I’m taking a pause on the healthy and indigenous rice recipes spree. I thought of having a cheat meal/day. Once in a while, we need to treat or pamper ourselves with fried foods, to lift our spirits and mood. It’s like our festival and special days, we rejuvenate with the festive mood and food. We relish and cherish special food with no excuses. Now, it’s a similar moment after a long marathon of healthy recipes, we will feast ourselves with some goodies. After saying that, I came up with this recipe, which is a double dhamaka, 2 shots in 1 stone, a fried delight with hidden cheese in it..😍😍❤.
I prepared Croquettes for this week’s recipe, stuffed with melting Mozzarella cheese and spiced up with Jalapeno chunks.
Click here to jump to recipe card!
Croquettes are basically fried dumplings made with a mashed potato base, mixed with herbs, spices, and a binding agent like butter, flour, béchamel sauce, stuffed with meat, veggies, rice, or cheese, and dipped in flour paste, dusted in bread crumbs, then fried to a golden brown. It can be rolled into any shape such as cylindrical, round, or disc.
When this fried delicacy is pulled apart, you’ll be enchanted to see the molten beauty of cheese inside oozing out. It’s a pleasure and feast to all senses seeing the cheese pull. If you are after a gratifying cheese pull, choose either mozzarella, cheddar, or any easy melting cheese which is fresh and has high moisture. Low moisture and aged cheeses will not yield that cheese pull pleasure. When you pull the croquettes, molten cheese inside stretches and gives a satiating feel that you long for.
Here, I Indianised the croquettes by adding a dash of thick Green chutney and added tiny chunks of Jalapeno to the cheese stuffing to give an extra zing to the dish. These steps and ingredients are purely optional, feel free to skip them.
I made a specially customized dip for this appetizer. It’s Instant, No-cook, Mayo ketchup or Fry sauce.
This appetizer is so simple in its preparation and ingredients, you’ll fall in love with it, and becomes a new addition to your favorite to make list. It’s the best party-themed bite, your guests will get indulged in its taste and texture. Undoubtedly, you’ll be drenched in their appreciation and applauses. If you are looking for an easy bite for your get-together, kitty parties, birthday, anniversary parties, this Potato cheese croquette is a perfect choice.
The most convenient part of this dish is that you can prepare the croquettes ahead of your party and store them in a sealed container or a plate covered with cling film and keep them in the refrigerator for a week or freeze them for a month or two. Day of frying, defrost it and fry them, such a hassle-free appetizer. I’m sure, how excited you are to know its shelf life.
Without further ado, let’s move into the recipe.
Boil roughly 500 grams of potatoes either in steamer method or pressure cook method.
•In the steamer method, steam the cut potatoes with a little salt for 30 minutes, till it is cooked thoroughly.
•In the pressure cook method, cook potatoes with salt till they are cooked well.
Drain and peel the potatoes if they are not peeled before cooking, mash them well. It yields roughly 2 cups of mashed potatoes.
Add the 2 cups of mashed potatoes to a wide bowl, then add 2 tbsp butter, 1 tbsp thick Green chutney, ¼ cup all-purpose flour, ½ tsp black salt/ salt, and 1 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves.
Mix thoroughly into a smooth dough and keep it aside (refer to notes).
Keep the stuffing ready by taking the required shredded mozzarella cheese and finely chopped Jalapeno in 2 separate bowls.
Prepare the coating mixture by mixing all-purpose flour, cornflour, salt, pepper powder, and required water.
Mix well to form a thin batter and keep it aside.
In another plate or bowl, mix the required quantities of panko crumbs and bread crumbs (here, I used my homemade seasoned bread crumbs).
Now make balls (big lemon size) of mashed potatoes, dig a deep hole in the middle (refer to video or picture).
First stuff with finely chopped Jalapeno.
Then with shredded mozzarella cheese.
And again top with a few finely chopped Jalapeno pieces.
Close the hole by pulling the potatoes from the sides.
And smoothen the ball by rolling them in palms into cylindrical, round, or disc shapes as you desire.
Now dip the balls in the flour mixture (mix the flour with a spoon as the cornflour tends to clog and water stands separate) and coat it well on all sides.
Drain the excess flour and roll it gently over seasoned bread and panko crumbs.
And make sure the ball is well coated with crumbs on all sides.
Similarly, repeat the pattern for all the remaining potato balls and arrange them on a greased dish or plate with space in between. Cover the dish with a cling film and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour or preferably overnight.
Day of frying, take oil in a deep or shallow pan, sufficient enough to fry the balls, and heat it in medium-high flame. Drop the balls gently once the oil is perfect to fry (check by dropping a small pinch of the potato ball in the oil, it should come up immediately from the bottom, perfect for frying), also make sure the oil is not too smoky (it’ll burn the crumbs quickly).
Do not overcrowd the oil with more balls. Depending upon the size of your pan drop 2 or 3 at a time.
Gently flip it once, and make sure they are cooked and golden fried on all sides.
Drain the excess oil by spreading them on kitchen tissue.
Golden-fried crispies are ready to serve with Mayo ketchup or Fry sauce. These croquettes are crispier on the outside, mouth-melting soft, and airier inside.
When pulled apart, you’ll see the molten mozzarella cheese which oozes out and pulls apart. It’s a cheesy treat to the eyes and tongue.
