Kishwar Chowdhury
Meet Kishwar
Chef Kishwar Chowdhury has joined Feast for Freedom 2026 to help us bring more diversity and recipe alternatives in 2026. Kishwar has been an ASRC ambassador and supporter since 2021, kindly volunteering her time and using her own platform to raise awareness for refugees and people seeking asylum in Australia.
Kishwar is known for her participation in the 13th season of MasterChef Australia, placing second runner-up at the finale. From an early age, this born and raised Melburnian has always had a special interest in heritage cuisine, sourcing ingredients and growing rare produce. What sets Kishwar’s food style apart is her attention to seasonality, the origins of food, cultural history and the relevance of the dishes she creates.
A lover of anthropology and history, Kishwar finds herself continuously evolving as a chef through her understanding of heritage, history and philosophy blended with movements of the culinary world, techniques and inspirations from around the globe.
A lover of anthropology and history, Kishwar finds herself continuously evolving as a chef through her understanding of heritage, history and philosophy blended with movements of the culinary world, techniques and inspirations from around the globe.
Kishwar's Recipe
You will receive the full recipe booklet in your Host Kit and you'll be able to find the recipes in the Recipes tab on your fundraising page.
Chicken Malai Kofta
Complexity ⭐ ⭐(Medium)
Ingredients
For koftas
- 500g minced (ground) chicken or, for a vegetarian version, a mixture of roasted, mashed root vegetables like potato, carrots, beetroot, with finely julienne cauliflower mixed through
- 1tablespoon ginger and garlic paste
- 1/2 bunch fresh coriander stems and leaves, chopped
- 1/2 tablespoon cumin seeds, toasted and crushed
- 1/2 tablespoon coriander seeds, toasted and crushed
- 2green chillies, chopped
- plain (all-purpose flour) for dusting, optional
- oil,for shallow-frying
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About Kishwar's recipe
Meatball-like dishes were used as early as ancient Rome, but the earliest recorded recipes for koftas date back to Arab cookbooks from the 13th century, the word ‘küfte’ or ‘köfte’, Persian for pounded meat, referring to typically golf-ball sized meatballs, served in gravy or soup.
Kishwar’s Bengali Malai Kofta is a beloved and indulgent family dish. Her mother would marinate minced chicken with yoghurt and spices, and add the secret ingredient of coarsely ground gorom moshla for an extra layer of texture and flavour.
This mouthwatering recipe comes from Kishwar’s upcoming book, Smoke Rice Water.
