Paneer Pakora Recipe (North Indian Style)

paneer pakora with one pakoda cut open showing the encased paneer inside, served on a white plate with green chutney in a small white bowl.

4.67 from 15 votes

Paneer Pakora Recipe (North Indian Style)

Paneer Pakora are Indian cottage cheese fritters. These popular fritters from the North Indian cuisine are made with a savory, spiced carom seeds laced gram flour batter which coats the tender paneer cubes. On deep frying a crispy texture from outside encases a soft, moist paneer from within. Paneer Pakoda makes for quick evening snack when served with a side of coriander chutney or ketchup.

Prep Time5

Cook Time20

Total Time25

Course: Snacks

Cuisine: North Indian

Diet: Vegetarian

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Servings:

Calories: 384kcal

Author: Dassana Amit

Ingredients

125 to 150 grams paneer (Indian cottage cheese)
1 cup or (100 grams) gram flour (besan)
1 pinch turmeric powder
¼ teaspoon red chili powder or cayenne pepper, add as required
1 pinch asafoetida (hing)
1 to 2 pinches garam masala or add as required
½ teaspoon carom seeds (ajwain)
⅔ to ¾ cup water or add as required
salt as required
mustard oil - for deep frying, as required, * check point no 7 in the notes
½ to 1 teaspoon chaat masala - for sprinkling on pakora

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preparation

Slice paneer into cubes or squares
Add gram flour into a mixing bowl.
Next add turmeric powder, red chili powder, garam masala powder, asafoetida, carom seeds and salt. Mix well.
Pour ⅔ to ¾ cup water in parts and mix well.
Use a wired whisk to mix the batter. Make a medium-thick to medium consistency, flowing and smooth batter without any lumps.
Depending on the quality of gram flour, the water proportion will vary. You need to get a medium-thick to medium consistency flowing batter.
Thus add water bit by bit and mix until you get a perfect consistency.

Making Paneer Pakora

Heat mustard oil or your preferred oil for deep frying in a kadai or pan. Keep the heat to medium or medium-high heat.
To check if the oil is medium-hot, add a few drops of batter to it. If the batter droplets comes up on the surface quickly and gradually, the oil is ready for frying pakora.
When the oil becomes medium-hot, add the batter coated paneer cubes carefully in the medium-hot oil.
When one side is lightly golden, gently turn over the pakora with a slotted spoon. Continue to fry the paneer pakora until golden and crisp.
Remove the paneer pakora with a slotted spoon. Place them on paper towels to remove excess oil.
Fry the remaining batches of pakoda in the same way.
Serve Paneer Pakora hot or warm, sprinkled with some chaat masala and paired with coriander chutney or tomato ketchup.

Notes

Batter consistency: Make a medium-thick to medium consistency flowing batter. Do not make the batter thin or runny. Batter with a thin consistency will absorb more oil making the paneer pakora soggy. If the batter is too thick, the outer crust will become doughy and dense.
Soggy oily pakora: Frying at a low heat or in a warm oil will make the pakora absorb more oil resulting in an oily pakora.
Burnt pakora: Frying in a very hot oil, will make the pakora quickly browned or burnt from outside leaving the inside batter undercooked and raw.
Paneer: Homemade paneer is the best choice to make paneer pakora. If using frozen paneer follow the directions on the pack.
Slicing paneer: You can make decorative shapes like round, square, triangle or rectangle from a block of paneer if you plan to make a large batch for a party.
Spices and seasonings: The spicing in my paneer pakoda recipe is minimal. So there is a balance in the taste and the pakora is not overly spiced or spicy. If you prefer, adjust the ground spices according to your taste preferences.
* Oil: As I have mentioned above in the post use any oil that has a high smoke point for deep frying.
Baking & air frying: I did not have great results when baking or air-frying paneer pakora. But you can bake or air fry them at a moderately hot temperature of 180 degrees celsius (356 degrees Fahrenheit). Preheat oven or air-fryer for 10 minutes.
Leavening ingredient: I have not included baking soda or baking powder. Feel free to add these for a fluffy and crispy paneer pakora. About 1 pinch of baking soda and ¼ teaspoon of baking powder will give you the best results.

Nutrition