Bread Pakora
A tasty, crunchy Bread Pakora is Indian street food at its most delightful best. It is exactly what it sounds like -- bread stuffed with a chatpata (zesty) mixture of potatoes and chutneys, then dunked in a pakora batter and fried to golden, melt-in-the-mouth crispyness. It's a party for your mouth.
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 239kcal
Equipment
- Cast iron or nonstick skillet
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds potatoes (yellow or red)
- 8 slices sandwich bread (I used whole wheat white bread, but regular white bread would be fine and is what is traditionally used)
- ¾ cup chickpea flour (besan)
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon cayenne
- 1 teaspoon chaat masala
- Salt to taste
- ¼ to ½ cup avocado oil or any neutral oil (for frying)
For the date-tamarind chutney:
- 15 dates (make sure they're pitted)
- 1 tablespoon tamarind pulp (this is the thick concentrate you get in a jar, and not the pulp extracted from tamarind pods. If you do use tamarind pods because they're all you have, make sure you don't make the pulp too watery)
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne
- 1 teaspoon cumin (lightly toasted)
- Salt to taste
- ½ cup water
For the green chutney:
- ¼ cup cilantro
- ¼ cup mint leaves
- ½ small jalapeno pepper (deseeded)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2-3 tablespoon water
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Cook the potatoes in the microwave in a bowl of water, or on the stovetop by covering with water, until they are fork-tender. When cool enough to handle, drain the potatoes and coarsely mash them with a fork.
Make the tamarind chutney:
- Place all the ingredients in a blender with ¼ cup water and blend into a smooth paste. If the paste is too thick, add a little more water.
Make the green chutney:
- Place all ingredients in the blender with 2 tablespoon water and blend into a smooth paste. Again, add more water if too thick, a teaspoon at a time.
Make the bread pakora:
- Place the chickpea flour in a bowl along with the cayenne, turmeric and salt. Use a whisk to mix as you drizzle in enough water to make a runny batter that should coat the back of a spoon.
- Heat the oil for frying in a flat-bottomed skillet. I use a skillet just large enough to hold the sandwich, so I can use less oil.
- To the mashed potatoes, add a couple of tablespoons of the tamarind chutney, the chaat masala, and salt to taste. Mix well.
- Smear some green chutney on a slice of bread, and some tamarind chutney on the other slice. Place a thick layer of potato stuffing on one of the slices and cover with the other. The potato will help glue them together.
- Dip the prepared sandwich into the chickpea batter, making sure you coat it thoroughly. Shake off the excess batter and place in the hot oil. Fry on each side until golden-brown. Repeat for the remaining three sandwiches.
- Remove to a cutting board and cut the pakora diagonally into two triangles. You can also cut it into rectangles or squares.
- Serve with any remaining green chutney drizzled on top.
Nutrition
Calories: 239kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Potassium: 411mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 173IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 97mg | Iron: 3mg