Recipe card
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 10-12 minutes
Cuisine: International
Category: Appetizers
Serves: 11-12 nos
Author: Manimala
Ingredients:
For Base-
Mashed potatoes – 2 cups
Butter – 2 tbsp
Thick Green chutney – 1 tbsp
All-purpose flour – 4 tbsp/ ¼ cup
Salt/Black Salt – ½ tsp
Chopped coriander leaves – 1 tbsp
For Stuffing-
Mozzarella cheese (shredded) – as required
Jalapeno, finely chopped – as required
For coating-
All-purpose flour – 1/8 cup
Corn flour – 1/8 cup
Salt – as required
Black pepper powder – as required
For dusting-
Bread crumbs – ¼ cup
Panko crumbs – ¼ cup
Instructions:
Boil roughly 500 grams of potatoes either in steamer method or pressure cook method.
• In the steamer method, steam the cut potatoes with a little salt for 30 minutes, till it is cooked thoroughly.
• In the pressure cook method, cook potatoes with salt till they are cooked well.
Drain and peel the potatoes if they are not peeled before cooking, mash them well. It yields roughly 2 cups of mashed potatoes.
Add the 2 cups of mashed potatoes to a wide bowl, then add 2 tbsp butter, 1 tbsp thick Green chutney, ¼ cup all-purpose flour, ½ tsp black salt/ salt, and 1 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves. Mix thoroughly and keep it aside (refer to notes).
Keep the stuffing ready by taking the required shredded mozzarella cheese and finely chopped Jalapeno in 2 separate bowls.
Prepare the coating mixture by mixing all-purpose flour, cornflour, salt, pepper powder, and required water. Mix well to form a thin batter and keep it aside.
In another plate or bowl, mix the required quantities of panko crumbs and bread crumbs (here, I used my homemade seasoned bread crumbs).
Now make balls (big lemon size) of mashed potatoes, dig a deep hole in the middle (refer to video or picture), stuff with finely chopped Jalapeno, then with shredded mozzarella cheese, and again top with a few finely chopped Jalapeno pieces. Close the hole by pulling the potatoes from the sides and smoothen the ball by rolling them in palms into cylindrical, round, or disc shapes as you desire.
Now dip the balls in the flour mixture (mix the flour with a spoon as the cornflour tends to clog and water stands separate) and coat it well on all sides.
Drain the excess flour and roll it gently over seasoned bread and panko crumbs and make sure the ball is well coated with crumbs on all sides.
Similarly, repeat the pattern for all the remaining potato balls and arrange them on a greased dish or plate with space in between. Cover the dish with a cling film and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour or preferably overnight.
Day of frying, take oil in a deep or shallow pan, sufficient enough to fry the balls, and heat it in medium-high flame.
Drop the balls gently once the oil is perfect to fry (check by dropping a small pinch of the potato ball in the oil, it should come up immediately from the bottom, perfect for frying), also make sure the oil is not too smoky (it’ll burn the crumbs quickly).
Do not overcrowd the oil with more balls. Depending upon the size of your pan drop 2 or 3 at a time, gently flip it once, and make sure they are cooked and golden fried on all sides. Drain the excess oil by spreading them on kitchen tissue.
Golden-fried crispies are ready to serve with Instant, No-cook, Mayo ketchup or Fry sauce. These croquettes are crispier on the outside, mouth-melting soft, and airier inside. When pulled apart, you’ll see the molten mozzarella cheese which oozes out and pulls apart. It’s a cheesy treat to the eyes and tongue.
Notes:
- You can cook potatoes in a steamer or pressure cooker method. I suggest the steamer method as the potato cooks perfectly without absorbing too much water which is apt for frying (will not absorb too much oil).
- If you don’t have a steamer at home, no worries, you can cook with a pressure pan. Make sure you add little water into the vessel which you place inside the pan (refer to picture or video) so that your potatoes do not absorb too much water while cooking. This is the thumb rule if you are preparing potato mixture for any of your starters if it involves deep frying. This helps the starter to absorb less oil while frying.
- Here, I Indianized the croquettes by spicing up the mashed potatoes with Green chutney (click the hyperlink for Green chutney recipe). Alternatively, you can add green chilli and thick coriander/mint paste, which also adds an extra zing to the potato mixture.
- While grinding the Green chutney, add little water as it needs to be thick. If it’s runny or thin, it’ll turn the potato mixture sticky.
- Don’t panic, if the potato mixture turns sticky. Adjust it by increasing the all-purpose flour. It acts as a binder.
- For stuffing, I used Jalapeno chunks which is an additional ingredient. If you have kids at home, avoid using it as they may feel spicy. Just use only cheese stuffing for them.
- To get a cheese pull, I used mozzarella cheese as it melts quickly and has a gentle flavour. You can try cheddar cheese which also melts well and has a sharp flavor. Alternatively, you can try other cheeses which melt well.
- While frying flame has to be medium-high. If the flame is too high, the crumbs tend to burn and it’ll spoil the taste of the entire starter. So always stick to medium-high flame and it will be fried in 2 – 3 minutes as the potato mixture is already cooked, only the outer covering needs to be fried to get that crunchier texture.
- I made a specially customized dip for this appetizer. Please check this for the recipe. Now time for my Kitchen Secrets…
- If you have mashed potatoes mixture left. Don’t worry, I’m here to rescue and help you transform these leftovers into a different recipe hard for your family members to recognize where it came from….inquisitive to know? It’s my kid’s and guests’ all-time favourite, Potato Peas Paratha, and Bird’s nest.
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