Makhani Arancini

3 arancini with one broken in half to show the cheese pull

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Give an Indian twist to arancini with these Makhani Arancini. These lightly spiced rice balls have a cheesy center and are served over a spiced tomato sauce for that perfect party appetizer.

Prep Time1

Cook Time20

Total Time1 20

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Indian Fusion

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: arancini

Author: Manali Singh

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.

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