Stuffed bread pakora are crispy, tasty Indian fritters with potato-paneer stuffing sandwiched between bread slices. They are great to enjoy as tea-time snack with zesty-tangy chutney, ketchup or can be included in weekend brunch menu.
The word ‘pakora’ means fritters in english and in bread pakora, as understood by the name also, the bread slices make the base ingredient for fritters. It can be made 2 ways- plain (without stuffing) & with stuffing. The former version is quite simple as we simply cut the bread in triangles, dip them in spiced gram-flour (besan) batter and then deep fry.
The second version is little bit more indulgent and takes effort as we almost make a sandwich first with potato (aloo) or cottage cheese (paneer) filling, cut it into half, dip in a batter and then deep fry. Once you go through this recipe post, I am sure you will be able to make any variation of bread pakora at home with ease.
The stuffed bread pakora recipe is completely vegetarian and can be made vegan if you use dairy-free vegan bread. The filling can be easily be customised and for low calorie version, you can shallow fry or air fry them.
To make bread pakode you’ll need:
Bread: You can choose any bread of your choice like white bread, milk bread, brown bread or multigrain bread. If you want to keep recipe vegan (dairy free), use vegan bread as rest all the ingredients in this recipe are suitable for vegan diet.
Besan: Also known as chickpea flour or gram flour, it is a gluten-free flour made from bengal gram (chana dal). It is mixed with water and few spices to make a dipping batter for fritters.
Oil: Use any cooking oil suitable for deep frying like sunflower oil, peanut or sesame oil.
Spices: The spices need to be added twice in the recipe- once in the dipping batter and second to the potato mash. If the spices are not added to besan-batter, the outer covering can taste bland. In aloo stuffing, different spices & aromatics like red chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala, ginger and cilantro etc are added.
Potatoes: The bread is stuffed with a mixture of spiced potato mash. To save cooking time, you can boil and mash the potatoes before hand. Always let the stuffing cool down completely before applying on bread as otherwise it can turn it soggy.
Paneer: Along with potato mash, I have also added a thin slice of paneer for adding protein and making the pakora more wholesome. It is an optional ingredient and can be skipped also. For vegan version, you can opt for tofu or use only potato mash as stuffing.
Green Chutney or Sauce: I like to apply some cilantro-mint chutney on both slices of bread before applying potato mash as it adds a vibrant fresh flavour. You can create you own variation by applying other chutney or spreads like tamarind chutney, chilli garlic chutney, thecha (green chilli chutney), ketchup, sriracha or tandoori mayo.
Variations:
- In this recipe the bread pakora has 3 layers (chutney + potato + paneer). You can customise it by using only (potato + paneer) or (chutney + potato) or (chutney + paneer).
- Some leftover bhaji from pao-bhaji, also makes for a yummy filling option for bread pakoda.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
- Bread Slices- 8
- Paneer- 200 gms
- Green Chutney- 4 tbsp (optional)
- Oil- For frying
- For covering:
- Besan or Gramflour- 2 cups
- Rice flour- 2 tbsp (optional)
- Water- 3/4 cup (as required)
- Salt- 1 tsp
- Turmeric Powder- 1/4 tsp
- Red Chilli Powder- 1/2 tsp
- For stuffing:
- Potatoes (boiled)- 3 medium
- Ginger (grated)- 1/2 tsp
- Turmeric Powder- 1/4 tsp
- Red Chilli powder- 1/2 tsp
- Garam Masala- 1/4 tsp
- Coriander Powder- 1/2 tsp
- Chaat Masala- 1/2 tsp
- Salt- 1/2 tsp (to taste)
- Coriander or Cilantro- 2 tbsp
Directions:
Step 1:
Add besan, rice flour, salt & spices to a mixing bowl. Start adding water gradually to it while mixing with a whisker or fork to get smooth lump-free batter. It should neither be thick nor too thin. Cover & keep it aside.
Step 2:
Peel the boiled potatoes and mash them with a masher or fork. Add ginger, cilantro, salt & spices to it and mix well. Taste and adjust seasoning as per your taste. Keep this stuffing mixture aside.
Step 3:
If you are using store-bough paneer then dip it in warm water for 5-10 to soften it up. Cut the paneer block horizontally to get 4 slices (like cheese slice) or you can cut it in strips. Keep aside.
Step 4:
Take 2 bread slices and spread chutney on them. It is an optional step and can be skipped. Then spread a layer of potato mash stuffing on chutney layer. Keep a paneer-slice on one bread slice and cover it with another to make a sandwich.
Step 5:
Gently press the sandwich to set the layers together. Using a sharp knife cut it diagonally to get 2 triangles (For ease of frying, you can cut it diagonally from opposite side also to get 4 triangles).
Step 6:
Prepare rest of the sandwiches as above. While you are doing so, heat oil in a deep fry-pan for frying (check tips section for oil temp).
Step 7:
Once oil is hot, dip a sandwich in besan batter carefully to cover it from all sides. Lift it carefully (or use a flat slotted spatula) and shake it lightly to drip any excess batter in bowl. Then gently lower it in hot oil.
Step 8:
Fry it on medium-high heat. After 2-3 minutes flip it, to cook from other side too. Fry till the bread pakora is crispy golden on both sides.
Step 9:
Using a slotted spoon, strain the bread pakoda to drip any excess oil and transfer on a tissue paper or wire rack. Sprinkle chaat masala on them and enjoy with coriander chutney, imli chutney or ketchup.
Tips:
- To check whether the oil is ready for frying, drop a pinch of besan-batter in it. If it immediately rises to top, the oil is ready for frying
- For making bread pakora without stuffing, simply cut the bread slices, dip them in besan batter and fry as explained above.
- Use a day or two day old bread as sometime fresh bread is too soft to handle and can disintegrate on dipping in batter.
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(P.S: The recipe was originally published on 17th Jun’2015 and had been updated with better recipe & images.)
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(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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