I had these chicken cheese balls at my best friend’s place about 5 years ago and immediately fell in love. Potato, chicken, cheese, deep fried – it’s got everything. Every year in Ramzan, I harass her over Whatsapp for the recipe, because I’ve always been too lazy to write it down and she tells me patiently every time (I love her). I made these a couple of days ago and also plan on doing another round for Eid to have around the house for snacking on the whole day.

 

They’re simple and really easy to make. I like that the cheese doesn’t ooze out of it – even though I love the oozing versions too – but this makes them less heavy and just the perfect comfort food. You just need about an hour to prep stuff because the chicken and potato need to be cooked, the rest is like gliding through air.

Let’s talk steps?

RECIPE


Serving: ~ 20 balls


TIME
Prep Time: 40 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 60 mins


INGREDIENTS
Potatoes, mashed, 3 cups (approx. 3-4 medium sized potatoes)
Chicken, shredded, 2 cups (approx. 600 grams of skinless, boneless chicken breasts)
Mozzarella Cheese, shredded, 1.5 cups
Cheddar Cheese, grated, 3/4 cup
Spring onions, chopped, 1 cup
Table Salt, 1.5 or 2 tsp
Chinese Salt, 1.5 tsp
Red Chilli Powder, 0.5 tsp
Eggs, 2
Bread crumbs


STEPS

1) Boil about 3-4 medium potatoes. You need 3 cups of mashed potatoes at the end so pick the number based on the size of your potatoes. It took me about 30 mins to get them ready. If you’re a newbie at potato boiling, read this. Check with a fork to see when you’re done, it should go all the way inside. (please to note, I have more potatoes in the pan than needed, because I was making something else on the side as well)

 

2) In parallel, start boiling the chicken. You need 2 cups of shredded chicken (tightly packed). I used about 600 grams of chicken for this, but you can boil as much as you need to get to 2 cups. This step also takes about 20 mins to get ready (faster if your chicken is chopped into even smaller sizes than in the picture). Slice through the chicken and check that there are no uncooked, pink parts otherwise leave it in for slightly longer. If you want detailed instructions on how to boil chicken, read this. Update: Some people have suggested seasoning the chicken or sauteeing it with salt/pepper instead of boiling – I don’t know if it might make it too salty (or you could reduce the overall salt in the recipe to balance that) but it sounds like a great idea, so you can try that out if you want.

3) While the potatoes and chicken are cooking, chop up the spring onions. You need 1 cup.

4) Get your cheeses ready. I got shredded mozzarella from the store. And grated the cheddar at home because I could only find the block of cheese. (Is there any such thing as store-bought shredded cheddar?)

5) Once your potatoes are ready, pull them out and let them cool down.

6) Mash them up. Check for any hard lumps and remove them.

7) Also pull the chicken out once ready, let it cool down and then shred it.

8) Put everything together at this point. Put your mashed potatoes in a big bowl. Toss in the chicken. Add the chopped spring onions and the cheeses. Then top it off with the table salt, chinese salt and red chilli powder.

9) Mix it all up really nice and proper. Make sure everything is blended with everything – the spices have reached all corners, the chicken, potato and cheese are all evenly distributed. I love that since this is all mixed up, the cheese has a very subtle taste and not in your face. This is now your dough.

10) Roll them up into small balls (don’t go too big, or you’ll have frying troubles). A 2-2.5 inch diameter is fine. Make sure they’re tightly packed together or they can come apart while frying. I sometimes freeze them at this point for frying the day after, and I think they cook better the next day because they’re so solid and tight, but you can do both ways – same day or next.

11) Get your frying station ready. Break an egg, pull out the bread crumbs. Get your oil ready by making it all nice and hot for about 10-15 mins at about medium heat (my electric stove was at 6 on a scale of 1-9)

12) Roll each ball in the egg first and then the bread crumbs.

