Bread Pakoras are a simple & delicious appetizer or teatime snack. These pakoras are always a big hit, especially with the kids. My son just loves to help me whenever I make these, he’s also the first one in line to eat them too – sneaky as he is!

Feel free to use your favorite variety of sliced bread for this recipe such as whole wheat, honey wheat, multi-grain, seeded breads… just make sure you use a firm & hearty variety of bread that will hold up during the battering & frying processes.


BREAD PAKORAS

Ingredients:

4 slices of your favorite sliced bread
1 cup of besan (gram flour or chickpea flour)
1 tbsp rice flour
2 tbsp good quality yogurt or buttermilk
1 medium onion, very finely chopped
½ tsp ground cumin powder
pinch of red chili powder, to taste
¼ cup freshly chopped cilantro leaves, finely minced
salt & pepper, to taste
oil for shallow frying (peanut or vegetable)

METHOD:

Cut the bread slices in half, quarters or even strips (3 strips/slice). You can also remove the crust if you wish.

In a mixing bowl, add the besan (gram/chickpea flour) along with the rice flour, ground cumin powder, red chili powder, salt & pepper. Add the yogurt or buttermilk, stir well to combine & now slowly add enough water to form a smooth but slightly thick batter. Next, add the onions & cilantro leaves. Mix well to combine all of the ingredients.

In a large deep skillet (cast iron works well) or wok, add enough oil to shallow fry.

Now dip the bread completely into the batter, making sure each piece is evenly coated. Remove any excess batter and very carefully lower the battered bread into the hot oil. Reduce the heat to medium, also be careful not to overcrowd the pan. Fry on medium heat, turning the pakoras until they are golden brown on all sides and crispy. Remove and drain well. Serve with your favorite chutneys & sauces.


VARIATIONS:

Before dipping the bread into the batter, add a thin layer of cilantro or mint chutney to one side of the slice before dipping it into the batter. You could use any chutney or Indian pickle such as tomato or garlic chutney, mango or lime pickle…

You could also add your favorite vegetables as well.

You could pan fry these too in a few tbsp of oil if you wish for a healthier version.



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