Before You Start
The pakora idea of dipping something in chickpea-flour batter and frying it is usually applied to onions, spinach or other vegetables, but bread pakora takes it to a sandwich: slices filled with spiced potato, coated all over in batter and fried until the shell is golden and crisp and the inside remains soft, hot and flavourful. Tea stalls across North India sell it, and home cooks make it too, especially in the colder months, as it turns a loaf of plain sliced bread into something far more filling than toast.
Where It Comes From
Compared with the vegetable pakoras, bread pakora is a young arrival, since it could only appear once sliced white bread became an everyday household item, something that happened in India over the twentieth century as bakeries and packaged loaves spread through the cities. It is most closely associated with the tea stalls and home kitchens of Delhi, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, although other regions have their own fried and stuffed bread snacks under different names and with different fillings. Because it joins a foreign staple, bread, to an established method of batter and frying, it shows how Indian street food keeps folding new ingredients into old techniques, and is not a closed, fixed tradition.
How to Make It
-
Prep
Season the potato
In a bowl, work the mash together with the green chilli, ginger, turmeric, chilli powder, cumin, amchur, coriander and salt. Try a pinch and season boldly, since the bread and the coating that will surround this filling are both quite bland.
-
Prep
Build the sandwiches
Smear a generous, even layer of the potato over one slice of bread, going right out to the edges, then lay a second slice on top. Press down gently so the sandwich holds, then cut it on the diagonal into two triangles. Do the same with the rest of the bread and filling.
-
Prep
Whisk the batter
Put the besan, rice flour, chilli powder, turmeric, ajwain, soda and salt in a bowl and pour in water gradually while stirring, until you have a smooth batter that leaves a full coat on the back of a spoon. Make it slightly looser than the batter for onion or mixed-vegetable pakoras, since here it has to spread evenly over flat slices of bread.
-
Cook
Dip, then fry
Heat the oil to 170°C (340°F). Hold a bread triangle firmly so the filling does not slide out, dunk it into the batter so every side and cut edge is covered, and lower it into the oil. Fry two or three at a time, turning once, for about 3 to 4 minutes in total, until they are deep golden and crisp all around.
-
Cook
Drain thoroughly
Take the pieces out with a slotted spoon and set them on a wire rack. The bread inside traps heat and steam as it fries, so let each batch stand for a minute before serving, so the middle can settle and not stay scalding and soft at its very heart.
-
Serve
Eat while hot
Bread pakora is at its best straight away, with the shell crisp and the filling hot, accompanied by tomato ketchup, tamarind chutney or a mint and coriander chutney.
Swaps That Work
Any plain sliced bread is fine, whole wheat included, and a slice that has dried out a little holds together better than very fresh, soft bread, which tends to tear in the batter. Some cooks add a thin layer of grated cheese to the potato. If you want something simpler, replace the potato with just a thin smear of green chutney.
Turning the Heat Up or Down
The filling and the batter both carry spice, so a pakora in which each is seasoned at full strength can turn out hotter than planned. Keep the batter mild, even omitting its chilli powder, if the filling is already forceful, or the other way round. Fresh green chilli in the potato gives the clearest heat and is the easiest dial to turn. Spreading a thin layer of green chutney on the bread before adding the potato is a typical way of bringing heat and tang without altering the filling.
Where Cooks Go Wrong
The usual problem is an overstuffed sandwich that splits in the oil, so keep the potato layer moderate and press the slices together firmly before cutting. A batter too thin to cover the bread properly is another, as it leaves bare patches that soak up oil unevenly and turn greasy and not crisp. The third mistake is frying too hot, which browns the batter before the bread and filling have warmed all the way through.
Keeping and Warming Up Leftovers
To keep: Eat them soon after frying. The bread within turns soft quickly, so these cannot be kept like a drier fried snack. When a wait is unavoidable, leave them uncovered on the counter for up to an hour and crisp them in the oven just before serving; the refrigerator and freezer are best avoided, because they wreck the texture of the bread.
To warm up: A toaster oven or regular oven set to 180°C (350°F) for 6 to 8 minutes does the job. In a microwave the potato gets hot, but the coating goes limp and the bread turns damp.
Safe Handling
Cooked potato, in the filling or anywhere else, should be cooled and used the same day, or chilled promptly if made in advance, and not left at room temperature for long before the sandwiches are put together. Deep frying also asks for a steady oil temperature and constant attention to the pot, and the oil should not be reused again and again, nor after it has darkened or started smoking at a lower temperature than when new.