Fried Paneer Cheese Pakora

Paneer pakoras are Indian paneer cheese cubes or slices fried in a gram flour (chickpea flour, also sometimes just called "besan") batter. Ah fried cheese, is there anything more indulgent? Fried Indian paneer cheese, battered and fried like a traditional Indian pakora is absolutely delicious.


Paneer pakoras are made with chickpea flour, which is "stickier" than regular flour when making pakoras. Check in a large health food store or take a trip to a local Asian grocer if your regular grocer doesn't stock it. It's a common ingredient in vegetarian Indian cooking, and, since it keeps well, you can also always order some chickpea flour online.


If you don't want to use the traditional cooking method of using ghee (Indian butter), any high-heat cooking oil will do—you can use peanut oil for a nice flavor, canola oil, safflower oil or sunflower oil, or, just use generic vegetable oil.

Ingredients,

1 (250-gram) package Indian paneer cheese (sliced into 1/2-inch thick slices or cubes)
1 cup chickpea flour (also called gram flour or besan)
2 teaspoons high-heat cooking oil or ghee (Indian butter)
Optional: 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (to taste)
1/3 to 1/2 cup water
Oil (for frying)