For Potato Stuffing
4 medium potatoes
1/2 tsp garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp ginger, grated
1/4 jalapeno or green chili
1 Tbsp oil
1/4 tsp turmeric
Salt to taste
2 Tbsp cilantro or coriander finely chopped
For the Pakoras
8 slices white bread
3 cups gram flour or besan
1/2 tsp turmeric, ground
1/4 tsp cayenne, ground
Salt to taste
Pinch of baking soda
Oil for deep frying
Prepare potato stuffing – Boil, peel and dice potatoes. Heat oil in a skillet, and add turmeric, ginger and garlic when the oil heats up. Immediately add potatoes. Stir and switch off heat. Season with salt. Sprinkle some chopped cilantro. Mix well and smash roughly. Cool. This is the stuffing for the bread.
Slather a slice of bread with the potato mix. Layer thicker than butter, maybe 1/2 a cm. Place another slice on top and press down. Set aside and repeat this process to make 4 such sandwiches.
Mix all dry batter ingredients in a large bowl or a slightly wide pan.
Add water slowly and whisk until you get a thick pancake like batter.
Add a pinch of baking soda to the batter and mix it in.
Cut the four sandwiches into 8 triangles, or cut each into 4 squares giving you 16 small squares.
Heat oil for deep frying.
When the oil is hot, gently dip one piece of the bread/ sandwich into the batter and cover completely on both sides. Batter should coat the bread well. Don’t soak otherwise it will fall apart.
Immediately drop into hot oil.
The batter should be thick enough that it doesn't fall off the bread or make it soggy immediately. Add more flour to thicken batter if that happens.
Fry on medium heat until golden brown on both sides. Use medium heat to make sure the thick batter is cooked well.
Makes eight large bread pakora triangles, or 16 square bread pakoras.
Serve these bread pakoras hot with ketchup or any sauce or chutney of choice.