Bread Pakora or Stuffed Bread Pakora is an Indian snack that's fun to eat and tastes delicious. The bread pakora is one of the most popular pakoras made in India. Everybody loves it, and it is popular street food. It is made by dipping bread slices in the gram flour batter and then deep-frying them.
Usually, bread pakoras are made without any stuffing. However, stuffed bread pakoras are a unique option that is more filling and tastes better than plain bread pakora. So, to make your snack time fun, I'm sharing the recipe for bread pakora with stuffing and without the stuffing.
These pakoras go perfectly in rainy weather. We are so used to eating these pakoras with Tamarind Chutney & Green Chutney; chutney's sweet and spicy flavor complimented these spiced stuffed Pakoras perfectly.
The post contains Helpful Tips & Tricks to make Bread Pakora. But if you're in a hurry, you can also click "Jump to Recipe' under the Heading to go directly to the Recipe Card or click Recipe Card from the Table of Contents below.
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⭐WHAT IS BREAD PAKORA?
Bread Pakora is nothing but bread fritters. It is made by dipping bread slices (squares or triangles) in a gram flour batter. And then deep frying them until golden and crispy. It is also sometimes referred to as Bread Bajji in South Indian cuisine.
It is a popular street food served by street vendors. They are served with green chutney and tamarind chutney accompanied with tea or masala chai. It is definitely an excellent option for an evening snack. They can be made in two ways:
- Without the Stuffing: Bread is cut into squares or triangles when making without the stuffing. Then they are dipped in the gram flour batter and later fried until golden and crispy.
- With Stuffing: Potato stuffing is added between two slices of bread. And then they are cut into squares and triangles. Later, the bread sandwich is dipped in gram flour batter. And fried until golden and crispy.
Both the varieties of pakoras taste absolutely fantastic. But my personal favorite is stuffed bread pakora, as it is filled with flavors and keeps you full for a longer time.
🥘INGREDIENTS & SUBSTITUTIONS
- GRAM FLOUR: Gram flour is used to make the gram flour batter. You can also use chickpea flour to make the batter.
- BREAD: You can use any bread of your choice: white bread or whole wheat bread. Cut the bread into triangles or squares.
- SPICES: Spices are added to make gram flour batter and potato stuffing. You can add garam masala, cumin powder, amchur powder, carrom seeds, red chili powder, and salt.
- POTATO: To make stuffed bread pakora, you'll need the stuffing of potatoes or paneer. The filling of potatoes is easy to make and goes great in the fritters.
- GARNISH: You can also add cilantro and green chili to make them extra flavorful.
See the recipe card for quantities.
🔪HOW TO MAKE BREAD PAKORA WITHOUT STUFFING
Take the bread of your choice. White bread or whole wheat bread both work well in the recipe. But, first, cut the bread into squares or triangles.
Make the gram flour batter. Add gram flour to the bowl and add spices (garam masala, cumin powder, red chili powder, salt, and carrom seeds). Add water (little by little) and whisk until it is smooth and lump-free.
The batter should not be too thick or too thin. It should more like pancake consistency.
Take the bread slice and dip it in the gram flour batter. Make sure the bread is properly covered in the batter.
Heat the oil and at medium heat; drop the gram flour-covered bread slices. Deep fry the pakoras until golden and crispy from both sides.
When frying, make sure it is not overcrowded. Add 2-3 pakoras at one time, leaving a space between two fritters.
Once fried, place the bread pakoras on a paper towel to soak the excess oil. Serve the pakoras with green chutney and tamarind chutney, and enjoy!
🔪HOW TO MAKE STUFFED BREAD PAKORA
Make the filling or stuffing by adding boiled potatoes to a bowl. Mash the potatoes and add spices (garam masala, cumin powder, red chili powder, amchur powder, and salt). Of course, you can make stuffing using any other ingredients, but potato stuffing compliments these Bread Pakoras.
