Easy Bread pakoda (bread cutlet)

 

                                 

Hello Friends!

Welcome to easy cooking blog no.4

Introduction

Today, I share my another personal favourite snack recipe, which neither requires much time to be prepared nor need any fancy ingredients. On the contrary, it hardly takes 10 minutes to prepare.

It is none other than our yummiest Bread Pakoda (bread cutlet).

Bread pakoda is a popular street food across India. you can find people eating it with tea on random days. My mother used to pack this particular snack for my school outings, as it is very easy to make, does not take much time to make and easy to pack in a lunch box as well as keep you full for longer. It is prepared using bread slices, coated with besan (chickpea flour) and some basic condiments. 

There are three different ways to make this snack. You can coat it with besan and deep fry them, you can shallow fry them if you are watching your oil intake, or you can enjoy them with the mashed potatoes mixed with all the dry spices later coated with besan and deep-fried.

You can use any of the methods mentioned above as per your preference and availability of the ingredients. Among all, the fried one is the most common version. It is the most straightforward and yummiest snack recipe. We love to eat it with adrak wali chai (hot ginger tea) or spicy chutney on rainy days or on any other beautiful day. So we don’t seek any excuse to indulge in these goodies.

As my cooking blog’s name indicates, I try to bring easy and simple recipes for you. If you are a newbie, I think the fried bread pakoda without any stuffing is perfect for you to start with. It is easy to make, can be assembled in a jiffy, perfect for teatime and party snack.

All the ingredients are so basic that you get everything in your inventory always. So, without taking much time, let me introduce all the gorgeous ingredients we need to prepare this snack.

Ingredients for Bread pakoda                Qty

Bread slices                                                8pcs

Besan (chickpea flour)                             6tbsp                

Cumin seeds (jeera)                                  1/2tsp

Carrom seeds (Ajwain)                             1/2tsp                           

Fenugreek leaves (Methi)                         1tbsp

Sooji (semolina)                                         1tbsp

Coriander powder (Dhania)                      1tsp

Red chilli powder                                        as per taste

Garam masala (optional)                          1/2tsp

Chat masala (optional)                              to sprinkle

Salt                                                               as per taste

oil (to fry)

Method for fried bread pakodas

Take the besan (chickpea flour) in a mixing bowl, add all the desired spices and mix everything well. 

                    

Then, add water gradually to make a batter with a flowy consistency.

                                               

Cut the bread slices into any shape of your choice, diagonally or square, etc. I chose the square ones.

                                                 

Dip the bread slices into the batter and drop carefully into the hot oil. 

                                                 

Remember oil should be on the medium-low flame while frying the bread pakoda. Do not fry the bread pakodas on high flame. They will get burnt from outside without being cooked nicely from inside.

                                                 

Fry both sides of the bread until it turns golden brown. Then, take out the nicely fried bread pakodas and keep them on a paper towel to get the extra oil absorbed. Bread pakoras are ready to serve.

Method For shallow fried bread pakodas

Try to use all the spices in the powdered form instead of the seeded form because seeds take longer to cook as we will make this pakoda on Tawa (griddle). The rest of the procedure remains the same as mentioned above for the fried version of it.

Take a tawa (griddle) or any nonstick pan. Apply a small amount of oil or ghee (clarified butter)and spread it nicely on the tawa (griddle). Next, place the besan-coated bread on a tawa using your hand and cook from both sides well on medium-low heat by turning its sides with the help of a spatula. .Take the bread off the flame as soon as it turns golden brown. Your guilt-free snack is ready to serve with a hot cup of tea or with any chutney of your choice.

Note

You can use any bread of your choice; white and brown bread both make equally tasty pakodas.

The consistency of the batter should not be too runny or too thick (if the batter is thick, coating the bread will be difficult, and if it too runny, it will make bready soggy, and the texture of the pakoda will not be nice).

Oil should not be too hot before frying. Instead, it should be on medium-low heat.

Carefully drop the bread slices into the oil just by holding one side of the bread. Do not just throw it from a distance.

These snacks are tasty as well as nutritious. Besan (chickpea flour) is a good source of protein, and it has a low glycaemic index. It is gluten-free. And the condiments used have many health benefits. So, all in all, it is a hit. 

I used brown bread for this particular recipe. You can use any. Avoid using seeded bread, as the presence of seeds will make the bread pakodas harder.

 

Serving suggestion

Enjoy it while hot, with any chutney (dip) of your choice. Red chilli sauce goes very well with this. For kids, any tomato ketchup is perfect. Or you can enjoy it with a hot cup of tea or coffee.

                                               

I hope you are finding my recipes helpful and enjoying them thoroughly.

Try it and let me know in the comments below.

I always look forward to hearing from you.

Stay safe. God bless.

Thank you!