13) Place the balls in carefully and let them fry, moving within the oil gently. I’d recommend starting with one ball first and seeing how it goes. Also, don’t overcrowd them. In well-heated oil, each ball takes 2-3 mins to cook fully. Gently turn each ball over after about 1.5 mins to cook the other side. Cooking times can vary so once they’ve browned, pull them out.

14)  Aaaaaand you’re done.

FULL RECIPE WITHOUT IMAGES


Serving: Makes about 20 balls.


TIME
Prep Time: 40 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 60 mins


INGREDIENTS
Potatoes, mashed, 3 cups (approx. 3-4 medium sized potatoes)
Chicken, shredded, 2 cups (approx. 600 grams of skinless, boneless chicken breasts)
Mozzarella Cheese, shredded, 1.5 cups
Cheddar Cheese, grated, 3/4 cup
Spring onions, chopped, 1 cup
Table Salt, 1.5 or 2 tsp
Chinese Salt, 1.5 tsp
Red Chilli Powder, 0.5 tsp
Eggs, 2
Bread crumbs


STEPS

1) Boil about 3-4 medium potatoes. You need 3 cups of mashed potatoes at the end so pick the number based on the size of your potatoes. It took me about 30 mins to get them ready. If you’re a newbie at potato boiling, read this. Check with a fork to see when you’re done, it should go all the way inside. (please to note, I have more potatoes in the pan than needed, because I was making something else on the side as well)

 

2) In parallel, start boiling the chicken. You need 2 cups of shredded chicken (tightly packed). I used about 600 grams of chicken for this, but you can boil as much as you need to get to 2 cups. This step also takes about 20 mins to get ready (faster if your chicken is chopped into even smaller sizes than in the picture). Slice through the chicken and check that there are no uncooked, pink parts otherwise leave it in for slightly longer. If you want detailed instructions on how to boil chicken, read this. Update: Some people have suggested seasoning the chicken or sauteeing it with salt/pepper instead of boiling – I don’t know if it might make it too salty (or you could reduce the overall salt in the recipe to balance that) but it sounds like a great idea, so you can try that out if you want.

3) While the potatoes and chicken are cooking, chop up the spring onions. You need 1 cup.

4) Get your cheeses ready. I got shredded mozzarella from the store. And grated the cheddar at home because I could only find the block of cheese. (Is there any such thing as store-bought shredded cheddar?)

5) Once your potatoes are ready, pull them out and let them cool down.

6) Mash them up. Check for any hard lumps and toss them out.

7) Also pull the chicken out once ready, let it cool down and then shred it.

8) Put everything together at this point. Put your mashed potatoes in a big bowl. Toss in the chicken. Add the chopped spring onions and the cheeses. Then top it off with the table salt, chinese salt and red chilli powder.

9) Mix it all up really nice and proper. Make sure everything is blended with everything – the spices have reached all corners, the chicken, potato and cheese are all evenly distributed. I love that since this is all mixed up, the cheese has a very subtle taste and not in your face. This is now your dough.

10) Roll them up into small balls (don’t go to big, you’ll have frying troubles). A 2-2.5 inch diameter is fine. Make sure they’re tightly packed together or they can come apart while frying. I sometimes freeze them at this point for frying the day after, and I think they cook better the next day because they’re so solid and tight, but you can do both ways – same day or next.

11) Get your frying station ready. Break an egg, pull out the bread crumbs. Get your oil ready by making it all nice and hot for about 10-15 mins at about medium heat (my electric stove was at 6 on a scale of 1-9)

12) Roll each ball in the egg first and then the bread crumbs.

13) Place the balls in carefully and let them fry, gently. I’d recommend starting with one ball first and seeing how it goes. Also, don’t overcrowd them.

14) In well-heated oil, each ball takes 2-3 mins to cook fully. Gently turn each ball over after about 1.5 mins to cook the other side. Cooking times can vary, so once they’ve browned, pull them out aaaaaand you’re done.

Until next time.