You can also add green chili and cilantro. Mix all the ingredients until adequately combined.
Next is to make the batter of gram flour. The batter should not be too thick or too thin. Instead, the consistency should be like a pancake batter. Finally, whisk the batter after adding water so that it is lump-free.
Take two slices of bread. Add a generous layer of potato stuffing to one slice of bread. Cover it with another piece of bread.
You can cut the bread sandwich into squares or triangles and then dip in the batter. Or you can fry the pakoras and then cut in desired shapes.
Take the bread sandwich and dip it in the gram flour batter. Make sure the bread is properly covered in the batter.
Heat the oil and add medium heat; drop the gram flour covered bread slices. Deep fry the pakoras until golden and crispy from both sides.
When frying, make sure it is not overcrowded. Add 2-3 pakoras at one time, leaving a space between two fritters.
Once fried, place the bread pakoras on a paper towel to soak the excess oil. Serve the pakoras with green chutney and tamarind chutney, and enjoy!
💭TOP TIPS
- Oil needs to be extremely hot before you start adding fritters for frying. You can check by adding a little piece of potato to it. After adding, the oil is at the right temperature if it floats to the top. However, if the potato settles at the bottom, that means that the oil is not hot enough
- First, boil the potatoes. Let them cool and then mash them and mix them with seasoning to make the stuffing. I don't usually add onions to my filling, but you can add them if you like the flavor.
- While making the batter, add water slowly as we don't want the batter to be too runny. The batter should not be too runny or too thick. It should be smooth like a pancake batter. When water is added first, it may make lumps. Whisk well to make the batter smooth in texture.
- Take a slice of bread, spread the stuffing on it, and put another piece of bread over it. After you wrap the stuffing in pieces of bread, you can cut it in a triangle shape, small squares, etc.
- Coat the batter evenly all over the stuffed slices of bread so that they would be crispy all around.
👪SERVING SUGGESTIONS
Pair the bread pakora with green chutney (cilantro & mint chutney) or with a sweet chutney like tamarind chutney or ketchup.
This particular variety of pakora goes great with evening tea or masala chai.
STORAGE
Bread Pakoras tastes best when served fresh. But if you have some leftover pakoras, you can store them in an air-tight container once the cooldown. Then store it in the fridge for 3-5 days.
When re-using, air fry them for 5 minutes at 400F. Or bake them in the oven at 400 degrees F, preheated oven for 10-15 minutes.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Prepare the batter as mentioned in the recipe. Dip the pakoras in the batter and place them in the air fryer basket. You can also line them in the individual parchment paper and add them to the air fryer basket. Air fry at 400 degrees F for 8-10 minutes or until golden and crispy.
Tastes will not be the same, but they will be healthy.
No, bread pakoras are not healthy as they are deep-fried. But you can make them in an air fryer or in the oven for a healthier option.
Yes, this is a gluten-free recipe made with gram flour.
If the bread pakora does not turn crispy, it may be because the oil is not hot enough. So make sure the oil is hot, just the right temperature. If the oil is too hot, then also pakoras will turn crispy from the outside but will not have the right texture from the inside. So make sure the hot oil is not too hot and not too cold.
To make them extra crispy, you can also add a pinch of baking soda to the gram flour batter.
You can check the oil temperature by heating the oil in the Kadai at medium-low for 3-5 minutes. So when you drop a little gram flour batter in the oil, then sizzle and gradually comes to the top. That means the oil is just right.
If the batter sinks, then the oil is not hot enough. However, if it immediately comes to the top, that means that the oil is too hot.
When dropping the batter, make sure the batter is at just the right temperature if you want pakoras to turn crispy.
