Crispy & Spicy Paneer Pakora (2 ways)
Paneer Pakora stuffed with green chutney and tomato chutney is crispy on the outside and soft & spicy on the inside with taste of delicious chutney in every bite! Both deep fried and air fried versions included.
Ingredients
For the Regular Paneer Pakora
- 250 g paneer I use whole milk paneer
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder (hot)adjust to taste
- ½ teaspoon chaat masala powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- oil for frying (approximately 1.5 cup)
- chaat masala for sprinkling on pakoras after frying
Chutney Stuffed Pakora
- ¼ cup Green chutney
- ¼ cup Tomato chutney
For the Pakora Batter
- 1.5 cup besan gram flour
- 4 tablespoon unsweetened rice flour
- 1 teaspoon green chillies (hot!), adjust to taste
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds coarsely crushed
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds coarsely crushed
- ⅛ teaspoon ajwain carrom seeds
- ½ teaspoon kashmiri red chilli powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda optional
- ¾ teaspoon kasuri methi crushed between palms
- 1 teaspoon salt adjust to taste
- ⅔-3/4 cup water or as needed
Instructions
Make the Pakora Batter
- In a large bowl, add every thing listed under the pakora batter and while adding water slowly, mix to make a not too thin or thick batter. I used a little under ¾ cup water. Pakora batter is ready! For deep frying- the batter should be thick yet flowing like ribbon when dripped for a height.(kind of like pancake batter). For air frying- the batter should be thick and clingy (similar to hummus).
For regular paneer pakoras
- Place paneer cubes in a bowl and sprinkle the red chilli powder, chaat masala and salt over them. Gently, using your hands, coat the paneer in spices on all sides. Let stand for 10 minutes and then coat in batter and deep fry (instructions below)
Make the Chutney Stuffed Paneer
- Take a block of paneer and using a sharp knife, start by cutting it lengthwise into long batons about an inch and a half thick. Then you slice each long piece halfway to make space for the chutney but do not slice all the way through. Once sliced, cut each baton into 2-3 cubes depending on how big or small you want the pakoras. (See the photos and video in post for visual understanding).
- Add a ½ teaspoon of thick chutney in between the space you created between paneer cube. Press gently and wipe out excess chutney.
- Coat into the besan batter(recipe below) and deep fry or air fry. You can see the video in post to get a visual idea.
Fry the Pakoras
- Deep Frying - Heat up 3 inches of oil in a wide kadai or pot. Check oil temperature by dropping a little batter, it should rise up(but not sizzle) quickly without changing color. Too hot oil, the batter won't cook, too low the temperature of oil, pakoras will not crisp up, rather become chewy.
- Coat the paneer in the batter on all sides. Let the excess batter for 2-3 seconds. Carefully, place them in the hot oil. Deep fry until golden on all sides(about 3-5 minutes total). Sprinkle hot pakoras with chaat masala and serve.
- Air Frying :- Preheat the air fryer at 360F. Spray or brush the air fryer rack with oil. Coat the paneer in the batter Layer the pakoras in a single layer, spray nicely with oil and air fry for 7-8 minutes. Flip and let air fry for additional 2-3 minutes until evenly crisped on all sides. Sprinkle chaat masala before serving.
Video
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!