Snack time is here. For a lazy Saturday evening this was quite a task for me. First of all I had to recall the recipe I had seen on Face Book. After a short nap, it was difficult to gather myself to cook some snack to quench my hunger. All I could think was of capsicum bajji, which is my favourite. But I craved looking for something else.Hence paneer stuffed cheese Croquettes was my answer.
In this recipe, we make soft dough of cottage cheese/paneer with mild spices, and stuff it with cheese, coat it with bread crumbs and fry them. The challenging part here is to get the dough consistency right, if it goes wrong here you will not be able to neatly stuff the cheese inside paneer. Make sure you have fresh paneer in stock, else the dough will be crumbly and you cannot actually hold the cheese within.
Once the cheese is stuffed, handle these little goodness with utmost care while coating it with corn. Another variation of this is to make dough of boiled and mashed potato and stuff paneer. Both these dishes will be a super hit.
There are not many ingredients that go into making this snack, just a little patience is appreciated while you stuff paneer/cheese gently. Wait till you fry them on slow flame and lip smacking cheesy Croquettes awaits you. Follow the recipe below and let me know what you think.
Ingredients
- Cottage cheese/ paneer- 1 cup
- Maida – 1 tbsp
- Milk – 1-2 tbsp
- Chilli flakes – 1 tbsp
- Garam masala powder – 1 tsp
- Chaat masala – 1 tsp
- Mixed herbs (optional)- 1 tsp
- Cheese cubes/stick as required
- Breadcrumbs half cup
- Oil for frying
- Salt to taste
Method
- In a bowl, take 1 cup of crumbled paneer.
- Add chilli flakes, garam masala, chaat masala, mixed herbs, salt and mix well.
- Now add maida and softly knead the mixture.
- If the mixture feels dry add milk in small quantity and mix well.
- If you are able to make round ball without breaking it then the mixture is ready. keep aside.
- Combine 2 tbsp of maida and 1 tbsp of corn starch with little water for flour paste.
- Mix well without any lumps, mixture should not be watery nor too thick.
- Cut cheese into cubes or as sticks, you can even use grated cheese for stuffing.
- Take a spoonful of paneer mixture and roll it into a ball.
- Gently press the centre to fill the cheese cube/ grated cheese.
- Cover the filling from all side, shape it to a smooth ball. similarly make other balls and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
- Keep breadcrumbs and flour paste ready.
- In a kadai heat oil. Heat oil on medium flame.
- Meanwhile, dip the cheese balls in flour paste one by one and roll it breadcrumbs. Keep aside.
- Gently drop cheese balls in hot oil and fry till golden brown. Cook in low flame for first 3-4 minutes, so the cheese within melts.
- Remove excess oil with kitchen napkin.
- Serve hot with mint chutney or ketchup.
Dough/mixture
Flour paste
Cheese Croquettes
