You can serve these without any dip, sauce or chutney as they are flavored well and mildly spiced. This is one of those recipes which I have made many times for my kids and it has never disappointed them. In this post, I have shown deep frying the cheese balls but I usually bake them in the oven and sometimes even pan fry them. I have shared more instructions in the recipe card below. There are many different ways of making cheese balls. These are lightly flavored & spiced cheese stuffed mashed potato balls. These balls are then breaded and fried to get a crisp coating.

Preparation for cheese balls recipe

  1. Boil the potatoes in which ever way you like. I prefer to boil them in a pot with water enough to cover them. This way they don’t turn too mushy or soft. It is good to keep the skin while boiling as it prevents them from turning mushy.
  2. Peel off the skin.
  3. Mash them well. There should be no balls or lumps of potato. The mashed potatoes must be smooth. To prevent lumps you can also grate and then mash them.
  4. Add the bread crumbs or powdered poha. Then the dried herbs, pepper and red chili flakes. Also add in little salt. Do note that cheese is salted so you will need very less salt here.
  5. Then add garlic or ginger garlic paste and coriander leaves.
  6. Mix together everything and make a ball. The mixture must be non sticky and not too dry.
  7. Divide the mixture to 8 to 10 balls. I doubled the recipe so I got 18 balls.

Seasoning the cheese

  1. Cut the cheese to 10 portions, about ½ to ¾ inch cubes. I made 2x recipe so you see more cheese in my pictures. To a plate add the seasonings. I used allspice, red chilli flakes, pepper and Italian herbs. I used cheddar cheese but made it several times with mozarella too. Use what ever you like.
  2. Mix all of them and sprinkle it over the cheese.

How to make Cheese Balls

  1. Place a potato ball on your palm. Spread it evenly to a small discs or puri. Do not spread it too thin else the cheese may come out while frying. Place 1 cheese cube in the center.
  2. Bring the sides together to cover the cheese. The potato mixture may break but it is okay. Just roll it up gently.
  3. Make a round ball.
  4. Add 2 tbsp of corn flour to a bowl and roll the balls in the flour.
  5. This way roll all of the balls and rest them aside for 10 mins.
  6. Pour 3 to 4 tbsps of water to 2 tbsps of corn flour and make a uniform mixture. Alternately you can also use beaten egg. Transfer bread crumbs to a plate. Dip each ball in the cornflour mixture and then quickly roll them in the bread crumbs.
  7. I prefer to repeat dipping the once breaded cheese balls in the cornflour mixture and then roll them in the bread crumbs again. This way they turn extra crisp.

Frying cheese balls

You can also bake these or pan fry them, instructions in the recipe card. 17. Heat oil in a wide, slightly deep pan just enough to half cover the cheese balls. Check the oil if it is hot enough by dropping a small portion of potato. It has to rise immediately without browning. 18. Regulate the flame to medium high. Gently slide the cheese balls to hot oil and do not disturb for 30 to 60 seconds. Stirring them immediately may break the balls. 19. Fry until golden and crisp. Discard the used oil. 20. Remove them to a kitchen tissue. Serve cheese balls immediately. More recipes using cheese,Cheese sandwichPizza recipeCheese toastCream cheese sandwich

Tips to make cheese balls

  1. Boil potatoes just until done without making them too soggy or mushy. Over cooked or soggy potatoes will need more bread crumbs to absorb the moisture. This alters the taste of the covering.
  2. I have flavored the cheese balls with pepper, red chili flakes, Italian herbs and allspice powder. To give an Indian touch you can just use kasuri methi and garam masala. But the combination of herbs & spices I use lend exceptionally flavorful and the best potato cheese balls.
  3. I have used cheddar cheese. However you can replace it with mozzarella cheese.

How to make these healthier?

  1. If you do not prefer breaded snacks then skip rolling the balls in bread crumbs. Just roll them in corn starch and fry or bake them.
  2. For healthier option, I make these cheese balls by avoiding bread crumbs completely. I use coarse poha powder for the potato mixture as well for the crust. To make your own poha powder, just pulse the thick or medium variety poha in a blender jar. The powder must be like fine rava or suji.
  3. To avoid corn starch, just replace it with any other whole grain flour. Just make sure the flour is very fine or smooth.
  4. Avoid deep frying and bake them at 200 C in a preheated oven for 15 mins.

Variations

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Recipe Card

I made 2x recipe, so the quantities in the pictures will not match as mentioned.