Malai Kofta at Avatar Indian Grill in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget
I tried potato-cheese dumplings with creamy tomato curry sauce at Avatar Indian Grill in Salinas, California and loved saying their exotic name “malai kofta.”
According to Swasthi’s Kitchen website, malai kofta can also be called “paneer kofta curry.” Paneer is Indian white cheese. Kofta are paneer balls made into oblong dumplings at Avatar Indian Grill. Malai Kofta is a vegetarian dish served in a thick, creamy sauce called a curry.
Malai kofta is from Northern India and belongs to a family of dumpling dishes common in Central Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and Balkan cuisines according to Swasthi’s Kitchen website.
The paneer dumplings are made with boiled potatoes, crumbled Indian paneer white cheese, spices, and herbs. Once the dumplings are made, they are served in a curry made of boiled onions, cashews, and tomatoes that is blended to make a purée and cooked further with heavy cream to thicken. The curry is seasoned with cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves.
The curry tastes fine with plain white rice. I also ordered butter naan, Indian flatbread to go with my meal. For an exotic and tasty lunch, malai kofta from Avatar Indian Grill in Salinas, California is an excellent choice.
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
