover from a roast chicken I wanted to use up). It was OK, but even after I cut out 2/3 of the cream it was supposed to have it was just too rich for us, and not at all like your “MY KID APPROVED” delicious one. And their spices were “funny”, now I know why. I am definitely making yours next time.
I grew up with Madhur Jaffrey. (Well, not literally, but with her recipes prepared by mum most weeks.) One could do a lot worse than work through a few of her books. Some of her recipes are online, too.
I’ve been looking for garam masala here in Tainan for a long time, without any success. I was even going to ask my folks to bring some over with them when they visit in April.
Is a premixed curry powder (from Carrefour) a reasonable alternate?
You can buy it online here:
http://www.lamarche.com.tw/production.php?shop_category=101
The site is in Chinese but they have English product names. I hate navigating the site due to how many times it can take to click on a pdt. category successfully, but you can give them a call and they will help you. Delivery is generally within 48 hours and you can pay buy credit card or on delivery.
“Tempering” is rarely explained well in cookbooks and websites, and the explanations vary, so I’m still not 100% sure what is meant when someone uses it, and I’m wondering whether it has more than one meaning. I’ve seen it explained as heating fragrant spices in oil to bring out their aroma (but without any indication of whether that is then added to the main ingredients for a longer cooking process or reserved for later use). I’ve also seen it explained as here: [quote]njum says, “Tempering or tarka refers to the process of frying spices, chillies, garlic or even shallots in hot oil. This flavourful oil is then added to a cooked dish towards the end of the cooking time. Tempering prevents the fresh, aromatic properties of the spices fading in the cooking process, combining both the deep flavours of the dish and the aroma of the freshly fried ingredients.”[/quote]
Divea, do you use the term the first way, or the second?