I always tell myself I’m not going to order Indian food when I get home from an international flight, but I’m pretty much never right. Typically, it’s a Friday, and I’ve been on a plane all day, zoning out on movie after movie. We land, I go through customs, pick up my luggage, get in a taxi. It all feels like a bit of a time warp, difficult to remember how long you’ve been in between places. In between away and home. When I walk through my front door, into my warm house, I’m always so happy to be there.

When I get home, I check the fridge, thinking that I’m going to find some magical answer to my post-flight comfort food craving. But after being in transit for 12+ hours, mustering the energy to cook is just not realistic. So I cave and order malai kofta and naan and butter chicken (because it always takes two entrees to meet the delivery minimum) and $40 later I’m sitting on the couch, tucking in to the most delicious, creamy, comforting Indian food. It’s not the healthiest or most budget-conscious habit, but it’s a hard one to break.

The last time I did this, a few weeks back, I found myself wondering: what if I had my favorite Indian food in the freezer, waiting for me? That might solve the problem. Even at my most disoriented, I can usually manage to simmer rice. So I resolved to learn how to cook malai kofta and stash some away before my next trip.

Malai kofta is one of my favorite take-out orders. If you’re unfamiliar, they’re sort of a vegetable meatball served in a thick, tomato-based curry sauce. I’ve ordered them for years without ever really knowing what’s in them. When I made them myself, it became quite obvious why they’re one of my favorite foods – they’re basically fried potato and cheese balls served in a spicy tomato cream sauce. It’s probably not possible to get more of my favorite foods into one dish.

I have a little experience cooking Indian food but not very much, and it can be hard to get the same richness and balance of flavors as restaurant-quality takeout. These, however, were a very close approximation of my favorite malai kofta (and better than some of the ones I’ve had from inferior Indian restaurants). They’re still not particularly healthy – they are made of fried cheese and potatoes – but they are much more economical to prepare. And so good. Seriously, even if you don’t make these at home, promise me you’ll order them the next time you get takeout.

My plan to make this and stash it in the freezer for my next homecoming was good in theory. In practice, Trevor and I ate two thirds of this the first night. We couldn’t bring ourselves to freeze what was left, either – the idea of eating the leftovers for lunch the next day was too tempting. At least now I know how to make them. And since it’s not that difficult to scale up, next time I’ll make a double batch so that at least a little bit makes it into the freezer.

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Malai Kofta

Malai Kofta – a favorite vegetarian Indian takeout dish. Potato, paneer, and vegetables are rolled into kofta and fried, then served in a rich tomato-cream masala sauce. 

Recipe adapted from Spice up the Curry, Padhu’s Kitchen, and Veg Recipes of India.

• Author: Katie at the Kitchen Door
• Yield: 4
• Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

For the kofta:

• 3 medium red-skinned potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 8 oz. paneer cheese, grated or finely crumbled
• 1/3 c. frozen peas
• 1/4 c. grated carrot
• 2 TBS raisins
• 3 TBS finely chopped cashews
• 1 Thai green chile, chopped finely
• 3 TBS cornflour, plus more for rolling
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• canola oil, for frying

For the masala sauce:

• 2 TBS canola oil, divided
• 1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and pressed or pounded into a paste
• 2-inches fresh ginger, peeled and pounded into a paste
• 2 cups. crushed tomatoes
• 12 cashews
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder
• 3/4 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 TBS butter
• 2 cloves
• 1 bay leaf
• 2–3 cardamom pods
• 1/2 tsp caraway seeds
• 1/4 cup heavy cream

Instructions

For the kofta:

1. Place the potatoes in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and boil until potatoes are very tender, about 15-20 minutes. Drain potatoes.
2. Add potatoes, grated paneer, peas, grated carrot, raisins, cashews, and chopped chile to a bowl. Mash the potatoes with a fork, then mix everything together thoroughly. Use your hands if it’s easier.
3. Stir in the 3 TBS of cornflour, sea salt, ground cumin, and ground coriander. Mix until evenly combined.
4. Roll mixture into golf-ball sized balls, pressing together gently with your hands. Pour the extra cornflour into a bowl and roll the balls through the cornflour so there is a light coating on the outside.
5. Pour enough canola oil into a high-sided frying pan to reach 1/4 inch up the sides. Heat over medium heat until a piece of potato mixture dropped into the oil sizzles on contact. Add two or three of the potato balls to the oil and fry until golden brown all over, using tongs to carefully turn the balls as each side cooks. When they are done, use tongs to transfer them to a plate lined with a paper towel.

