paneer pakora

Paneer Pakora Recipe

By Swasthi on August 26, 2022, Comments, Jump to Recipe

Paneer Pakora are a delicious Indian snack made with paneer, spices & gram flour. Pakora are much loved by most Indian especially during the monsoons and winters. In India we make many kinds of pakoras using veggies or lentils. These paneer pakora are delicious, flavorful and addictive with all the goodness of Indian cheese in them.

paneer pakoda recipe

These are quite popular in the north Indian restaurants and can be very easily made at home. These make a great appetizer or snack for kids’ parties.

Paneer pakora can be made when you have sudden guests home or want to make something instantly for your family. As it requires no chopping or any other kind of preparation they are very very quick to make.

Paneer pakora can be served with Green chutney, Coriander chutney or with any sauce like schezwan sauce. These can also be had as it is with your evening cup of Masala tea.

I made these along with garlic red chili chutney which I have shared at the end of this post.

Usually for pakora recipes, there is no rice flour used. But I have used here just to make them crispy. You can skip it if you do not have or replace with corn flour.

I prefer the this homemade paneer for most of my paneer recipes. You can however use store bought one too.

For more snacks recipes, you can check
Dahi vada
Samosa
Hara bhara kabab
Falafel

How to Make Paneer Pakora (Stepwise Photos)

Preparation

1. Add paneer to a mixing bowl. Sprinkle chaat masala, garam masala and red chili powder. Toss to coat the paneer well.

Add paneer

2. Add oil to a kadai or a fry pan and heat oil.

3. Meanwhile make the batter. Add besan, rice flour, red chili powder, salt, ajwain, ginger chilli paste.

Add besan, rice flour

4. Add water little by little as needed and make a thick, free flowing batter.

Add water

5. If the batter is too thick, it will not stick to the paneer. If it is too runny, then there will be lot of batter drippings. So the consistency has to be moderately thick yet free flowing.

batter consistency has to be moderately thick yet free flowing

Fry Paneer Pakora

6. Check if the oil is hot enough by dropping little batter into it. It has to come up. Regulate the flame to medium. Dip paneer pieces, one by one in the batter and swipe off the excess to the bowl and drop it in the hot oil.

Dip paneer pieces

7. Do not add all the paneer to the batter at one time.

Dip paneer

8. Dip them one by one in batter & drop them in hot oil.

hot oil

9. Do not disturb for few seconds. Stir and fry them until golden.

Stir and fry

10. Drain paneer pakora to a kitchen tissue and serve hot with your favorite chutney.

Drain paneer pakora

Serve paneer pakora hot as they turn soft when cooled.

paneer pakora

Related Recipes

Recipe Card

paneer pakora

Paneer Pakora Recipe

Paneer pakora is a popular evening snack from North Indian cuisine.  It is made by batter frying Indian cottage cheese aka paneer. These turn out delicious and mildly spicy. Paneer pakora are usually served with green chutney or red chilli chutney.
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For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card

Prep Time3 minutes
Cook Time12 minutes
Total Time15 minutes
Servings4
AuthorSwasthi

Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )

  • 200 grams paneer cut to desired sizes
  • ¼ tsp red chili powder or pepper powder as needed
  • ½ tsp chaat masala
  • ½ tsp garam masala
  • Oil for deep frying

For paneer pakora batter

  • ½ cup besan or gram flour
  • 2 tbsps rice flour or corn starch or corn flour (to make crispy, optional)
  • ¼ tsp red chili powder or pepper powder as needed
  • Salt as needed
  • ¾ to 1 tsp ajwain or carom seeds
  • 1 tsp ginger green chilli paste Or crushed ginger & 1 green chilli paste
  • Water as needed to make the batter


Instructions

Preparation

  • Cut paneer to desired sizes. 
  • Sprinkle red chilli powder, garam masala and chaat masala. 
  • Toss them well in the bowl. Set this aside.

How to Make Paneer Pakora

  • Heat oil in a deep kadai on a medium heat.
  • Add besan, rice flour, salt, ajwain, red chilli powder, ginger chilli paste to a bowl.
  • Pour water just enough to make a thick but free flowing batter.
  • When the oil is hot enough, dip each paneer piece in the batter, swipe off the excess dripping batter.
  • Gently slide to the hot oil. You can use your fingers or a table spoon to do this.
  • Do not disturb them for about a minute.
  • Gently keep stirring & flipping to fry evenly until they turn golden. 
  • Drain them to a colander. Sprinkle some chaat masala.
  • Serve paneer pakora hot with chutney or a cup of tea.


Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.

For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo instructions and tips above the recipe card.

Video

Video of paneer pakora recipe

NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)

Nutrition Facts
Paneer Pakora Recipe
Amount Per Serving
Calories 373 Calories from Fat 243
% Daily Value*
Fat 27g42%
Saturated Fat 10g63%
Cholesterol 44mg15%
Sodium 424mg18%
Potassium 169mg5%
Carbohydrates 17g6%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 2g2%
Protein 14g28%
Vitamin A 135IU3%
Calcium 329mg33%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Tried this recipe?Mention @SwasthisRecipes or tag #swasthisrecipes!

© Swasthi’s Recipes

paneer pakora recipe
Paneer Pakora Recipe

About Swasthi

I’m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me

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4 stars
Mam the pakodas are delicious but the red chillies chutney is way too hot! How can I make a milder version of it? Could I grind a few roasted groundnuts with it?

5 stars
it is delicious.

How many paneer pakoda will be in 200gm

Hi ,ma’am
your reciepe is really very good . I have tried it at my home and it came out to be very delecious .

5 stars
Hi, the recipe looks great! I am trying to moderate my calorie intake. I was looking at nutritions card it says 373 for 1 serving, is that 1 paneer pakora ?

Thanks 🙂

5 stars
As soon as I said “fried paneer”, my husband said “oh please!”

It was so easy to make and so delicious.

Just made this. Didn’t stick to your spices, sorry, improvised. But I made paneer and aubergine pakoras with a tomato, mint and chilli fresh chutney and it was all delicious! Thanks.

5 stars
Hi Swasthi,
Very good recipe, I followed the same for 250% quantity, and it came out to be very tasty and crispy, I made first time any Pakoras in my life. My friends appreciated a lot.

5 stars
Hello Swasthi,
Thanks for the recipe. Will the recipe work with mozzarella cheese?

As a vegetarian dish, it’s a good one. Everyone can eat it whether a child or an adult.

5 stars
I made paneer pakora with your green chutney. Loved them! Thank you!!

Ok sis I was not knowing that.thanks for your reply. Pls suggest breakfast lunch snack dinner. Becoz I get confused what to cook and what not. How youmanage do you make any routib like what tho cool for your son for breakfast than lunch.

5 stars
Man my daughter is 4 years old pls tell me a good and healthy diet for her plsss mam you are like my mother I follow u .pls mam she don’t eat anything properly and also mam her height is not increasing