Paneer Pakoda - Indian Cheese Fritters
 
 
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Ingredients
  • Indian cheese or paneer (Made out of ½ gallon 2% fat milk) (As I mentioned earlier, making Indian cheese is super easy and you can find videos all over the place)
  • 1+1/2 cup gram flour
  • Salt to taste
  • 1-2 tsp red chilli powder or cayenne pepper
  • 1 tbsp carom seeds whole
  • 1 tsp oil plus oil for frying
  • 1 tsp Indian garam masala (easily available in Indian grocery stores)
  • 2-3 tbsp Indian chaat masala plus more for sprinkling on top (easily available in Indian grocery stores)
  • 3-4 fine chopped green chillies (optional)
  • Water to make batter
Instructions
  1. Cut cheese in small 1" thick pieces in desirable shape. I like triangular shapes but it is totally optional. Keep them aside.
  2. In a medium sized bowl, add gram flour, salt, red chilli powder, carom seeds, 1 tsp oil, garam masala, chaat masala and green chillies. Mix it all up and add water by few tbsps at a time and mix it. Keep adding water till you reach a desired kind of not to loose or too thick consistency. You want the batter to easily cover the cheese pieces but not to be too thick as you won't feel the taste of cheese.
  3. Adjust the taste of batter before proceeding further.
  4. Pour oil in a skillet and let it get really hot. Once it becomes nice hot, take the gas to medium-high so it doesn't smoke. Take a piece of cheese and sprinkle it with chaat masala making sure it covers one side evenly. Place another slice on top of it and then dip it in the batter. Drop it slowly in the hot oil. Let it get cooked on one side for few minutes and then flip to other side. Make sure the flame is not too high and the cheese fritters don't get too browned or burnt. You can do 3-4 at a time but don't overcrowd.
  5. Serve hot with more chaat masala sprinkled on top with ketchup or green mint chutney or enjoy them by themselves.
Notes
They hold up pretty good for a day if kept in closed airtight jars. Warm them up in microwave or oven for few minutes to enjoy the fresh taste.
Recipe by Naive Cook Cooks at https://www.naivecookcooks.com/paneer-pakoda-indian-cheese-fritters/