The Tale of Curdled Milk and a Magic Wand; 6 Ingredient Curry

Don’t you hate it when the milk curdles when you’re boiling it? Personally, I love it when that happens. In fact, at times I add in a few drops of lemon juice while warming milk to make homemade paneer. I love using homemade paneer in my curry in place of regular paneer. When I was training as a chef, they would make rasgulla-like balls of homemade paneer and use that in their paneer preparations. Bind the homemade paneer together to make some delectable, melt in the mouth koftas. This is by far the simplest Curry one can make.

Tip: Be sure just to add in a few drops of lemon juice while boiling milk. Too much acid will lead to dry and rubbery homemade paneer.

Simple White Gravy with Cheese Koftas

This is a rich, creamy curry sauce with cottage cheese balls, it is by far the simplest Indian curry I know.

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the Curry:

Cashews ¼ cup

Black Peppercorns 4-5

Green Chillies 2, slit

Garlic 3-4 cloves, peeled and crushed

Cream 2 tablespoons

Vegetable Stock or Leftover Liquor from the Paneer ½ cup + 1 cup

Butter 1 tablespoon

Salt to taste

Cheese Kofta:

Homemade Paneer 1 cup

Processed Cheese, grated ½ cup

Paprika ½ teaspoon

Salt to taste

Refined Flour ½ cup

Vegetable Oil for frying

Method:

For the Curry:

Grind the cashews, peppercorn, green chillies, garlic and ½ cup stock together. In a blender add in the remaining water with the ground mixture and blend the ingredients together.

Melt butter in a pan, add in the blended mixture and allow it cook until the curry thickens. Add in more stock if necessary. Add in salt and mix. To finish, turn off the heat and then add in the cream and mix it in. Garnish the dish with Green Chillies.

For the Koftas:

Crumble paneer with the help of your fingers and add in grated cheese, salt and paprika. Mash the mixture well. Knead the mixture like dough until it is smooth and blended together.  Roll it into a cylindrical shape. Divide it into equal portions with the help of a knife.

Round them up one by one into balls. Be sure there are no cracks on the surface. Add in more cheese  to bind if required. Flatten the cheese balls between your palms.

Roll the koftas in seasoned flour and place them in a refrigerator.

Heat oil for frying in a deep pan. Once the oil is hot, pop in the koftas one by one and fry them till they are golden brown. Place them on an absorbent paper towel once they are done to absorb the excess oil.

Pop these kofats into the curry. Serve with steamed rice or  hot rotis.

PS: In place of paneer, non-vegetarians can add in boneless chunks of chicken.