Cheese Pakora

More on Cheese Pakora

Both Cheese Pakora and Paneer Pakora are served as snacks as well as starters in most restaurants. There are different ways you can make the Cheese Pakora. When I am making these, I like to use spices which accentuate the taste of cheese in the pakoda. Various cheese varieties like processed cheese, mozzarella cheese or others can be used for this recipe. The batter has to be thick or else the cheese can melt and splutter in the oil while frying. My recipe’s batter also is subtly spiced with pepper, coriander, turmeric and chili powder. For an umami touch, I add sesame too in it. This Cheese Pakora can be made as a quick snack for kids or for small house parties and get-togethers. This pakoda recipe can also be easily halved, doubled or tripled as well. The perfect way to relish the Cheese Pakora is to serve it hot with a Mint Chutney, Coriander Chutney or tomato ketchup. Even sriracha sauce, sweet chili sauce, red chili garlic chutney or Schezwan Sauce accompany these cheese fritters well. Remember to serve them hot for best taste. If you serve these cheesy pakoras warm or at room temperature, the melted cheese will become thick and solidified. Then, you won’t get the actual mouth-feel.

How to make Cheese Pakora

Crushing spices

1. Firstly, in a mortar, take ¼ teaspoon black peppercorns and ¼ teaspoon coriander seeds. You can add more black pepper, if you want.
2. Crush coarsely with the pestle. Keep aside.

Making batter

3. In a mixing bowl, take ½ cup gram flour (besan).
4. Then, add the coarsely crushed spices.
5. Next, add 1 pinch asafoetida, 1 pinch baking soda (optional), ⅛ teaspoon turmeric powder (or 2 to 3 pinches), ¼ teaspoon red chili powder and ½ teaspoon sesame seeds (black or white sesame seeds).
6. Add salt as per taste. Add less salt, as cheese already has salt in it.
7. Add 4 to 5 tablespoons water or as required.
8. Mix to a thick, smooth batter without any lumps. If the batter has a medium consistency, then add 1 to 2 tablespoons more besan and mix again.

Cutting cheese

9. Take 5 Amul cheese cubes or 125 grams processed or mozzarella cheese. Note that the cheese cubes have to be removed directly from the refrigerator and then sliced. Do not use cheese cubes which are at room temperature.
10. Cut each cheese cube in 2 equal parts.

Making Cheese Pakora

11. Heat oil for deep frying or shallow frying in a kadai or pan.
12. When the oil becomes hot, add 4 to 5 drops of the hot oil in the prepared batter.
13. Mix very well. This helps in making the pakodas crisp and also absorb less oil while frying.
14. Now, add a tiny portion of the batter in the oil to check the temperature. It should come up steadily and gradually on top. This means the oil is hot enough for frying.
15. Place the cheese piece in the batter.
16. Coat it evenly with the batter.
17. Now, gently slide or place each batter-coated cheese piece in the hot oil. Fry these on medium to medium-high heat.
18. When one side is crisp and golden, turn over and fry the second side.
19. Turn over again and continue to fry.
20. You can turn over a couple of times and fry till the pakodas are crisp and golden. However, do not fry pakodas too much. Just fry till they turn golden.
21. Remove fried pakodas with a slotted spoon.
22. Place them on kitchen paper towels to remove excess oil.
23. Serve Cheese Pakoda hot with any chutney, dip or sauce of your choice like Pudina Chutney, mint coriander chutney, green chutney, red chili garlic chutney or Schezwan Sauce. Note that Cheese Pakoda has to be served hot. If they are served warm or at room temperature, the melted cheese becomes thick and solidified.

Pakoda and India

You know I really wouldn’t mind if someone actually gives me a platter full of a variety of crisp-fried fritters, also known as bhajiyas and pakodas in our very own Indian pop food culture. Come to think of it, we Indians really do obsess about these lip-smacking fried wonders, most of the times. As I mentioned in the beginning, there is no end to what an Indian style fritter (pakoda) would be made of. Be it the most common vegetables or even the unusual ones, fruits, cottage cheese (paneer) and other cheeses, etc. – there’s a pakora with any or every ingredient. We even have chocolate pakoras and fried ice creams! So, how about a fried preparation with the usual processed cheese cubes that are available easily in almost all parts of the country? Yes, this post has just that – a Cheese Pakora, which combines the awesomeness of both cheese and a pakoda to satisfy your cravings at once. This Cheese Pakora is a personal favorite too and everyone at my home also simply loves it. Of course, I avoid making it often because it is quite calorie laden for obvious reasons. But whenever we decide to binge or have a cheat day sort, we really go for some pakode made with cheese. Along with this Cheese Pakoda, there are the ones like Aloo Pakora, Bread Pakora, Onion Pakoda and Gobi Pakora which may be usual, but also fall in the classic category and no Indian can ever have enough of these! For the ones in love with Indo-Chinese flavors, this Chinese Pakoda is a must try.

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Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. Cheese Balls | Easy Crispy Potato Cheese Ball Recipe Cheese Corn Balls Cheese Sandwich Recipe (2 Ways) Cheese Bread Pakora This Cheese Pakora recipe from the archives was first published in January 2017. It has been updated and republished in April 2024.