Bread Pakora

Bread pakora is an Indian fried snack. It is also known as bread bhaji . A common street food, it is made from bread slices, besan, and spices among other ingredients.

Ingredients:

• 4 slices of firm white bread
• 1 cup gram flour (besan)
• 1 tablespoon rice flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Pinch of asafetida (hing)
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
• 2 finely chopped green chilies
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro (green coriander)
• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons of water
• Oil to fry

Method:

1. Remove the crust from all sides of the bread.
2. Slice the bread lengthwise into 3 equal parts.
3. Mix all the dry ingredients together: Gram flour (besan), rice flour, asafetida, cumin seeds, and salt. Rice flour adds to the crispness.
4. Add the water slowly to make a smooth batter. (Batter should be the consistency of pancake batter or dosa batter)
5. Next, add the green chilies and cilantro. Mix well.
6. Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium high heat.
7. Frying pan should have at least 11/2 inch of oil. To check if the oil is ready, put one drop of batter in the oil. The batter should come up but not change color right away.
8. Dip the bread slices in the batter one at a time and slowley drop into the frying pan.
9. Fry the Pakoras in small batches. The pakoras will take about 4 to 5 minutes to cook.
10. Turn them occasionally. Fry the Pakoras until both sides are golden-brown.
11. Repeat this process. The crispy, delicious Bread Pakoras are ready to serve

Serving suggestions:

1. The bread pakoras are best when dipped with a fresh cilantro chutney or tamarind chutney.
2. Pakoras taste best when they are served hot.
3. Pakoras can be made one day in advance do not refrigerate. When ready to eat, place on a cookie sheet and heat in the preheated oven on 300 degrees.