Paneer Cheese balls

When I was growing up, we used to go to "British Bakery" in Madurai and get all kinds of sweet and savory snacks. I can still remember all the wonderful food we got there including cakes ( so many varieties like strawberry, pistachio, pineapple, orange etc.), those shrewsbury cookies ( which we called chooseberry !), the first ever Indian pizza on a bun, vegetable puffs and of course cheese balls. These cheese balls were unlike the cheese nuggets here. These were made with paneer and spices and had a little kick to them. I scoured the internet and found a few recipes (recipe 1, recipe 2) and combined the two to make my cheese balls.

Ingredients:

Paneer- 1 block- grated/ crumbled into small pieces

onion- 1/2 onion- finely chopped

green chilly ( de-seeed)- 1 small chopped

cilantro leaves- chopped finely 

salt-1/2 tsp ( to taste)

chaat masala- 1/2 tsp

Besan flour- 2 tbsp

corn flour - 1 tbsp

rice flour- 1 tbsp

Stuffing: 

cutmozzarella cheese into small cubes and set aside.

This will be used for the filling of the cheese ball.

To coat:

corn flour-4 tbsp

water

panko bread crumbs

Oil for deep frying- 2 cups at least 

Instructions:

1.  Mix all the ingredients listed together and it will have a bread dough consistency.

2. Now prepare the dipping station. mix corn flour with water to make a paste. set aside bread crumbs in a  bowl.

3. Take a small piece of the dough ( about golf ball sized) and roll it into a round ball.

4. Now flatten it and place a small cube of the mozzarella cheese in the center and then fold the dough around and make a ball once again

5. Dip the ball in the cornflour paste and then the bread crumbs and set aside. ( during this time heat up the oil in a deep pot and once it is hot turn down the heat to a low heat)

6. Make all the balls and then these are ready to fry

7. Place the balls in the hot oil  ( gently slide them into the pit, do not drop them since this could cause the oil to splash and cause injury) and fry them until the outside becomes golden brown .

The reason we fry on the low heat setting is to prevent the outside from browning quickly and the insides not being cooked. In this setting the cheese balls will cook slowly and throughly on the inside and then the outside will slowly get golden brown.

8. Cheese balls are now ready to serve.

9. Serve with Ketchup, tamarind sauce or mint chutney.