Paneer Koliwada is a quick, crispy and tasty fried snack made with marinated and spiced batter-coated paneer cubes. The batter is gluten-free and made with gram flour (besan). This Fried Paneer originated in Sion Koliwada in Mumbai.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 30 minutes
  • Cook time: 20 minutes
  • Total time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: 3
  • Category: Side Dish, Snacks
  • Cuisine: Indian Street Food

Ingredients

  • 200 grams paneer ((Indian cottage cheese))
  • 1.5 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 1.5 teaspoon ginger garlic paste (or 1 inch ginger & 4 to 5 medium garlic cloves crushed to a paste in mortar-pestle)
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
  • ¼ teaspoon kashmiri chilli powder
  • ½ cup besan ((gram flour))
  • ½ teaspoon cumin powder ((jeera))
  • ½ teaspoon garam masala
  • ½ teaspoon carom seeds ((ajwain))
  • 1 teaspoon chaat masala
  • 1 teaspoon kashmiri chilli powder
  • salt (as required)
  • 4 tablespoons water (or add as required)
  • oil (- as required, for deep frying)
  • 1 onion (- thinly sliced, small to medium-sized)
  • 1 lime (or lemon - chopped, small)
  • chaat masala (as required)

Method

Marinating paneer

  1. Chop the paneer in 1.5 inch cubes and take them in a bowl.
  2. Add the ginger-garlic paste, turmeric powder, kashmiri red chilli powder, lemon juice and salt as required.
  3. Gently mix everything with your hands without breaking the paneer cubes. If you are unable to mix, then toss the bowl, so that the ingredients get mixed. Cover the bowl and marinate for 20 to 30 minutes.

Making batter

  1. In another mixing bowl take the besan (gram flour).
  2. Add cumin powder, garam masala powder, carom seeds, chaat masala and kashmiri red chili powder.
  3. Next add 4 tablespoons water.
  4. Mix very well to get a thick batter without any lumps.
  5. Add the marinated paneer cubes in the batter.
  6. Gently mix well with your hands or a spoon without breaking the paneer cubes. Check the taste of the batter and if required you can add more salt.

Making Paneer Koliwada

  1. Heat oil for deep frying in a kadai (wok) or pan. Add a tiny portion of the batter in the oil. If it comes up gradually and steadily, the oil is ready for the paneer cubes to be fried.
  2. Coat the paneer cubes evenly with the batter and drop them gently in the hot oil.
  3. Fry on medium heat and do not over crowd the pan or kadai. Add depending on the size of the wok or kadai. You can fry paneer in two to three batches. Alternatively you can even pan fry or shallow fry the paneer cubes.
  4. When one side is golden, turn over with a slotted spoon and continue to fry.
  5. Turn over a couple of times more and fry till the paneer cubes are golden and crisp.
  6. Remove with a slotted spoon draining the extra oil in the pan. Do not over do the frying part as then the paneer cubes can become dense and chewy.
  7. Remove the fried paneer cubes on kitchen paper towels for extra oil to be absorbed. This way continue to fry the remaining paneer cubes.
  8. Sprinkle chaat masala and then serve Paneer Koliwada hot with a side of sliced onions, lemon wedges and mint chutney.

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.