There are so many variants of the paneer ball recipe available on net and in the cookbooks. I presume that you wanted to learn the paneer or cheese balls starters served during the social gatherings. I hope you have read the blog on making paneer.

Listed are the steps to ensure that you get well rounded and soft paneer balls even when you try at home.

1) The very first essential would be to obtain a soft paneer without any pressing, which means that the coagulated milk solid is collected in a muslin cloth and hung from a height for 1 hr to drain the whey. Please refer to the blog on paneer making for complete recipe.

2) Once you have removed the paneer from the cloth, crumble them into small pieces and knead with your palm like you would do for rasagulla (please refer to the blog on rasagulla)

3) Add fine grated boiled potato which will act as a binding agent. Potato also helps to keep the paneer ball soft when it is deep fried.

4) Add the seasoning and flavouring to the paneer dough mixture and divide it into equal portion. Shape them round and deep fry on medium hot oil. Serve immediately with the chutney or sauce of your choice.

Tags: chicken, kebab, roti, lentil, indian food, indian curry, tandoor, naan, dosa, desi

A reader asked us a question which is quite common :

Q – Once while in singapore, i had an excellent paneer dish, where the paneer was so soft and melts in my mouth. How do I get this? Could it be the curdling agent (I always use lime/vinegar, but I’ve read that curd is the best agent). I’ve also tried frying the paneer, and soaking in water for a softer texture,but to no avail. How do I get that soft, melt in the mouth texture?

Kuntal answers :

1) Always use the full cream milk instead of toned milk for making your paneer as the higher fat content keeps paneer moist and soft.
2) Yes, curd is the best curdling agent but you can still use lime/ vinegar to curdle the milk for the paneer. Try using the whey (drained liquid of solid paneer) for curdling the milk.
3) When you drain the liquid and collect the solid content in a muslin/ cheese cloth, dip the content (paneer) in the ice-chilled water to stop overcooking and hardening. The chilled water lowers the internal temperature and retains the moisture inside.
4) Add the pieces of raw paneer, if the recipe demands, towards the end of the cooking process and avoid reheating your dish containing paneer.

Enjoy and take care.