Paneer Pakora

Slabs of paneer in a spiced gram flour batter, fried until crisp and sprinkled with chaat masala.

TIME BREAKDOWN
Prep: 25 min
Cook: 15 min
Total: 40 minutes
Vegetarian
✅
Nuts
❌
Serves
4 people
Difficulty
Easy

Ingredients

  • 400g paneer, cut into 12 slabs about 1cm thick
  • 1 tsp chaat masala, plus extra to serve
  • 1/2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 150g gram flour (besan)
  • 2 tbsp rice flour
  • 1 tsp carom seeds (ajwain)
  • 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
  • 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 200ml cold water, approximately
  • 1 litre vegetable oil, for deep frying
  • Mint chutney, to serve

Method

  1. Toss the paneer with the chaat masala, 1/2 tsp chilli powder, lemon juice and 1/2 tsp salt. Leave for 15 minutes.

  2. Whisk the gram flour, rice flour, carom seeds, chilli powder, turmeric and salt in a bowl. Gradually whisk in the water until you have a thick batter that coats the back of a spoon.

  3. Heat the oil in a deep, heavy pan to 175°C, checking with a thermometer.

  4. Dip each paneer slab in the batter, let the excess drip off and lower it into the oil. Fry 4 or 5 pieces at a time for 3 to 4 minutes, turning once, until golden and crisp.

  5. Drain on kitchen paper, sprinkle with extra chaat masala and serve straight away with mint chutney.