For the masala sauce:

1. Heat 1 TBS of the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute, stirring frequently, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger paste and saute until fragrant, another 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, salt, cashews, and all the ground spices. Bring to a simmer and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Then remove from the heat.
2. Transfer the sauce to a blender (let cool first if your blender can’t process hot liquids). Add 1/2 cup of water to the sauce and blend on high until a very smooth sauce is formed. Set aside.
3. Rinse or wipe the frying pan out. Heat the remaining 1 TBS of oil and 1 TBS of butter in the pan until the butter has melted. Add the cloves, bay leaf, cardamom pods, and caraway seeds. Fry for 60-90 seconds, then add the blended sauce to the pan. Cook, stirring frequently, until the oil begins to pool on the top of the sauce, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the heavy cream. Add the kofta to the sauce, and serve over basmati rice.

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The Book: The newest cookbook on my shelf is Eating with the Chefs, a photography-driven book that documents the family meals served at the world’s greatest restaurants. The goal of the book: to take you behind the scenes, into the kitchens and after-hours, to experience the “family life” of the people who make these restaurants run, and the “honest, simple food” they make for each other outside of the dining room. From the pillars of America’s modern dining scene (The French Laundry, Chez Panisse, Blue Hill at Stone Barns), to the international innovators that have been making global headlines for the past few years (Noma, Attica, Mugaritz), you will get a little taste of the experience and flavors of each restaurant, without needing to hop on a plane and fly to Denmark/Australia/Spain (as nice as that would be if you could). Like all of Phaidon’s books, Eating with the Chefs is gorgeously designed, an art book as much as a cookbook, if not more. The pages are thick and matte, the text sparse, and the stories are told primarily through the gorgeous and subtle photographs of Per-Anders Jorgensen, the book’s creator. The restaurant stories and recipes are found interspersed between the pictures in text “inserts,” further emphasizing the focus on the photography. It’s a book you’ll want to leave out on the coffee table. As for the recipes themselves, between the seemingly universal unwritten rule that family meals should be straightforward and comforting and the immense talent and creativity of the chefs cooking them, the 50 recipes included in this book fall right in the sweet spot of how I love to cook.

The Food: As soon as I saw the recipe for Indian Butter Chicken in Eating with the Chefs, I knew it had to be the first recipe I tried. I’m forever on the hunt for recipes that accurately approximate my favorite Indian takeout dishes, but making good Indian food requires such a thorough study of cooking techniques and knowledge of Indian pantry ingredients that it can be a real challenge. I’ve had good success with recipes like these Pea and Potato Parathas and this Pakistani Chickpea Pulao, but none of them have been “takeout-y,” by which I mean over-the-top rich and spicy and addictive. As you might expect from one of Australia’s pre-eminent chefs, this recipe hit all the right notes of great Indian food – creamy, spicy, salty, savory – and was perfectly balanced. I’m really excited to have added this one to my repertoire, and if the other recipes in the book are as dead-on as this one was, I’m going to have a lot more dinners in my rotation.

Recipe Shortlist: Basque-Style Garlic Soup; Emmer Wheat Foccaccia; Quark Pillows with Corn and Grilled Peaches; Holiday Cannelloni; Squab Torte; Roast Chicken with Apple and Onion Confit and Pommes Mousseline; Lentil Stew with Pork Ribs; Quay’s Green Chicken Curry; Chocolate Ripple Cake

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Disclaimer: I received a review copy of Eating with the Chefs from Phaidon, but I was not otherwise compensated and all thought and opinions are my own.

Indian Butter Chicken

Recipe from Eating with the Chefs. Serves 2.

