By Hetty Lui McKinnon
Updated Oct. 11, 2023
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- 25 minutes
- Rating
- 4(749)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Fried cheese becomes a main meal in this pantry-reliant dish. Make it with your choice of ‘fry-able’ cheese, one with a high melting point that retains its shape after cooking. Halloumi and paneer are excellent choices, but queso blanco and queso de freir are often less expensive, but just as delicious. (Note: Halloumi is saltier than most frying cheeses so use less salt.) The trick to frying cheese without it sticking is to use a hot skillet, but if you’re not confident, opt for non-stick. This dish can easily be adapted for vegans by substituting the cheese with extra-firm tofu.
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- Extra virgin olive oil or ghee
- 10ounces frying cheese (such as queso de freir, queso blanco, halloumi or paneer), cut into ¼ inch slices and patted dry
- 1yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 4garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1teaspoon ground cayenne
- 1teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1teaspoon ground ginger
- 1teaspoon ground cumin
- 1cinnamon stick or ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1teaspoon kosher salt, such as Diamond Crystal (use ½ teaspoon if using halloumi)
- ½teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1(28-ounce) can diced, puréed or crushed tomatoes
- 1(15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained
- Handful of cilantro leaves
- Flatbread or rice, to serve
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
1079 calories; 90 grams fat; 23 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 53 grams monounsaturated fat; 9 grams polyunsaturated fat; 47 grams carbohydrates; 12 grams dietary fiber; 15 grams sugars; 28 grams protein; 1113 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Heat a large (12-inch skillet) on medium-high until very hot, 2 to 3 minutes. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil or ghee and swirl it around to coat the base. Add the cheese and fry until golden, 1 to 1½ minutes. Flip and cook the other side. Transfer the cooked cheese to a plate and set aside.
Step
2
Place the same pan over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil or ghee, along with the onions and stir until slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic, cayenne, turmeric, ginger, cumin and cinnamon and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the salt, sugar, tomatoes and chickpeas and stir well to combine.
Step
3
Cover and cook on medium, stirring occasionally and reducing the heat as necessary, until the tomatoes have thickened up, 8 to 10 minutes. Taste and season with more salt if required.
Step
4
Place the cheese on top of the sauce, and cook just until warmed through, 2 minutes.
Step
5
To serve, top with cilantro and serve with flatbread or rice.
Ratings
4
out of 5
749
user ratings
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Cooking Notes
szellner
Has anyone made this? In the recipe the ingredients list includes 1 teaspoon of cayenne powder and no chili powder. In Step 2 of the Preparation it says to add the chili powder and there is no mention of cayenne. Is the recipe meant to have 1 or the other? Cayenne and chili powder provide very different flavors.
JC.
Cayenne is a type of chili pepper and cayenne powder can also be called chili powder and should not be confused with "Chili Powder" which is the blend of spices, that include cumin and cayenne, used to make Chili or for other recipes...
ngh
Made exactly as written (well, except I cut it in half since I was just cooking for myself) with halloumi. I went with chili powder; not a very spicy person. Thought it was delicious and this will likely be in a regular dinner rotation since it was so quick and easy to pull together. Will probably heat the leftovers up in the morning and put a fried or poached egg on top for breakfast.
Nancy J.
To jamlash:If you replace cheese with tofu you definitely want to cut the cayenne down a bit. The fat content of cheese mellows the heat considerably.
Joe
Just made this with tofu. As written it's halfway between shakshuka and spicy dal. One tsp of Indian hot powdered chile is not enough. I should have put in at least one chopped long green finger hot as well. The other seasonings aren't enough, either. Use a large chunk of fresh ginger. Add a teaspoon of crushed coriander seed and 1 tsp mustard seed with the main spices. Add 1 tsp of garam masala and 1/2 tsp green mango powder at the end. Leave out the sugar.
Todd
Please rename this “exploding cheese of death.” Other than that, delicious!
Gill G
Excellent store cupboard supper! Made a couple of swaps: esplette chili instead of the cayenne, fresh ginger for the powder, added some harissa paste as I had a jar in the pantry, and zucchini in with the onion to bulk up the vegetable content. Squeeze of lemon, handful of chopped parsley, served it on rice, with a dollop of Greek yogurt. Verdict: very good.
jamlash
and probably add another can of garbanzos (the ratio seemed off). We fried the extra firm tofu instead of halloumi and that was awesome. But still too spicy using the amounts listed.
