There are some days when you feel like having something crunchy, crispy to go with your coffee/tea. I get this craving during weekends especially but along with it, comes the guilt of having high calorie snacks. I made these low calorie paneer balls quite by chance, during one such weekend.

At least once a week, I make something using paneer/cottage cheese, given what a rich source of protein paneer is for vegetarians. Couple of weeks back, when I had some left over Paneer, I made these crispy paneer balls. I usually use boiled potatoes to make Koftas at home, be it for curries or for kababs. In this recipe, in an impulse I used grated raw potatoes along with grated paneer. The spices are very basic – red chilli powder, turmeric powder and garam masala powder.

As with any of my low calorie snack recipe, I used my Appam/Appe Pan to make these low calorie paneer balls. This Appam Pan has to be one of the best inventions in the cooking world – I love how crispy and golden my koftas/balls turn out with so little oil. This recipe gets made in a short time and with ingredients readily available in the pantry and trust me, even those how love deep fried goodies will convert after trying these low calorie paneer balls!

How to make Low Calorie Paneer Balls

📖 Recipe

Detailed step by step picture recipe of making Low Calorie Paneer Balls

  1. In a pan heat a teaspoon of oil. Add finely chopped onions and fry until translucent. Add ginger garlic paste and fry until the raw smell goes off.

  2. Add grated potato and fry on low flame until it is half cooked.

  3. Add red chilli powder, garam masala powder, turmeric powder and salt. Cook for 2-3 mins until the spice powders are cooked.

  4. Now add grated paneer along with finely chopped coriander leaves and mix well. Remove this mixture from heat.

  5. Once it is cooled down, add bread crumbs and mix them well. The mixture should be dry enough to form balls.

  6. Make 12 equal sized balls out of the mixture.

  7. Heat the appam pan and add few drops of oil in each mould. Carefully place the balls and cook them on low flame on each side for about a minute.

  8. When the balls are crispy and golden all over, remove them out.

  9. Serve them hot with tomato ketchup!

Recipe Notes

Add finely chopped nuts as desired. While making the balls, insert a piece of cheese to make cheesy paneer balls.

I would be delighted to know if you have tried this recipe, don’t forget to share your feedback and comments below. If you have any questions, you can e-mail me! I am also available on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter 🙂