It can be a great starter in dinner table or snack in a tea party when made in a smaller ball. The crisp outer layer and gooey cheesy inner layer is an absolute delight for any cheese lover.
When I have any non cheese lover in the company, I simply make a small batch with potatoes mixed in the filling and that works well.
The traditional cheese balls calls for corn flour and bread crumbs but in this recipe I have used gold fish crumbs simply because I got a huge pack from sams when my 4 year old insisted. Later, he refused to eat the pouches with cheddar cheese gold fish because it made his fingers dirty. Getting the goldfish crumbs is not rocket science. All we need for this is something solid to crush the fishes while they are in the unopened pouch. I have used zip locks for making crumbs of cookies and crackers and it works wonders.
The spinach brings in an added color and nutrition to the mozzarella balls. When mixed with gold fish crumbs and fried. It turns into a crispy goodness.
The mozzarella cheese is mixed with chopped veggies and parsley. The veggies can vary based on the choice of cook and guests. I have used pepper, baby corn and mushroom in this mozzarella balls. There are variety of options that could be used here like tofu, broccoli, corn or peas. The quantity of vegetables is very less so that the cheese balls don't lose the gooey texture and still have some veggies for color and added flavor.
The cheese mixture is handrolled and kept aside. The spinach and gold fish dough is rolled on top of the cheese mixture. The balls can be prepared a night before and refrigerated. While frying, the heat us set to medium and balls are fried till they are golden brown and crisp. It should be served hot till the cheese is soft and gooey.
Recipe
Ingredients
For cheese filling
Mozzarella cheese - 2 cups
Banana pepper - 1
Mushroom -1
Baby corn -1
Parsley - 2 tbsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
For spinach dough
Spinach ( ground to paste) - 1 cup
Goldfish - 4 pack of 26g
Oil for frying
Preparation
Chop baby corn, pepper and mushroom and mix it in the mozzarella cheese. Add salt and parsley and knead the mixture to give it a soft texture.
Make goldfish crumbs by crushing the goldfish inside the pouch using something heavy. Mix crumbs ground spinach and make a stiff dough.Salt is not needed because goldfish has enough salt in it.
Make balls of the cheese mixture. I wanted big balls for breakfast so I just divided the mixture in 8 parts and made balls. If used In snack platter, make at least 12 balls.
Divide spinach dough into the same number of parts as cheese balls.Take spinach dough in hand and flatten it. Place mozzarella cheese balls on top and cover the balls with spinach dough. Repeat for all balls.
Fry all the balls till they are golden brown and crisp.
Serve with chutney or choice of sauce
