Bread pakora
Bread pakora is one of my favorite fritters. I wonder why I didn’t post it earlier. Bread pakora is a famous street food in India and is available at street vendors with their assortment of chutneys. You can watch the whole process of their making at these vendors.
Recipe of bread pakora/ pakoda
6 bread slices
1 cup besan (gram flour/ chickpea flour)
1/2 cup boiled and mashed potatoes
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
Salt to taste
1 inch piece ginger- chopped
2 green chillies- finely chopped
1/4 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp amchoor (dried mango powder)
Oil to deep fry
1. Mix salt and red chilli powder to besan. Add water little by little so as to prepare a lump free batter. Batter consistency should be thick pakora (fritters) batter like.
2. Mix salt, garam masala, green chillies, amchoor and ginger in mashed potato.
3. Cut each bread slice into 2 triangular pieces to get 12 triangles.
4. Divide potato mixture into 6 portions. Place potato mixture on 1 bread slice and cover it with another.
5. Heat oil in a kadhai/wok or a frying pan. When the oil is sufficiently hot, turn the heat to medium. Dip each potato stuffed bread in besan batter and deep fry in oil. Fry bread pakoda from both sides till golden brown.
6. Drain on an absorbent paper and serve bread pakora hot with chutney or tomato sauce.
Vegetable Cheese Toast
These vegetable cheese toasts are loved by kids. I usually prepare them for breakfast but you can also have them as an evening snack. In the picture above, I have used brown bread slice but you can also use slice cut from French loaf. These vegetable cheese toasts can also be called as brown bread pizza.
Recipe of Vegetable Cheese Toast
6-8 bread slices
1 Capsicum- deseeded and finely chopped
1 tomato- pulp removed and finely chopped
1 onion- finely chopped
1 tbsp corn kernels
3/4 cup cheddar or mozzarella cheese- grated
1/4 tsp chilli flakes
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp oregano
1. Mix all ingredients except bread in a bowl.
2. Place this mixture on one side of bread slices.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake these bread slices for 3-5 minutes or till the cheese melts and turn golden brown. Serve hot.
Bread upma
I have taken whole wheat bread for this recipe to make it healthier. Bread upma is a great way to use up leftover loaf of bread. Bread upma is very quick to make and with in no time, you can serve the breakfast.
Serves 2
5 slices of bread
1 boiled, peeled and cubed potato
1 tablespoon peanuts
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 onion- chopped
1 tomato- chopped
2 green chilies- chopped
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon oil
1 tsp lemon juice
Chopped coriander leaves
1. Break bread into smaller pieces or alternatively you can make bread crumbs by crushing the bread in a blender. Try it both ways to know which one you prefer. I prefer bread pieces.
2. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When they crackle, add peanuts and roast.
3. Add onion and green chilies and stir-fry till onion become translucent. Add tomato, turmeric powder and salt. Cook till tomato turns soft.
4. Add potato. Stir-fry for 2 minutes.
5. Add bread and mix well for 3-4 minutes. Add chopped coriander to the upma.
6. Add lemon juice and serve bread upma hot.
Moong toast
6 slices bread
1 cup dhuli moong dal (split green gram)
3 green chilies
1 tbsp besan (gram flour)
1 tsp lemon juice
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves- finely chopped
Oil or butter to toast the bread
1. Soak moong dal for 1 1/2 hours. Drain and grind with green chilies to a fine paste.
2. Mix together dal paste, besan, salt, lemon juice and coriander leaves.
3. With the help of a spoon, spread dal mixture on one side of a bread slice.
4. Heat some oil or butter on a non-stick tawa (griddle) or a pan. Place the bread on the hot tawa with the dal side down.
5. Spread dal mixture on the upper side of the bread too while the bread is getting toasted on the lower side. Toast the bread on other side also.
6. Cut into triangles and serve hot with tomato sauce.
