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Give arancini an Indian twist with these Makhani Arancini. The rice is flavored with a smooth makhani sauce made with tomatoes, cashews and cream. The arancini are stuffed with amul cheese for that Indian touch (or you can also use mozzarella) and then served over a makhani spiced sauce. The perfect fusion appetizer for your festive gatherings.
The first time I had arancini was in Rome a few years ago, and the first time I had an Indian style arancini was at Farzi cafe in Delhi where I was served dal chawal arancini. I was inspired to create a savory appetizer inspired by Indian and Italian flavors for this festive season and keeping my previous experiences in mind, I made these Makhani arancini.
Traditionally, arancini are fried rice balls which often have cheese in the center and served with a tomato sauce. This recipe is similar but with that Indian twist. I flavored the rice with a quick homemade makhani sauce (which is seriously so easy to make) and then served it over a spicy makhani sauce. The result? Lightly spiced crispy rice balls with a creamy soft center.
Amul Cheese or Mozzarella?
I tested these Indian style arancini with both amul cube cheese and fresh mozzarella balls. The amul cheese makes them more “Indian” tasting, if that makes sense? Because we use amul cheese so much in India and in Indian recipes.
The mozzarella though is classic and melts so much better than Amul cheese. If you want that cheese pull in your Arancini, I would go for mozzarella cheese. BelGioioso brand in the US has these small mozzarella balls that work great for this recipe.
Indian-style Makhani Arancini – perfect fusion party appetizer!
Before you start, you should have 2 & 1/2 cups of cooked rice ready to go. I used arborio rice which is used traditionally in making arancini. It’s starchy and makes the arancini stick together. If you don’t have that, use sushi rice which you can find at most grocery stores.
The recipe itself is divided into 3 basic steps: making the sauce, shaping and frying the arancini and lastly serving them up.
Make the makhani sauce first
- Sauté the aromatics
This sauce doesn’t use any powdered spices so most of the flavor comes from whole spices like cardamom peppercorn, cinnamon. Once the spices are fragrant, then sauté the ginger, garlic and chili. Frying Kashmiri red chili powder in oil gives the sauce a nice red color. You can add more of the green chilies and more of the chili powder for a spicier sauce.
- Add the tomatoes and cashews
For the base of the makhani sauce, I like using a can of crushed tomatoes. Make sure to use a good brand of canned tomatoes (all are not the same and some taste better than the other). Add some cashews for the creaminess and texture.
- Cook the sauce
The sauce needs to simmer for 20 minutes for the flavors to come together.
- Puree the sauce
Discard the cinnamon and bay leaf before grinding the sauce to a puree. I would usually pass the sauce through a strainer if I was making a dish like paneer makhani but here it’s not needed.
Roll and prepare the arancini next
- Mix the cooked rice with makhani sauce
Then add the makhani sauce to cooked rice. I have used arborio rice here, but sushi rice will also work. Along with the makhani sauce, we also add some kasuri methi, butter and cream for flavor.
- Stuff & shape arancini
Shape the arancini now, you can use either amul cheese or fresh mozzarella. If you want that cheese pull, go for mozzarella. Use 4 to 6 grams of cheese per 30 gram of arancini.
- Coat the arancini
Once all arancini are filled with cheese and rolled, drop them in cornstarch slurry and then coat in breadcrumbs to make them ready for frying.
- Fry the arancini in hot oil
Fry on medium heat until they are golden brown, do not overcrowd your pan.
Make the sauce and serve
Make the serving sauce by mixing together the makhani base sauce with sour cream and hot sauce. You can make it as spicy as you like. Serve the sauce with arancini on top.
Air Fryer Option
You can also air fry these in place of deep frying. Spray with oil and after you preheat your air fryer, air fry at 375 F degrees for 12 to 14 minutes or until crisp and golden brown in color. I did air fry a few to test and in my honest opinion, arancini that were deep fried tasted much better than air frying. But I am giving you the option if you want to air fry these.
Make Ahead Options
If you are making this for a party, you can cook the rice and make the sauce in advance. And then you can make the arancini on the day of the party. Alternatively, you can also make the balls in advance and freeze them. On the day of the party, you can fry them (or air fry) and serve.
