It was a beetroot kind of day today!
Nawabi Beetroot Kofta is one of those experiments from my kitchen that worked awesomely delicious.

It is a fusion, non-spicy, lip smacking dish inspired by Hyderabadi/Mughlai Nawabi/Shahi Paneer and the North Indian Malai Kofta. To be precise, little balls/ koftas made of paneer, potato and the nutrient-packed super-pink beetroot are deep-fried and dunked in rich, flavourful, smooth gravy made of cashews, almonds, poppy seeds, aromatic saffron, dry spices, onions, milk & yogurt. Nawabi because this gravy formed base for a dish that used to be prepared for the royalty of India during the Moghul empire.

I make it a point not to experiment with multiple new creations together in one meal. But here one thing lead to another… The idea bulb💡 kept lighting throughout the process and I ended up mixing and matching ingredients from each dish and ended up creating
*Nawabi beetroot kofta
*Beetroot jowar roti: gluten-free
*Stuffed nawabi beetroot jowar parathas: gluten-free

One small beetroot created all these pretty pink and lip smacking delicious dishes turning our lunch into a mini feast in itself.

Beetroot is something we are still exploring and looking for dishes that the entire family can feel excited about. This spread has only increased our expectations of this nutrient-packed root vegetable.

Nawabi Beetroot Kofta was conceptualized with the thought of creating a contrast in colour in a single dish for the last week’s theme for the contest #explorecontrastinfood I’m holding on Instagram in collaboration with a few other food bloggers. I couldn’t execute it last week since I was tied up on personal front. But you know what, it fits the bill for our current week’s theme ‘Contrast in Texture’ perfectly.

The pink koftas have a crisp outer layer encasing the soft beetroot, potato & paneer mix that surrounds a crunchy center made of finely chopped nuts. The silky smooth, creamy texture of the rich off white coloured gravy is in perfect contrast to the koftas.

The koftas are excitingly super-light with a crisp outer shell and super-smooth inside… Perfect to pair with any kind of flatbread/ roti.

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Sharing the Nawabi Beetroot Kofta Recipe below for you to try out. You might also like to check out my other gravy dishes too:

1. Achari Paneer
2. Paneer Lababdar
3. Paneer Makhani/ butter masala
4. Kadai Paneer
5. Paneer Khurchan
6. Paneer Pasanda
7. Matar-Paneer
8. Methi Malai Paneer
9. Palak Paneer
10. Nawabi paneer | Shahi paneer
11. Kashmiri Dum Aloo
12. Aloo Matar
13. Rajma
14. Kaju Masala
15. Chana masala |Chole Masala | Chickpeas curry
16. Palak Kofta Curry | Spinach Balls Curry
17. Lauki Kofta Curry
18. Punjabi Kadhi Pakoda
19. Okra Masala Curry: Bhindi Masala Curry
20. Dahi Bhindi
21. Dahi Baingan

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Nawabi Beetroot Kofta Recipe

Serves 5, Makes 21 koftas
1 Cup = 240 ml

Ingredients:

• For Kofta:
• Paneer – 200 g, grated
• Potato – 2, medium, boiled & grated
• Beetroot – 1, small, either grated raw or boiled & ground to paste
• Milk powder/ mawa – 2 tbsp
• Ginger – 1/2 inch piece, grated
• Salt – 1/2 tsp
• Black pepper powder – 1 tsp
• Baking soda – 1 pinch only
• Corn starch – 2 to 3 tbsp
• For Kofta Stuffing:
• Finely chopped mixed dry fruits & nuts (cashew nuts, almonds, pistachio, raisins) – 1/4 cup
• Coriander leaves – 1 tbsp, finely chopped
• Kofta mix made with ingredients mentioned above – 1 tbsp
• For Gravy :
• Cashewnuts – 10
• Almonds – 10
• Poppy seeds/khus khus – 1 tbsp
• Ghee/oil – 2 tsp
• Onion – 1, sliced
• Ginger-garlic paste – 1tsp
• Cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp
• Bay leaf – 1
• Green cardamom – 1
• Cloves – 2
• Cinnamon – 1/2inch
• Green chillies – 2 to 3, slit (optional, use for a mildly spicy gravy)
• Curd – 1/4 cup, whisked
• White pepper powder – 1/2 tsp
• Salt – 1/3 tsp approx.
• Whole milk – 1/2 cup (sub. equal parts of fresh cream and milk for an indulgent gravy)
• Saffron – 1 pinch (optional)
• Kasuri methi – 1/2 tsp, crushed

Instructions:

1. Preparation: Soak poppy seeds in 1/4 cup warm water for 30 minutes. In another bowl, soak cashewnuts and almonds in warm water. Finely chop all the dry fruits & nuts and keep aside. Boil potatoes, peel & keep aside.

