One of the most useful and favorite products is cottage cheese. It is rich in vitamins, minerals and microelements, the effect of which on the body is difficult to overestimate. Cottage cheese contains a large amount of casein, a milk protein involved in the formation, strengthening and restoration of muscle tissue.
Despite its benefits, some people cannot consume this product in its pure form. After studying the recipes offered below, you will understand how to prepare cottage cheese balls from cottage cheese and other ingredients in such a way as to diversify the menu and satisfy even the most sophisticated taste. We will tell you how to prepare sweet, salty, hot and savory dishes that are perfect as an appetizer for a holiday table or just for dinner.
Fried curd balls
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First in our short review we will look at a sweet dish that grandmothers prepared for many in childhood. We are talking about fried curd balls. The recipe, according to housewives, has changed little over the past 15–20 years. True, this did not make the balls any less tasty and loved by both adults and children. For preparation you should use the following ingredients:
- cottage cheese (preferably homemade) – 350 g;
- wheat flour – 1.5 tbsp;
- granulated sugar – 0.5 tbsp;
- eggs – 2 pcs.;
- vanilla sugar – 1 sachet (or vanillin – 0.5 sachet);
- baking powder – 1.5 tsp;
- salt – 1/4 tsp;
- odorless sunflower oil – 0.5 l (for deep frying).
Fried cottage cheese balls with semolina
If you want to pamper your loved ones with a cottage cheese dessert, but don’t want to knead the dough for a long time, then you can replace some of the flour with semolina. Due to the fact that the semolina will swell, the dough will rise and the products will turn out just as fluffy.
Ingredients:
- 225 g cottage cheese;
- 2 eggs;
- 225 g granulated sugar;
- 225 g flour;
- 225 g semolina;
- oil.
Preparation:
- Place the curd product in a bowl, beat in the eggs and grind the ingredients with a mixer.
- Next, add granulated sugar along with semolina and mix.
- For splendor, add 6 g of baking powder or 0.5 spoons of soda slaked with vinegar.
- Now add flour and knead the dough, which should rest for 15-20 minutes.
- We tear off pieces from the dough, roll them into balls and fry in a large amount of oil over medium heat. You should not create a large flame, as the products will quickly become covered with a crispy crust, but will not have time to bake inside.
- After the balls have rested on a paper napkin, transfer them to a wide plate, sprinkle with sweet powder and serve with tea.
Cooking process
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So, how to make cottage cheese balls from cottage cheese and other ingredients? This process is not as complicated as it might seem at first.
You need to do this:
- Break the eggs into a deep bowl, add a little salt, sugar and beat the mixture with a whisk until foamy.
- Pass the cottage cheese through a meat grinder (or sieve) and add to the egg mixture. Stir with a fork.
- Sift the flour, mix with vanilla and baking powder and add little by little to the egg-curd mass. Knead the contents of the bowl first with a spoon and then with your hands until a soft dough is obtained.
- Pour vegetable oil into a deep saucepan of small diameter and place on the stove, heat it up very high.
- Lightly grease your hands with sunflower oil, scoop out the curd mass with a teaspoon, roll into balls and drop them into a saucepan, several at a time.
- Deep fry for 3-5 minutes (depending on the size of the balls) on each side.
- Using a slotted spoon, place the curd donuts on a paper towel folded in several layers to get rid of excess fat. Cool.
- Using a small strainer, dust the donuts with powdered sugar or melted chocolate.
How to cook “Curd balls in oil”
First of all, pour vegetable oil into a small, tall saucepan and set to heat. On my stove the switch is set to 9, I fry the balls at 5.5.
Grind cottage cheese with eggs and sugar.
Add flour and soda to the resulting mass.
And mix thoroughly. The dough turns out very soft and sticky.
Pour some oil into a saucer or small bowl and lubricate your hands with it. We cover the board with cling film and form small balls with a diameter of about 2 cm. For clarity, a walnut is laid out nearby.
