Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan. When the oil turns hot, add cardamoms, cloves & cinnamon.

Then add onions and saute until they turn transparent or golden.

Next add tomatoes & cashews. Saute for 2 to 3 mins. Pour half cup water & boil all the ingredients until soft & mushy.

Turn off the stove and cool completely. Add to a blender jar, retain all the whole spices we used. Don't discard them. Blend this to a smooth puree. Strain the puree (filter) through a strainer to another bowl.

Heat a pan with oil or butter. Add bay leaf, cinnamon and cardamoms (all spices are optional here). Saute for a minute.

Add ginger garlic paste and saute on a low heat till the raw smell goes away. This takes about 2 to 3 mins.

Quickly stir in chili powder, garam masala, coriander powder,salt and sugar. Pour the onion tomato puree. Mix it well.

Saute for 3 to 4 mins for the raw smell of chili powder to go away.

Pour ½ to ¾ cup water to make a gravy. Cook covered until the gravy thickens and traces of oil are seen on top. The raw smell of the ingredients should have gone.

Add kasuri methi and taste test. If needed add more salt.

Regulate the flame to low and add cream. Stir and turn off the heat. Set this aside.

To make malai kofta, boil potatoes just until fork tender and not mushy.

Crumble them and add to a mixing bowl along with crumbled paneer, ginger paste, corn flour, salt, garam masala and chopped coriander leaves.

Also add raisins and cashews. Or you can stuff them in the koftas.

Mix everything well and divide the dough to 8 equal parts. Roll them to balls.

If you prefer, you can also flatten each ball. Place the cashews and raisins in the center and seal.

Heat oil in a kadai for deep frying. Check if the oil is hot enough by sliding in a small portion of the malai kofta mixture.

It has to rise without browning a lot. This is the right temperature.

Test the dough: Wait for the oil to heat up. Pinch off 1 teaspoon of the kofta mixture and roll to a small ball. Slide it to the hot oil to ensure the mixture is right and does not disintegrate.

If the ball does not disintegrate or disperse in oil, then go ahead with the next step. If the ball disintegrates, add more corn starch to fix it (refer notes).

Slide the koftas one by one gently to the hot oil.

Deep fry on a medium flame until crisp and golden. Remove them to a steel colander or plate.

Cool the gravy completelt and transfer it to a serving dish.

Cool the malai koftas slightly. Place them in the gravy and pour 1 tbsp of cream. (avoid adding hot koftas to hot gravy)

Garnish malai kofta with coriander leaves & serve with butter naan or Jeera Rice.