2. I boiled the beetroot pieces and blended them before adding to kofta mix. Note: Lost a lot of colour in the process. Instead you can directly grate them raw (using a cheese grater helps in getting fine texture) before adding. Steam cooking is another option. Works well both ways.

3. Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan. Add sliced onion and saute for 1-2 minutes until they begin to turn translucent.

4. Add ginger-garlic paste.

5. Saute for another 30 seconds to 1 minute. Turn off heat. Allow to cool down. Note: Do not let them turn brown, that’ll darken the gravy colour.

6. Transfer the sauteed onions to a blender jar. Add the soaked poppy seeds along with the water it was soaked in. De-skin almonds and add them along with the soaked cashew nuts.

7. Blend them all to a very fine paste. Add a little water if at all needed. Keep aside.

8. Grate paneer and potatoes in a plate. Add grated raw/ boiled and blended beetroot. Add grated ginger, salt, black pepper powder, cornstarch and baking powder.

9. Mix them well to a dough consistency.

10. For stuffing: Add the finely chopped dry fruits and nuts to a bowl. Add finely chopped coriander leaves. Add about 1-1/2 tbsp of kofta mix from Step 9 for a better binding.

11. Mix well and keep aside.

12. Divide the kofta mix equally into 1 tbsp balls. It helps literally using a tablespoon to scoop out equal-sized balls.

13. Take a ball and make an indent in it.

14. Take about 1/2 tsp nuts stuffing and place in the indent.

15. Cover from all sides and make a ball/ kofta.

16. Repeat with all the balls and keep aside.

17. In a thick-bottomed kadai, heat oil on medium flame. Gently slip the koftas one by one. Handle these smooth koftas gently.

18. Fry them on medium heat until light brown and crisp all over. Using a mesh fryer remove them.

19. Repeat with all the koftas and place on a kitchen paper towel to remove excess oil if any.

20. To make gravy: Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. Allow to crackle.

21. Add bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves and green cardamom. Add slit green chillies now if using. Saute for 30 seconds.

22. Reduce heat to low. Add the blended nuts and onion paste (from Step 7). Be aware of splutters.

23. Swirl 1/4 cup water in the blender jar to get all of the paste. Add to the pan. Mix well.

24. Reduce the heat to low. Add whisked curd. Mix well.

25. Add salt and white pepper powder. Mix well continually and bring to a boil.

26. Add whole milk/ fresh cream + milk. Adding saffron strands at this point is entirely optional.

27. Mix well continually so that it doesn’t burn at the bottom of the pan. Bring to a boil.

28. Add kasuri methi crushed between your palms. Turn off heat.

29. Mix well.

30. Add koftas just before serving. Enjoy with roti, phulka, naan, kulcha, stuffed or regular parathas… or even jowar rotis.

Recipe for gluten-free stuffed nawabi beetroot jowar triangle parathas will follow in the next blog post.

How to include beetroot in regular meals?

Since beetroot can be eaten raw or cooked, there are so many possibilities one can include it in an easy way. Here’s everything beetroot on my blog:

1. Beetroot Malai Toast
2. Beetroot Kheer
3. Beetroot Toastie
4. Beetroot Buttermilk
5. Beetroot Rasam
6. Beetroot Pulao
7. Beetroot Akki Rotti
8. Beetroot Soup
9. Beetroot Dosa
10. Beetroot Sago Patties
11. Beetroot Chutney : coconut-less

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If you happen to try this Nawabi Beetroot Kofta Recipe; leave a comment, let me know how it turned out. Click a picture, share on Instagram and tag @theredplatechronicles , I would love to see your creation. See more of my work on the hashtag #trpc and follow me on

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