Name Laurie Comstock
I used cayenne because it made more sense to me. Plenty spicy but not overwhelming. That said, we both like spicy.
Dan
I believe the chili is referencing the cayenne.
Joan Borgman
the recipes makes that suggestion for vegans
Anya
Added diced carrots and chopped kale to the tomato-sauce base. A pinch of red-pepper flakes for a tiny kick. Unclear about the chili? Hard to go wrong though -/Also made a quick cucumber-lime raita. Perfect veg. supper & easy/quick!
Carrie
Simple and easy, but the full teaspoon of cayenne seemed to overwhelm all the other flavors- I will cut it back to 1/2 tsp next time. I added a few handfuls of fresh spinach at the end for a bit more color and served over rice with a dollop of plain yogurt.
Kristine
A 15-oz can of chickpeas is nowhere near that amount of calories. Mine is 420 for whole can.
Tim
A quick, simple and tasty meal. We cooked both halloumi and paneer, and both worked well!
Sally
Made it mostly as written - used garden tomato-garlic sauce I had in the freezer instead of a can, added some spinach at the end, and used Aleppo pepper (husband doesn’t do spicy) insteaad of cayenne - not spicy at all, delicious over rice.
miriam
This was super easy to prepare & made a so-so weeknight meal. Serves with naan bread and yogurt to balance the spice. Not sure I’ll be putting this in the rotation as wasn’t blown away.
eas2255
Squeezed lemon on top and really loved the flavor!
Jessica
Very spicy. Very delicious. Pick a smaller onion or it’s a lot of of onion. Make sure to drain beans VERY well and maybe the tomatoes some. I added plain yogurt to cut spice and was amazing.
VFWQ
Amazing. After reading the comments, I used a mix of cayenne and chili powder… to equal 1tsp. I love heat, and I found this to be a great recipe. I threw in some asparagus that I had here, also put jarred jalapeños slices across the top afterwards, but that’s Just me… I like that mix of tang with the spices.. ( used fresh ginger too… yummy!!)
Mark S
Just made this and loved it! The only thing I would change is the onions - coarse cut rather than finely sliced. As per the recipe, the thinly-sliced onion ends up being stringy and that seemed out of place with the chucks of tomato and garlic. Otherwise, the flavor profile is quite good and I'll absolutely make this again.
PixieD
First time I’ve done halloumi, new family favorite. I cut down the cayenne because it was for the whole family, and I wonder if that’s why the final result was a little sweeter than we prefer. Will make again, maybe omitting the sugar to account for less spice.
LaurainBahrain
I like the look of this and how easy the prep seems to be, but it seems high calorie, doesn’t it?
Leggy
This is delicious and very fast to put together. Truly a great recipe when you have a big spice collection.
LJ
As other suggested, I halved the cayenne and doubled the chickpeas. Delicious! Still pretty spicy so added in a dollop of plain Greek yogurt. Would be awesome with rice, I had naan so used that. Really yummy!
Lydia
The chickpea ratio seems way off. This is delish but next time I make it I’m at least doubling the chickpeas. Went well with couscous.
J
Followed the recipe as written (with paneer), but doubled everything (and boiled my own chickpeas).So quick to prepare. Excellent! Quite spicy. I’d halve the cayenne next time for the kids. And I’d almost double the chickpeas to make the meal heartier.
Allegra
I don’t know whether “exploding cheese of death” refers to the splattering oil or the extreme spiciness (or your bowels the next day), but either way, it’s the right name for this dish!
squeezit
Some of the confusion in the comments comes from the fact that in the US many people know chili powder as the commercial blend of spices, including cumin, etc, which is used to make chili. Chile powder is ground chile peppers like cayenne or kashmiri chiles. Looks like this has been corrected - this recipe does not call for chili powder but the cayenne could be called chile powder.
Devin
1 teaspoon of cayenne crowded out all the other flavors. I’d probably half that if I make it again. Still pretty tasty
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