Manali’s Tips
- I cooked the arborio rice on stove-top by following instructions on the back of the rice packet. Make sure the rice is cooked and cooled before you start making the makhani sauce. You can make it in advance.
- Do not use more cheese than what’s mentioned in the recipe. Overstuffing with cheese can cause the arancini to burst in oil.
- Reheating: I would recommend re-heating the arancini in air fryer at 300 F degrees for 10 minutes.
Makhani Arancini
Ingredients
Makhani Sauce
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 whole black peppercorns
- 4 green cardamom
- 1 inch cinnamon
- 1 & ½ inch ginger roughly chopped
- 5-6 large garlic cloves roughly chopped
- 1-2 green chili adjust to spice level
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder
- 28 oz can crushed tomatoes I used SMT brand
- ⅓ cup cashews raw
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ⅓ cup water
Arancini
- 2 & ½ cups arborio rice cooked
- ¾ cup makhani sauce that we prepared earlier
- 1 tablespoon butter salted
- 1 teaspoon kasuri methi
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 125 grams cheese amul processed cheese cubes or fresh mozzarella
- oil to fry arancini, I used avocado oil
Cornstarch Slurry
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 1 cup water
- 1 & ½ cups breadcrumbs
Serving Sauce
- ½ cup makhani sauce that we prepared earlier
- 4-5 tablespoons sour cream I used full-fat
- 2 teaspoons sriracha or any hot sauce
- ¼ teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
Instructions
Make The Makhani Sauce
- To a large pan on medium heat, add 1 tablespoon oil. Once hot, add the whole spices- 1 bay leaf, 3 whole peppercorns, 4 green cardamom and 1-inch cinnamon. Sauté the spices for 30 seconds or so until they are fragrant.
- Then add 1 & ½-inch ginger (roughly chopped), 5-6 garlic cloves (chopped) and 1 green chili (sliced). Stir and cook them ginger-garlic-chili for around 1 minute or so until they start changing color. At this point, add 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder and and stir for 30 seconds. This will give the sauce a nice red color.
- Then add 28 oz can crushed tomatoes and stir. Also add ⅓ cup whole cashews (raw). Stir and add ¾ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon sugar and ⅓ cup water. Stir and close the pan with the lid and let the sauce cook on medium-low heat for 20 minutes or so.
- The sauce will thicken up a lot once cooked. Let it cool down then remove bay leaf and cinnamon from it and transfer the rest of the sauce to a blender. Puree to a smooth sauce. Set this aside.
Make Arancini
- To a large pan, add 2 & ½ cups cooked arborio rice (see note 1). To that add, ¾ cup of the prepared makhani sauce along with 1 tablespoon butter, 1 teaspoon kasuri methi, 1 tablespoon heavy cream and ¼ teaspoon salt. Turn the gas on on medium heat and mix until the butter melts and the rice, sauce and the seasonings are well combined.
- Make the cornstarch slurry by mixing together ½ cup cornstarch and 1 cup of water. Place 1 & ½ cups of breadcrumbs in a large plate.Take around 30 grams of the rice-makhani sauce mixture and place 4 to 6 grams of cheese (amul or mozzarella) in the center. Use your hands to seal the edges and close the arancini. Make all the arancini similarly. You would get 21-22 of these.
- Heat around 2 to 3 cups oil in a small kadai on medium heat (around 350 F degrees). Meanwhile dip each arancini in the prepared cornstarch slurry and then roll into the breadcrumbs. Once the oil is hot, carefully add the arancini in the hot oil and fry on medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown and crisp. Fry in batches and don't overcrowd your pan/kadai.
- Fry all arancini similarly. To serve, make your sauce by mixing together ½ cup makhani sauce with 4 to 5 tablespoons sour cream, 2 teaspoon hot sauce, ¼ teaspoon dijon mustard and 1 teaspoon vinegar in a bowl. Place some sauce at the bottom of your serving plate and then place the fried arancini on top. Serve hot!
Notes
- I would recommend using either arborio rice or sushi rice for this recipe. These varieties of rice are starchy and so the rice grains stick to each other easily and the balls don’t break apart. Do not use basmati rice, it might not be a good substitute.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
