Bread Pakoras (fritters) are a common breakfast snack in India. It is traditionally a sandwich made with spicy potatoes, dipped in a gram flour batter and deep fried. I, obviously, had to make some changes.
In ode of St Patricks Day I decided to go green. No literally. Everything from my batter to the fillings were varying shades of green- and the end result still tasted good. Best part- there was a bit of kick in it, and no deep frying! The bite sized pieces would go well with beer, and cute to serve when friends come over.
Make sure you have enough though, or the late comers may go ‘green’ with envy.
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Beer, Batter and Bread Fritters
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 2
Description
A greener version of an Indian snack
Ingredients
For the filling
- 1 cup (240 ml) broccoli florets, boiled & mashed
- 1 tbsp (15 g) cream cheese
- 1 small potato, boiled and mashed
- 1 cup (240 ml) spinach, boiled made into a puree
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp chat masala
- 1 green chili, finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp dry fenugreek leaves
- 2 tsp (10 ml) fresh mint chutney
- Salt & pepper
Others
- 3 sliced of bread
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) gram flour or besan
- 4 tbsp (60 ml) dark beer (like Guinness)
- 1/2 tsp dry mango powder
- 1 tsp (5 g) butter
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) olive oil
- Salt & pepper
Instructions
Prepare the filling
- Mix the broccoli with cream cheese and some salt and pepper and keep aside.
- Mix the potato with 1/2 the spinach puree, and the remaining ingredients for the filling, except the green chutney. Mix well and keep aside.
Prepare the Bread Pakora
- Mix the besan with the remaining spinach puree, salt , pepper and dry mango powder. Add the beer and some water (if needed) to make batter that can coat the bread i.e. not like bread dough but not too watery.
- Butter all the slices of bread.
- On one buttered slice put the broccoli mixture. Top with the other slice, buttered face up. Add some potato mixture on this and top with some mint chutney. Close the sandwich with the last slice, buttered face down- something like a layered club sandwich.
- Dip the sandwich in the flour batter mixture and pan fry till the sides are brown and crisp.
- Cut into pieces and serve immediately.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Category: Snack
- Cuisine: Indian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 380
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the traditional Bread Pakora, and how does this version differ?
The original Bread Pakora is a common Indian breakfast snack — a sandwich of spicy potatoes dipped in gram flour batter and deep-fried. This version swaps the standard filling for a green broccoli-cream cheese and spiced potato-spinach mixture, uses dark beer (like Guinness) in the batter for flavor, and pan-fries instead of deep-frying.
What is chat masala and why is it in the filling?
Chat masala is a tangy Indian spice blend — it contributes the characteristic tart, savory kick found in street-food-style snacks. Here it seasons the potato-spinach filling along with cumin powder, coriander powder, and dry fenugreek leaves.
What consistency should the gram flour batter be?
Make a batter that can coat the bread — not as stiff as bread dough, but not too watery either. Mix the besan with the spinach puree, salt, pepper, dry mango powder, and 4 tbsp of dark beer, then add water only if needed to reach that coating consistency.
