Delicate florets of broccoli are coated in a creamy marinade and cooked to perfection in this air fried malai broccoli recipe.
The dish is ridiculously easy to put together, and tastes finger licking delicious. This is in fact, one of the best ways to enjoy broccoli.
All set to try out the recipe? Here is all you need to know about making it.
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Ingredients For the Recipe
To make the air fried Malai broccoli, where is all you will need
- Fresh cream: ½ cup
- Milk: ¼ cup
- Ginger garlic paste: 1 tbsp
- Green chilies (minced): 1 tsp
- Coriander leaves (finely chopped): 2 tbsp
- Kasuri methi (crushed): 1 tbsp
- Black pepper powder: ½ tbsp
- Salt: 1 teaspoon or as per taste
- Lemon juice: 2 tsp
- Cheese (grated): ¼ cup
- Broccoli florets: 2 cups
How to Make the Air Fried Malai Broccoli
Once you have the ingredients, ready, here is what you will need to do to me, the air fried Malai broccoli
In a mixing bowl, add all the ingredients other than broccoli and whisk them together.
Add the broccoli florets and give it a good mix. The florets should be well coated with the mixture.
Let the marinated broccoli rest for at least 15 minutes.
While the broccoli florets are resting, preheat the Air Fryer at 200℃ for 5 minutes.
Once the broccoli florets are done marinating, transfer them to the Air Fryer.
Cook them at 200℃ for 15 minutes.
Enjoy with your favorite chutney as a snack or serve them as sides to your meals.
Frequently Asked Questions
I have used heavy cream (malai) as the base for the marinade, but you can also add some hung curd or unflavored Greek yogurt in addition to it if you want the broccoli to be coated nicely.
To make a vegan version of this recipe, you can use cashew yogurt or cashew butter instead of the heavy cream and yogurt, skip adding the milk and use vegan cheese. 
Your leftovers need to be transferred to an airtight container and refrigerated for up to 2 days.
Using an airtight container is absolutely necessary because it helps keep the air fried, broccoli fresh.
I would recommend reheating the broccoli in the Air Fryer or in the microwave.
If you have some marinade leftover, don't throw it away. You can save it and use it to coat other veggies too!
Baby corn, cauliflower, carrots, bell peppers, zucchini and potatoes can all be great veggies that you can add to the creamy malai mixture and then air fry them. 
Tips & Tricks to Make the Air Fried Malai Broccoli
While this recipe is super easy, you might want to have these little tips and tricks handy
- To make the air fried broccoli more crispy, you can also add a bit of rice flour to the marinade.
- Make sure all the broccoli florets are roughly the same size before you marinate them in the malai mixture.
- I have used a mix of Indian spices and seasonings for the marinade, but you can also use Italian seasoning mix instead.
- Remember to grease the Air Fryer basket before you add all the broccoli florets in. You can also choose to line the basket with parchment paper if you want.
- I haven’t used any oil for this recipe, but if you want to get the broccoli florets to have a bit of extra flavor, you can add 1 teaspoon olive oil or any other cooking oil into the marinade.
- I would highly recommend cooking the broccoli in batches instead of throwing them all together in the basket and overcooking them.
- The cheese lends some extra delicious and creamy flavor to the broccoli dish. You can use any cheese of your choice- mozzarella, cheddar and even Parmesan.
Serving Ideas & Suggestions
The crispy air fried malai broccoli can be enjoyed on its own as a healthy snack, or served as a side with any main dish of your choice.
The marinade for this broccoli already has a decent amount of flavor, so you don’t really need to be teamed up with any dip. If you really want to, you can serve it with some ranch or green chutney.
If you enjoyed making this easy and flavourful side dish, and are interested to try out some more such recipes, here are a few good ones you might check want to check out
📖 Recipe
Air Fried Malai Broccoli
Ingredients
- ½ cup Fresh cream
- ¼ cup Milk
- 1 tablespoon Ginger garlic paste
- 1 teaspoon Green chilies , (minced)
- 2 tablespoon Coriander leaves , (finely chopped)
- 1 tablespoon Kasuri methi , (crushed)
- ½ tablespoon Black pepper powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 2 teaspoon Lemon juice
- ¼ cup Cheese , (grated)
- 2 cups Broccoli florets
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, add all the ingredients other than broccoli and whisk them together.
- Add the broccoli florets and give it a good mix. The florets should be well coated with the mixture.
- Let the marinated broccoli rest for at least 15 minutes.
- While the broccoli florets are resting, pre-heat the air fryer at 200℃ for 5 minutes.
- Once the broccoli florets are done marinating, transfer them to the air fryer.
- Cook them at 200℃ for 15 minutes.
- Enjoy with your favorite chutney as a snack or serve them as sides to your meals.
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