Cheesy Pakora and The Monsoon Cravings

The July monsoon has begun, and it's been raining all day. We are sure that cravings with your evening chai have kicked in, and so, we've come up with an epic recipe for a very versatile and fun dish. This can be used as a starter, as a bar snack, or even for an indulgent evening. These desi-style cheese pakoras marry the classic cheese balls to a desi pakora. It is still an oozing cheesy delight but has an Indian twist to it. It can be eaten just as, with ketchup, spicy green chutney, or if you are feeling adventurous, a garlic cheese dip as well. The fun in this dish lies in the flexibility of it and it is quite easy to make. The preparation and cooking time takes about half an hour. Now it's time to actually make this yummy dish, let's cheese the day!

Ingredients (quantity to serve about 4 people)

1. 100 gm of Milky Mist Mozzarella cheese

2. 100 gm of Processed cheese/ Milky Mist Cheese Cubes

3. 100 gm of Milky Mist Fresh Paneer

4. 4 boiled Potatoes

5. ¼ cup of Refined flour/ Maida

6. ½ tsp Ginger garlic paste

7. ½ tsp Red Chilli Powder

8. 1 and a ½ cups of bread crumbs

9. Oil for deep frying

10. Salt to taste

11. ½ tsp baking soda

12. 2 green chillies

Process

1. In a bowl, add the Mozzarella and processed cheese and mash them together.

2. Take ¾ of this mashed cheese in another bowl and mash it with the Paneer and Potatoes until combined into a smooth mixture.

3. At this step, you add some salt to taste, chopped green chilli, coriander leaves, flour, chilli powder, ginger garlic paste, baking soda, and a half cup of breadcrumbs. Mix it all up.

4. Once combined, it should not be crumbly. Add some melted Milky Mist butter at this stage if the mixture does not have a smooth consistency.

5. Take a small laddu-sized amount of this mixture and flatten it out in your palm.

6. Now, take some of that mixed cheese that we put aside earlier and add it to the middle of the flattened out mixture.

7. Now roll up the mixture, securing the cheese in the middle. Add some more mixture if needed to avoid spilling the cheese.

8. Roll out all the balls in the same way and set them aside.

9. We now make a quick slurry to help the bread crumbs attach to the balls better. Mix four tablespoons of flour, a pinch of salt, and ¾ cup of water.

10. Dip the balls into the slurry and then dip them into the bowl of bread crumbs.

11. Make sure to cover the balls with bread crumbs and not to press the balls down at this stage.

12. Take a kadhai and add oil to it. Make sure the oil is medium hot.

13. Now deep fry the balls in medium hot oil until brown and crispy.

14. Serve hot with any dip/ sauce of your choice.

Now that we've covered the basics of this dish, don't shy away from experimenting with it. You can add jalapenos, onion slices, cottage cheese, meat, etc., to this mix and make it the way you like it! The Milky Mist Fresh Paneer used is extremely soft and easy to blend into the mixture. It adds volume and flavour to the mix. The Milky Mist Cheese Cubes and Mozzarella are also very flavourful and melt into the ideal consistency. So with these in your pantry, your dish will never fail to impress!