Paneer Pakoras is an Indian dish which is in essence cheese rectangles in a very light chick pea batter. This is a delicious way to get calcium and vitamin A into you, with few carbs!

The dish is fully vegetarian, as it only has milk (cheese) and flour in it. It has no trans fats, 4g of protein and 7g of carbs per serving. You get 10% of your vitamin A and 10% of your calcium in each serving.

I like having the paneer pakoras with a main meal of palak paneer, which is a spinach dish. That way I get a healthy dose of veggies, a nice side of calcium-rich cheese, and the flavors all go together quite nicely.

If you're sensitive to spices, palak paneer is very mild. It's sort of like mozarella sticks, but with a very mild batter. I tend to dip my paneer pakoras in tamarind sauce to add a bit of extra flavor.

These paneer pakoras are very tasty. You can either deep fry or oven-bake them. Note that there is no microwave option. So you do have to turn on the oven and cook them for 15 minutes. In a world of instant food, I realize this will be a detriment for some people. If you're in a dorm room where you don't have access to an oven or deep fryer, I'm afraid you'll have to pass.

Also, if you're used to the crispy style of paneer pakoras, you won't get that same result with baking (which of course makes sense). If you bake these, then they are a bit more chewy than crispy. They still have a delicious flavor and a nice set of gentle spices.

For people with allergies, there are some toasted wheat crumbs in here to watch out for, and the package also says that the facilities uses nuts. So there aren't nuts in this particular food, but since the factory also makes nut-based foods, you might want to be cautious with this.

Still, for most of us, these are a tasty option. They are fully vegetarian, very tasty, and healthy. They provide good vitamins and nutrients with very little calories and carbs. It's a nice part of a balanced meal, and a tasty snack on its own.

Well recommended.



Lisa Shea's Library of Low Carb Books