Paneer Puffs

I used to eat a lot of these when I was younger. They were sold at almost every corner shop in India. These treats have a spicy paneer filling inside a shell of crispy puff pastry. Since it’s so easy to get puff pastry sheets in the US, I make them all the time. 😊

Now, I know paneer is dairy. I’d still like to mention that Pepperidge puff pastry sheets are vegan. So if you replace the paneer with tofu or a spicy veggie filling, or even some fake meat crumbles, these puffs will become vegan!

Servings: 6, Prep time: 25 minutes, Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• Paneer 8oz
• Onion 1/2
• Green chili 2-3
• Garlic 3-4 cloves
• Tomato 1 medium
• Turmeric powder 1/4 tsp
• Coriander powder 1/2 tsp
• Garam masala 1/2 tsp
• Kitchen king masala 1 tbsp
• Pepperidge puff pastry 1 sheet
• Canola oil 1 tbsp
• Salt as needed
• Flour for dusting

Instructions

1. Finely chop the onion, garlic, green chili and tomatoes.
2. Dice the paneer into small pieces. Remember these need to be small enough to fit in a pastry
3. In a pan, heat the oil. Then add onions and cook for 3-4 minutes till translucent
4. Add the garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes, then add the chili and sauté for 1-2 minutes
5. Add the tomatoes and cook till the mixture releases oil along the sides.
6. Add in all the spices and cook for 1-2 minutes.
7. Mix in the paneer, then set aside to cool
8. While the filling cools, preheat your oven to 400 F.
9. Dust a surface with enough flour, then roll out the puff pastry sheet a gently.
10. Cut the sheet into 6 parts, add the filling on one side and seal the pastries by folding in half and crimping the edges
11. Refrigerate for 10 mins, then bake for 25-30 minutes or until crisp and golden!

Tips

• Make sure your puff pastry is thawed before rolling it out. The thawing instructions are always on the package
• If you like making puff pastry from scratch, you can do that! Make a batch and freeze it.
• As mentioned before, the filling can be replaced with whatever you want! Just make sure the filling is dry and cool before adding to the pastry
• These also freeze really well. You can double or triple the recipe and freeze them for a quick snack. Kids will love that!

I always get nostalgic when I eat these. I hope they will bring joy to you as well! As always, let me know in the comments if you tried these. 😬