Cheesy Choices

Cheese Mysore Bonda

 

Some of you may share my disdain for things like cheese dosa, paneer dosa, baby corn dosa, cheese Mysore masala dosa, cheese pav bhaji, cheese dabheli – such fusion in foods sounds a tad cheesy and almost wannbe…

Why is there a need to add cheese, baby corn and paneer to regional dishes that don’t really need this added embellishment?

Do the restaurants really adjust ingredients to justify the claims – or just chuck in a handful of Amul cheese and wilting ageing baby corn – to make it “special”?

Does this far-fetched addition of foreign stuff warrant the substantial difference in the price?

Is this a stratagem to make these traditional dishes more attractive to younger people?

Does this attempt at modernisation delude diners into thinking they are patronising a  “progressive and trendy” eatery?

Okay… granted, I am a little crabby that a most fantastic long weekend has come to an end… reckon I am restive tonight – it’s past midnight; accept I will be busy meeting a mid-week work deadline… and won’t be able to indulge in writing or cooking…

Hmmm, so cheese, paneer and baby corn in these dishes may have some merit. If nothing, only to mitigate the inordinate levels of heat introduced in restaurant foods these days…

Thinking about the dish I am describing - remembering how the flour and cheese were a perfect match - my grudging grumpiness is melting, just like the cheese in the bondas  – and diminishing just like the spongy bondas disappeared in no time…

Cheese Mysore Bonda

This is a perfect snack attack dish - a tad oily, so reserve it for a real special day when you come home hungry on a rainy Friday, after driving for an hour through treacle traffic ... like I did the other day!

Ingredients

1½ cups self-raising flour

½ cup rice flour

¾ cup sour yoghurt

1 onion, chopped

1 tbsp fresh ginger, chopped fine

2-3 green chillies, finely chopped

1 tbsp coriander leaves finely chopped

A few curry leaves, chopped fine

1 tsp cumin seeds

4-5 tbsp grated mozzarella cheese

Salt to taste

Oil to deep fry

Method

Make a thick batter of the flours, chopped onions, chopped green chillies, chopped curry leaves, chopped ginger, cumin seeds, coriander leaves and the yoghurt. Add some water to adjust the consistency to resemble that of a thick pakora batter. Make sure there are no lumps. Add the grated mozzarella cheese and then the salt accordingly. 

Heat oil in a wok and drop spoonfuls into hot oil. Fry the bondas till they are golden brown and remove them on a kitchen paper to drain excess oil.

When you fry in a large quantity of oil, the bondas come out round – but I usually use small amounts of oil, hence the flatter shape.

Serve hot with tomato sauce and mustard sauce.