Bread Pakora

As flavorful as Indian food is, even more flavorful, if possible, is that wild smorgasbord collectively known as Indian street food.

Part of the appeal of street food lies in the fact that it is so badass, with an aura of unhygienic unhealthiness that -- instead of sending the eater running a mile off -- makes him or her crave it almost as if it were the proverbial forbidden fruit.

Mom always told you not to eat it because you never knew where the vendor's hands had been, and you could see -- although you might have preferred to turn the blind eye -- that the dishes were all being washed all day by being dunked into that same bucket of water standing by the vendor's knee (although disposable styrofoam plates and glasses have replaced those ceramic ones now, creating a whole new environmental conundrum).

But no matter how heavily the ozone hole weighs on your conscience, or how badly you want to fit into those jeans that have been hanging in your closet, untouched, for the last 10 years (I'm not even going to think about the vendor's hands here), street food is impossible to resist. Because under its renegade reputation is deliciousness such as you cannot find in any haute restaurant meal and not even in mom's cooking.

This is a mishmash of some of the boldest flavors and textures you can imagine. It usually starts out with a rather healthy base of veggies or sprouts or chickpea flour or puffed rice crispies. In go lots of spices or chutneys-- still good. And finally, in a fell swoop, all of that healthiness is either dunked into boiling oil, or it is smothered in more deep-fried stuff -- a step that transforms food that's good into food that's sublime.

This Bread Pakora or Bread Pakoda, which I have for you today, is a perfect example of Indian street food at its best, because it encompasses all of the above. It's not Paula-Deen-level unhealthy but you can be pretty sure Gwyneth Paltrow isn't going to be putting it on her meal plan any time soon. At least not openly. 😉

There are all kinds of bread pakoras on India's streets, most vegetarian, although you'll find some versions with chicken stuffed inside them. The vegetarian versions often contain paneer, an Indian cheese. But who needs meat or cheese when you can eat potatoes?

This is a pretty easy recipe to make, like most street food is. You start out with bread -- usually white, although I used white whole wheat for a few health points -- and potatoes. Neither is necessarily bad, at least not for someone who isn't afraid of carbs.

In go a couple of zingy chutneys -- a green, herby one and a sweet-tangy-spicy tamarind-date one -- and then all of it is dunked in a traditional pakora batter made primarily of chickpea flour or besan. The whole darn thing is then deep-fried, although I rather shallow-fry it in a quarter-inch or so of oil. If you do it at the right temperature, your bread pakora will not be greasy at all. In fact, it will be fluffy and crunchy, as it should be.

How to make the perfect bread pakora:

• First find yourself some sturdy white sandwich bread. I bought and used a great white whole wheat sandwich bread -- you can find these at many supermarkets now and certainly at Whole Foods.

• Boil some potatoes. Then mash them coarsely so you have some lumps for texture in your filling. If you want some protein in your pakora, add grated tofu -- a half a cup or so.

• Don't skimp on the chutneys. The filling of this bread pakora is uniquely mine, but it still borrows heavily from the beloved flavors of Indian street food. The tamarind-date chutney, famously used to dunk samosas in, adds a lovely sweet-salty-spicy wallop to the potato filling, and the leafy green coriander chutney adds freshness and a touch of heat.

• You don't need a big pot of oil to fry these -- a quarter inch of oil is more than enough. Make sure you bring your oil up to a temperature of 350 degrees before you fry your bread pakoras because at that temperature, they will hardly absorb any oil.

• Tell yourself, today, I'm going to eat this. I'm not going to stuff myself silly but I'm going to enjoy every bite of this amazing food before me. There will be no pangs of guilt, because why add a cloud to the silver lining? Tomorrow, I go back to being good.

Ingredients for Bread Pakora:

• Whole wheat white bread or regular white bread. Find a sturdy bread that holds its shape -- a soft bread would fall apart from the stuffing and deep frying. I would rather you didn't use whole wheat bread because its nutty flavor would be an interruption, but if that's what you still want to use, you can.
• Chickpea flour (besan)
• Potatoes
• Chaat masala
• Tamarind pulp
• Dates
• Cumin seeds
• Cayenne
• Green chili pepper like jalapeno
• Cilantro
• Mint
• Turmeric
• Garlic
• Lemon
• Oil for frying

Looking for more Indian street food recipes?

• Punjabi Samosa
• Misal, the ultimate Bombay street food
• Chana Jor Garam
• Pav Bhaji
• Phirni
• Vegan Cutting Chai
• Aloo Tikki

Bread Pakora Recipe