My sweet little niece & godchild Emma loves Cheese Balls. She told me this is her favourite snack when we went recently for her sixth birthday. These cheese balls are so yummy that before you realize they will just disappear the moment you serve them!
Ingredients :
· 3 large Potatoes
· ½ cup Corn niblets
· ½ cup processed Cheddar Cheese
· ¼ tsp dried Oregano (or any herb of your choice)
· 3 tbsps. Bread Crumbs
· Salt to taste
· Vegetable Oil
Method :
Boil potatoes in their jackets till soft in a pressure cooker with 1/3 tsp. salt.
Cool slightly & peel of the skins. Grate the potatoes or mash them with a fork while still warm.
Add bread crumbs, 2 pinches of salt & mix well to a uniform, smooth dough.
Keep aside for about 10 mins.
Boil corn niblets till tender with sufficient water. Drain excess water if any.
Roughly grind the corn in a blender.
Transfer to a bowl, add oregano & mix well.
Cut cheddar cheese into tiny cubes or grate & keep aside.
Take a small amount of mashed potato & shape like a small cup.
Place a little corn mix with 2 tiny cubes of cheese & cover with mash & roll into a ball between your palms. Make cheese balls out of the remaining potato mash & place on a plate.
Refrigerate for 10 mins.
Ingredients for Dipping & Rolling the Cheese Balls :
· 2 tbsps. Corn Flour
· 8 tbsps. Water
· ½ cup Bread Crumbs
· 1 tbsp. Corn Flour
Method :
Prepare a mix of corn flour & water in a bowl for dipping the cheese balls.
On a plate mix bread crumbs & 1 tbsp. corn flour for rolling the cheese balls.
Take each cheese ball & dip in the prepared liquid dip & then roll the ball in the dry bread crumb mix. Prepare all the cheese balls this way. Then refrigerate for about ½ hour.
Heat vegetable oil in a wok on med. heat. Test by putting a pinch of bread crumbs in hot oil.
The crumbs should pop up immediately. Fry the cheese balls in small batches on med. heat.
Keep rolling the balls gently & continuously in hot oil till the balls turn to a light golden brown & crisp.
Lift the fried cheese balls with a slotted spoon.
Transfer to plate lined with tissue paper to remove excess oil.
Serve hot with your favourite dip or ketchup.
Tips :
· You can freeze the cheese balls in a bowl covered with cling film & use whenever required.
· Use salt sparingly as cheese has a good amount of salt.
· Refrigerate cheese balls to chill well before frying.
· While stuffing cheese balls make sure there are no cracks: it should be smooth.
· Maintaining the temperature of the oil ensures that the balls fry well from the outside & not allowing the oil to seep in.
· Make sure the oil is sufficiently hot for frying otherwise the cheese balls will break & the stuffing will spill out. Also cold oil will turn the cheese balls soggy.
· Always fry in small batches depending on the size of the wok, so that the balls have sufficient space for movement.
· Boil corn in just sufficient water so that you don’t have to drain the excess water.