• 1/2 c. plain Greek yogurt
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 lb. 2 oz. skinless chicken breasts or thighs
• 3 TBS butter
• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 TBS grated fresh ginger
• 1 TBS whole cumin seeds
• 1 small cinnamon stick
• 1/3 c. canned diced tomatoes
• 1 fresh red chile, seeded and sliced
• 1/4 c. chicken stock
• 1/2 c. heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp tomato paste
• 1 TBS ground almonds
• 3 sprigs fresh cilantro, to garnish
• salt to taste

1. Combine the yogurt, lemon juice, turmeric, salt (to taste, approximately 1/2 tsp), garam masala, and ground cumin in a small bowl and stir to combine. Pour over the chicken, making sure chicken is fully coated, cover, and refrigerate for 24 hours.
2. When ready to cook, melt the butter and oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for about 10 minutes or until translucent, stirring occasionally. Stir in the garlic, ginger, and cumin seeds, and cook for 3 minutes, until spices are fragrant and onions are lightly browned.
3. Add the cinnamon stick, diced tomatoes, and sliced chile to the pan and season with salt, then cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. Add the chicken and it’s marinade to the pan and stir to combine, then cook for another 5 minutes.
4. Add the chicken broth to the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in the cream and tomato paste, and cook for another 10-15 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked through. Stir in the ground almonds and cook for a final 5 minutes. Serve with rice, garnished with fresh cilantro.

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I made small changes to each of the three recipes I tried. In general, I don’t think it’s fair to review a recipe that you’ve changed, since you’re no longer reviewing the recipe as the author tested it. In this case, however, what I was really testing were the sauces, and for the most part, I didn’t change those. I also made each dish in a way that was practical to me – e.g. I don’t eat shrimp, so I’d never include it, and I’m unlikely to have “sweet preserved shredded radish” around, even if I were to cook Thai food regularly.

Some general tips for cooking any of these recipes – have all your ingredients prepped and ready to go before you turn on the stove, as things will move quickly once you begin cooking. Use fairly high heat so that your ingredients sizzle as you add each one. And last, don’t overcook any of the ingredients – you want your veggies to remain a little crisp and your egg to not completely dry out.

1) Bon Appetit Pad Thai

While I have a feeling that this recipe was the most authentic, it was actually my least favorite of the three. It was too sharp tasting and not balanced enough for my liking. Of course, as I mentioned above, I did make a few changes – in this case, scallions in place of garlic chives, chicken instead of shrimp, no tofu, and no preserved radish. Admittedly, these changes are fairly substantial, but the sauce just didn’t do it for me. Now, if you like a sour and slightly spicy Pad Thai, you might enjoy this dish, but it’s not going to get you that takeout flavor I suspect most of us are looking for.

2) Mark Bittman’s Pad Thai via Serious Eats

This recipe straddles the line between authentic and take-out quite nicely. It has all the complexity and flavor that I’m looking for, but the sauce was a little too thin, the sauce to noodle ratio was too high, and I found the vinegar flavor a little bit too strong. Further investigation led me to the fact that Mark’s original recipe has some substantial differences from the Serious Eats version, but I didn’t test that one out – I’ve added it to the list for the future. The changes I made to this recipe were as follows: vegetable oil instead of peanut oil, chopped endive instead of Napa cabbage (only because the only Napa cabbage at the store would have been far too large to fit in my fridge), and chicken instead of shrimp. After tasting the sauce, I also added two tablespoons of palm sugar to the sauce, as I found the sauce as written to be too sour. With the additional sweetener the flavor was pretty close to what I wanted. I think to get my perfect Pad Thai recipe, I’d have to somehow combine this recipe with number 3…

3) Easy Pad Thai from Brownies for Dinner

This recipe is decidedly the least authentic, but it was also super-duper easy, with fairly good results. I followed this one almost to the T – I just replaced the brown sugar with an equal amount of palm sugar, since I had already bought the palm sugar and I figured it would add a little more complexity. Flavor-wise, this recipe was the least challenging of the three – it would be easy for kids and picky eaters to palate. However, the trade-off was a loss of depth, and I did think the soy flavor was a little out of place. If you’re new to Thai cooking, though, I’d start with this recipe – for the amount of effort (and investment in special ingredients) you put into this recipe, I think you’ll be pleased with the end result.

The conclusion: I haven’t found my ideal Pad Thai recipe yet, but I feel a lot more knowledgeable about what works and what doesn’t. I’ve scribbled down some ideas about how I might combine recipes two and three to get what I’m looking for, and I’m going to keep testing recipes – I’ll let you know when I find a combination I love. In the meantime, if you have a favorite Pad Thai recipe, please share!

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