Paneer Lollipop / Vegetarian Recipe / Indo Chinese Cuisine

Its been raining in Penang for last two days and the weather is pretty cool . And top of it my little champ has vacations . So thought of making some yummy snacks to satisfy his hunger pangs while enjoying the weather .

Paneer Lollipop is a delicious starter dish loved by one and all. This is one of the famous Indo Chinese Recipes, and can be easily made at home. Paneer Lollipop is basically spicy Paneer (Cottage Cheese) mixture topped on Baby corn and deep fried. The home made crumbled Paneer is mixed with boiled potatoes and the mixture is spiced up and made into dough by adding little cornflour . Baby corn act as an edible holder to the lollipop.

Ingredients:

• Paneer (Cottage Cheese) - 1 cup ( 200 gm)
• Boiled Potatoes - 2 medium size
• Chopped Onion - 1 large
• Baby Corn - 8
• Finely chopped Green Chili - 2
• Grated Garlic Ginger - 2 tsp
• Soy Sauce - 1/2 tbsp
• Black Pepper powder - 1 tsp
• Corn Flour - 2 tbsp + for dusting
• Oil for frying
• Salt to taste
• Schezwan Sauce - 1 tsp (Optional)

Method:

1.  Grate the Paneer or simply crumble it. I have used home made Paneer. Mix it with all the above ingredients except Oil and Baby corn to form a dough. The dough should not be too hard or too soft. A very soft dough will not hold its shape and too hard a dough will get cracks and wont taste good. Adjust the cornflour if the dough is soft and add some more cottage cheese to make the dough soft, if its is very hard.

 

 

  2.   Make medium sized round balls from this dough and pierce the thicker side of the Baby corn in this Paneer ball. 

3.  Press the Paneer ball lightly between your palms to secure it firmly on the Baby corn. Make all the lollipops in the similar way. Keep them in fridge for 15-20 minutes before frying them. This step is optional, but I prefer for two reasons, first is that this method ensures less oil consumed for frying and secondly the lollipops hold their shape firmly.

 

   4.  Heat sufficient oil in a wok. Roll the lollipop on the cornflour and tap to remove the excess flour and deep fry in the oil for 3-4 minutes on medium heat until crisp and golden brown turning occasionally .

   5.  Drain on absorbent paper and serve with Schezwan Sauce.

 

   Notes:

• Can add 1 tsp of schezuan sauce into the Paneer dough to make it spicy. 
• Can add grated carrots and other veggies of your choice along with Paneer to make it more healthy  or as variation.
• Can use wooden ice cream stick or Carrot stick as a holder for topping the Paneer ball if Baby corn not available. 
• Instead of making big lollipops you can make small lemon size balls of the Paneer dough and deep fry and serve the Paneer balls as starters with tooth pick .