Throw the balls into well-heated oil and fry until beautifully golden brown. When frying, the balls increase in volume! Place the finished balls on a sieve or paper napkins.
The cooled balls can be sprinkled with powdered sugar, although they are already sweet. But it’s more elegant with powder.
And enjoy delicious curd balls!
Balls with fish and garlic
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You already know how to cook cottage cheese balls in oil. But what if you need to surprise your guests with a lower-calorie snack? The dish, which we will consider below, is shameless to serve at the festive table, and it will take little time to prepare.
Components:
The process of preparing this unusual snack is simple:
Balls with garlic, carrots and herbs
Spicy cottage cheese balls, the composition of which we will consider below, will be an excellent snack on a hot summer day. Light and tender, they will not create heaviness in the stomach and will certainly please all guests.
You need to prepare the following components:
- low-fat cottage cheese, pureed through a sieve – 400 g;
- sandwich butter – 80 g;
- fresh chicken eggs – 3 pcs.;
- garlic – 3–4 cloves;
- carrot – 1 pc.;
- any greens – 1 bunch (medium);
- salt, pepper - 1 pinch.
It doesn’t take much time to prepare this snack:
How to make cottage cheese balls from cottage cheese and nuts?
This recipe is a little similar to the previous one, but it has much fewer ingredients. You will need:
- fat cottage cheese – 300 g;
- walnuts – 300 g;
- garlic – 2 cloves;
- fresh butter – 75 g;
- black and white pepper (ground), salt - 1 pinch.
This dish is easy to prepare, and it tastes tender and satisfying. The cottage cheese must be passed through a sieve and mixed with soft butter, put in the garlic passed through a press. You can also mix all ingredients except nuts using a blender. Add pepper and salt.
Fry the nuts a little and chop into coarse crumbs. Make balls and roll them one by one in nut crumbs. Place the finished snack in the cold for 25 minutes. Serve on lettuce leaves.
Balls “Assorted Colors”
Based on the previous recipe, cottage cheese balls can be prepared in a variety of breadings. To make the dish less high in calories, you can add hard or processed cheese instead of butter.
The recipe for the balls themselves will look like this:
- cottage cheese – 250 g;
- Parmesan cheese – 250 g;
- low-calorie mayonnaise - 1.5 tbsp. l.;
- garlic – 2 cloves (you can do without it);
- dry herbs, salt, ground pepper - 1 pinch.
Grate hard cheese, pass garlic through a press. Mix all ingredients with cottage cheese, add pepper and salt, then season with mayonnaise. Form balls with wet hands. To make a real assortment of flavors, you will have to use your imagination. Now you need to roll the “koloboks” in breading. Its role can be perfectly performed by ground paprika, chopped dill, white or black sesame, coconut flakes, fried ground almonds, etc. To add even more flavor, you can put a piece of olive or red fish inside some balls.
Salted cottage cheese balls
This recipe is suitable for those who do not like sweets, but want to treat themselves to something special and tasty.
Required Products:
- 300 g cottage cheese;
- 1 chicken egg;
- 40 g breadcrumbs;
- 60 g bacon or sausage;
- 60 g grated cheese;
- sunflower oil;
- a pinch of salt.
Cooking algorithm:
- Grind the cottage cheese with a fork, break an egg into it and mix everything.
- Add grated cheese, salt to the mixture and mix everything thoroughly.
- Chop the bacon in a convenient way and add to the dough.
- Make balls of small diameter from the dough and roll in breading.
- Place the balls in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, then roll in breading again.
- Fry the balls in a frying pan in a large amount of oil until golden brown.
- Cool the browned products.
The finished balls, despite the salty taste, go well with tea.
In conclusion, it is worth saying that cottage cheese balls are a really tasty dish, and thanks to the variety of recipes, they can be prepared for any table, be it a tea party with friends or a feast in honor of a family holiday.