A quick and flavorsome evening snack – paneer pakora will present you with a lovely crispy textured dish with moist, soften paneer inside and crunchy crust outside. Mainly made with paneer and battered with gram flour, this paneer pakoda recipe will come together in under 30 minutes and is surely going to rule your heart.
The best thing about this snack is that be it monsoon, summers, or winters – you can prepare these pakoras anytime. They’re perfect for all occasions and are loved by people of all ages.
Who Invented Paneer Pakoda?
Pakoras have been present in the Indian subcontinent since the 1930s. Kundan Lal is credited for the invention of this delicious delicacy. He created chicken pakora. However, vegetarian people then adopted the recipe and used various ingredients like potatoes, onion, and paneer.
How to Make Paneer Pakora Easily?
Making paneer pakora is similar to making bread pakoda. The only difference is that we do not use filling for this recipe.
Instead, paneer is marinated in various herbs and spices along with ginger garlic paste to infuse flavors into them. Then we dip these marinated paneer pieces into the besan batter and fried to perfection. We have also smeared some of the pakoras into coarse cornflakes to provide extra crunch!
Easy to make and delicious to eat! Let’s see how you can make these paneer pakodas at home!
Quick Stats
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Servings: 3 serves
Ingredients
for marination:
- 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
- ½ tsp Kashmiri red chili powder
- ¾ tsp chaat masala
- 1 tsp Kasuri methi/dry fenugreek leaves
- ¼ tsp salt
- 9 cubes paneer/cottage cheese (cubed)
for besan batter:
- ¾ cup gram flour/besan
- 2 tbsp rice flour
- ¼ tsp turmeric / Haldi
- ¼ tsp Kashmiri red chili powder
- ¼ tsp hing / asafoetida
- ¼ tsp chaat masala
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup water
- ¼ Baking soda
- Coarse cornflakes, for smothering
- oil for frying
Method to Prepare
- Firstly, take a large mixing bowl and add 1 teaspoon of ginger garlic paste, 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder, 3/4 teaspoon of chaat masala, 1 teaspoon of Kasuri methi, and salt to taste.
- Combine everything well and form a paste. Then, add paneer cubes and rub gently to cover the paneer with masala. Be careful and ensure that you don’t break the paneer.
- Keep it aside and let it marinate for a couple of hours in the fridge.
- Meanwhile, prepare the besan batter by adding 3/4 cup of besan and 2 tablespoons of rice flour to a mixing bowl.
- Then, add 1/4 teaspoon of each turmeric, chili powder thing, chaat masala, and salt.
- Combine everything well. Add 1/2 cup of water and whisk until smooth.
- Then, add a pinch of baking soda into the mixture and mix gently.
- Dip the marinated paneer into the prepared besan and coat it entirely.
- We also dipped some of our batter-coated pakoras into the coarse cornflakes for a crunchy texture.
- Then, deep fry your pakoras in hot oil until golden brown.
- Your paneer pakoras are ready.
- Serve it with tamarind chutney and enjoy!
Must Check: Chana Chaat Recipe: Easy-licious and Healthy Indian Snack Recipe!
Final Words
When you have a sudden visit from guests or you just crave something delicious yet easy to make then these paneer pakoras will help you. They’re crunchy, flavorous, and delicious. So, try this paneer pakora recipe and enjoy a lip-smacking snack in no time!
