Get Perfect South Indian Food Starter: Paneer 65 On The Table

You may have heard of Chicken 65 at least once in your life. Well, every Indian is familiar with this South Indian deep-fried chicken appetizer. But what about vegetarians? Paneer 65 must be on your foodie list, then! Almost every South Indian restaurant in Jersey City NJ, serve paneer 65 on the starter's menu. This appetizer from Southern India is the creation of Indian cottage cheese, flour, spices, and herbs such as curry leaves.

If you are a vegetarian or a paneer lover, who also wants a fiery spice flavor on their taste buds, paneer 65 must be the dish. The homemade version beats the restaurant serving paneer 65, and you'll get to know why (here!). You can serve it as an appetizer or a side dish with an Indian meal.

Stop your search for this brilliant South Indian food in Jersey City and prepare paneer 65 at your home.

About Paneer 65

Paneer 65 is a versatile vegetarian version of South Indian Chicken 65. It is made with Indian cottage cheese marinated in spices and coated with batter, then deep-fried until they become crispy. It is then tossed in a spicy sauce with curry leaves, garlic, and spices. The dish got its name from the year 1965 when it was created at Buhari Hotel, Chennai.

Ingredients

• Paneer: Fresh Indian cottage cheese or paneer.

• Spices: Spicy powders such as red chili powder, pepper powder, and garam masala powder. You can also use Kashmiri red chili powder to give it an appealing look.

• Flour: Maida, Besan (gram flour), and cornflour as binding agents. Wheat flour will also work well instead of maida.

• Lemon juice

For the Marinade

• 200g paneer

• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste

• 1/2 tsp garam masala powder

• 1/2 tsp red chili powder

• 1/4 tsp pepper powder

• 1 tsp lemon juice

• 1 tbsp curd

• salt to taste

For the Batter

• 3 tbsp maida

• 2 tbsp cornflour

• 1 tsp Kashmiri red chili powder

• a tiny pinch of cooking soda

• salt to taste

• water as needed

To Garnish

• Curry leaves

• Green chilies

Cooking Instructions

Many South Indian restaurants use the below recipe to prepare paneer 65. Consider the below step-by-step instructions to cook this amazing appetizer.

1. To begin with, add paneer along with ingredients in a mixing bowl. Marinade them well.

2. Mix the spices until they are well-coated.

3. Add the ingredients under 'for the batter' to another mixing bowl. Mix the bowl ingredients to prepare the batter.

4. Form a slightly thick batter by adding water little by little. It should not be too thick or not too thin and should be thinner than idli batter.

5. Add squared-chopped paneer into the batter, one by one.

6. Coat the pieces in the batter using a fork. Remove excess batter and introduce the paneer to the preheated oil.

7. Turn over the paneer piece slowly. Let them get fried for a few seconds, then turn them over again.

8. Turn over eat pieces and fry well until they turn golden brown.

9. Remove the first batch and add the next one. Repeat until they are finished.

10. Finally, add curry leaves and green chilies to the mixture and fry until crisp.

11. This is your restaurant-styled Paneer 65! Enjoy!

Expert Tips

• Spices must be mixed well with paneer. Otherwise, it will be bland.

• Don't use artificial coloring in paneer 65. Instead, you can use Kashmiri chili powder for the attractive reddish color.

• Prevent sticky cheese by separating the pieces during deep frying and give them perfectly shaped pieces just like the best South Indian restaurant Jersey City NJ does. You can also separate during frying too and add to hot oil.

• Adjust the amount of spice as per your preference.

• Use cooking soda to give the best texture; otherwise, paneer 65 will be a little hard without soda.

• Do not coat the paneer if the batter is too thin or too thick. Ensure consistency with the batter and add water accordingly.

• Use cornflour and rice flour (replace with maida) if you want a gluten-free version of paneer 65.

Ready To Cook?

Craving for your favorite South Indian food Jersey City? Don't wait and start cooking this awesome dish at your home. Just take your frying pan out and prepare paneer 65 at your home.