These Paneer Potlis are delicious vegetarian samosas shaped like money bags, or potlis, and deep fried into a crispy goodness in under an hour.
Paneer potlis, or vegetarian money bag samosas, are crispy, fried potli-shaped samosas filled with a mouthwater, spicy paneer and potato filling that will have you cleaning out the whole plate and putting your dishwasher out of a job.
Aside from how addicting these are, paneer potlis are actually so fun to make. I loved how they came out in under an hour and serve as such a versatile dish. You can have it as a quick evening snack along with a Veggie Manchow Soup or as an appetizer to a meal like Butter Paneer Masala.
I remember the first time I had these and I was obsessed! It was from a Thai restaurant that was known for their “money bags.” Their potli was out-of-this-world crispy on the outside, and filled with this mouth-watering filling of curried potato and chicken.
I wanted to create a vegetarian version of the dish, but also add my own touch to it! I used paneer because it adds a complete source of protein and offers such a beautifully contrasting texture to the crunch of the potli.
These Paneer Potlis are so simple and delicious on their own, but you can always pair them with something like Maggie sauce or your favorite chutney. People in India often have these with their afternoon chai as well. The combination possibilities are truly endless.
I truly enjoyed creating this recipe, so I hope you enjoy making (and eating!) these paneer potlis as much as I did. BTW, it’s also a great dish to bring out for Diwali!
Kitchen Hacks for This Recipe
As always, I want to make life easier for you with my recipes. You can accomplish any of my dishes on my site easily and without a lot of complicated equipment. Here are some tips and tricks I use when I’m in a pinch:
- Make the filling a day before if you know you’re going to be busy or have a full plate of things to do when you need to serve these. You can easily fill the potlis up and fry them on the day of.
- Roll out the dough and use a round cookie cutter or a small glass to cut perfectly shaped circles for the potlis. You’ll get perfect, restaurant-looking potlis to wow your guests!
- You can substitute all purpose flour for whole wheat flour to make this recipe healthier.
DID YOU MAKE THIS DISH?
If you make this dish, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram @thetableofspice or hashtag #thetableofspice or both! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Paneer Potlis
Ingredients
Filling
- ½ cup paneer
- 1 small potato boiled, peeled and mashed
- 1 serrano or jalapeno minced
- 1 small onion chopped
- ¼ cup frozen peas thawed
- ¼ cup cilantro
- 2 tbsp oil
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp garlic minced
- 2 tsp ground coriander thana jeeru
- 2 tsp garam masla
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
Potli (wrapper)
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 cup water
Instructions
Potli wrapper
- In a bowl combine the flour, salt and oil until mixed. Add water little by little and mix everything until dough forms. Cover and set aside until you prepare the stuffing.
Filling
- In a pan, heat up the oil and add the cumin seeds.
- Next add the onions and cook for 5 mins. Add the peas, salt, sugar, garam masala, ground coriander, garlic, serrano and lemon juice. Stir everything together and cook for 4 mins.
- Add the potatoes and crumbed paneer, mix everything together. Sprinkle cilantro and take it off the heat and set aside.
Filling the Potlis
- Roll out a small golf ball size, flatten it and roll it out. You can use a round cookie cutter and cut out small circles from the rolled out dough.
- Take 1 tbsp of filling and place it in the center, bring all the edges together and press in the midlle to form a potli shape.
- Roll out some dough and cut into thin strips to wrap around the potlis. Take one strip and place it around the neck as if you are going to tie a knot.
- Deep fry the potlis in hot oil on medium heat until golden brown. Serve with cilantro chutney or Sweet tamarind chutney. Enjoy!
Notes
- Make the filling a day before and fill the potlis up and fry the day of.
- Roll out the dough and use a round cookie cutter or a small glass to cut perfectly shaped circles for the potlis.
- You can sub all purpose flour for whole wheat flour.
