A cheesy variation of pakoda is these tasty cheese pakoda. The crisp outer besan coating and the gooey cheesy melted cheese inside are contrasting textures in this recipe.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 20 minutes
  • Total time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 10 · 10 cheese pakoda
  • Category: Snacks
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper (or add as per taste)
  • ¼ teaspoon coriander seeds
  • ½ cup besan ((gram flour))
  • 1 pinch asafoetida ((hing))
  • 1 pinch baking soda
  • ⅛ teaspoon turmeric powder ((2 to 3 pinches))
  • ¼ teaspoon red chilli powder
  • ½ teaspoon sesame seeds (- black or white)
  • salt (as per taste)
  • 4 to 5 tablespoons water (or add as required)
  • 125 grams processed cheese (or 5 amul cheese cubes)
  • oil (as required for deep frying or shallow frying)

Method

preparation

  1. Firstly in a mortar-pestle take black pepper and coriander seeds.
  2. Crush coarsely. Keep aside.

making cheese pakora batter

  1. In a mixing bowl take ½ cup besan.
  2. Add the coarsely crushed black pepper and coriander seeds.
  3. Add asafoetida, baking soda, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, sesame seeds and salt as per taste.
  4. Add 4 to 5 tablespoons water or add as required.
  5. Mix to a smooth thick batter without any lumps.

making cheese pakora

  1. Take 5 amul cheese cubes or 125 grams processed cheese or mozzarella cheese. Do note that the cheese cubes have to be removed directly from the fridge and then sliced. Do not use cheese cubes which are at room temperature.
  2. Cut each cheese cube in two parts.
  3. Heat oil for deep frying or shallow frying in a kadai or pan.
  4. When the oil becomes hot, add 4 to 5 drops of the hot oil in the besan batter.
  5. Mix it very well. This helps in making the pakoras crisp and they also absorb less oil while frying.
  6. Now check a tiny portion of the batter in the oil. It should come up steadily and gradually on top. This means the oil is hot enough for frying pakoras.
  7. Place the cheese cube in the batter and coat it evenly with the batter.
  8. Now gently slid or place each batter-coated cheese cubes in the hot oil. Fry the pakoras on medium to medium-high flame.
  9. When one side is crisp and golden, then turn over and fry the second side.
  10. Turn over again and continue to fry.
  11. You can turn over a couple of times and fry till the cheese fritters are crisp and golden. However do note that do not fry these pakodas too much. Just fry them till they turn golden.
  12. Remove them with a slotted spoon.
  13. Place them on kitchen paper towels to remove excess oil.
  14. Serve cheese pakora hot with any chutney or dip or sauce of your choice. Do note that cheese pakoda has to be served hot. If they are served warm or at room temperature, the melted cheese becomes thick and solidified.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.