🥗OTHER INDIAN STREET FOOD RECIPES
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📖 RECIPE CARD
Bread Pakora | Stuffed Bread Pakora
Equipment
Ingredients
For Stuffing:
- 2 Potatoes boiled & peeled
- 1 teaspoon Garam Masala Powder
- Red Chili Powder as per taste
- ½ tablespoon Amchur/ Mango Powder
- ½ teaspoon Anardana Powder/ Pomegranate Seeds Powder
- Salt as per taste
- Cilantro (to Garnish)
- 1 Green Chilies chopped
For Gram Flour Batter:
- 1 cup Gram Flour
- ½ - ⅔ cup Water or as required
- ½ teaspoon Garam Masala Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Carom Seeds
- Red Chili Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Cumin Powder
- 1 pinch of Baking Soda
- Salt
Other Ingredients:
- 6 slices Bread
- Oil For Frying
Instructions
Gram Flour Batter:
- In a bowl, add Gram Flour and Water, and whisk it till it is free from any lumps and has a smooth consistency like a pancake batter. Then add all the spices, baking soda, and mix everything evenly.(Note: The batter should be smooth with flowing consistency, not too watery nor too dry.)
Make Pakora without Stuffing:
- Take the bread of your choice. White bread or whole wheat bread both work well in the recipe. Cut the bread into squares or triangles.
- Take the bread slice and dip it in the gram flour batter. Make sure the bread is properly covered in the batter.
- Heat the oil. When oil is hot, at medium heat; drop the gram flour covered bread slices. Deep fry the pakoras until golden and crispy from both sides.
- Once fried, place the bread pakoras on a paper towel to soak the excess oil. Serve the pakoras with green chutney and tamarind chutney, and enjoy!
Make Stuffed Bread Pakora:
- Peel the boiled potatoes and mash them using a potato masher or a fork. Now add all the spices (Garam Masala Powder, Red Chili Powder, Salt, Amchur powder, and Anardana powder). Add Cilantro and green chilies to potatoes, and mix everything.
- Take two slices of bread. Add a generous layer of potato stuffing to one slice of bread. Cover it with another slice of bread.(Note: You can cut the bread sandwich into squares or triangles and then dip in the batter. Or you can fry the pakoras and then cut in desired shapes).
- Take the bread sandwich and dip it in the gram flour batter. Make sure the bread is properly covered in the batter.
- Heat the oil. When oil is hot, at medium heat; drop the gram flour covered bread slices. Deep fry the pakoras until golden and crispy from both sides.
- Once fried, place the bread pakoras on a paper towel to soak the excess oil. Serve the pakoras with green chutney and tamarind chutney, and enjoy!
Notes
- You can make the pakodas without Green Chutney, but adding it gives a nice flavor.
- The Gram Flour batter should be smooth and free from any lumps. The batter should not be too watery or too dry. It should be like a pancake batter so that the bread can be wrapped easily in it and it gives a crispy taste.
- I add rice flour to the batter. This gives a crispier texture. But you can eliminate this step. It's a matter of choice.
- You can layer the bread with potato stuffing. If you like the recipes less spicy then don't add green chutney to them.
- Wrap the batter evenly all around the bread to get the crispier texture all around.
If the batter sinks, then the oil is not hot enough. However, if it immediately comes to the top, when dropping the batter, the oil is too hot.
So make sure the batter is at just the right temperature if you want pakoras to turn crispy.
Neha
Gosh these pakoras look so tempting! I need to try this your way girl!!
SunGari
Thanks! Yeah you should definitely give it a try.
Danielle
Delicious fritters that are fun and easy to make! And if you say everyone loved them, I've got to try them, too! The steps are so exciting to recreate!
SunGari
Yes it is easy to make though have lots of steps in between, that according to my opinion you can make ahead of time. And great in taste, I enjoy eating them a lot.
jazzysmama
How interesting, they look delicious!
SunGari
Thank you, really appreciate that.
Michelle
My fiance is going to LOVE this recipe. I can't wait to try making it!
SunGari
Glad to hear that, do let me know how they turn out.
Krissy Allori
These look amazing! I can't wait to give them a try.
SunGari
Thank You!