Hello everyone! Great to be back here with a brand new month & brand new positive March energy!! Spring time always seems to bring a spring in one’s step, saying goodbye to the dreariness of winter and hello to more happy yellow sunshine! Ta-di-da!
That’s when I thought, this month would be perfect to celebrate the everyday Sheroes or women heroes in our daily lives, smiling through the various roles that they juggle with aplomb. I’m not saying that anyone is out to prove anything to anybody here, I’m simply referring to the multitude of roles and multi-tasking that we women seem to handle much easier and yet most often go unnoticed or unappreciated. Whether it’s the stereotypical roles that society makes us play or whether we choose to do so of our own free will, it’s just important that Women celebrate Women and that’s what this month is all about.
Just like the tagline of a multinational brand says, ‘Cause you’re worth it!’, it’s only when we truly believe in it, that we can and will empower our daughters, the next gen of women & the true architects of our society to go out & follow their dreams.
As I took time out to contemplate on the theme for this month, I could not help but ponder on the various strong women role models in my life, that played a crucial role in my upbringing, more so in my formative years, and wondered what I would’ve done without them! It’s not about what profession they followed or how many people they had under them, it’s about how simply they led their lives, without much show or money, mostly on frugal budgets, but taking every grand challenge they encountered so pragmatically, living everyday routine dal-chawal lives without any complaints or grudges and most of all, making it all look so simple! Walking the talk! Always wondered where they derived their strength and clarity of thought from!
One of the most important influences in all our lives comes in the form of our school friends & so when I suddenly found myself being added to a darling group of 45 friends from my all-girls school, it was sheer excitement and utter bliss! A flood of memories came rushing in, of course, reminiscing about teachers and pranks at first, then knowing me, I rushed in to plan my next post! What Something I could cook & dedicate to my badass all-girls school group with whom I spent my entire schooling years with, well almost!!
Girls, here it is, a bread pakora party with kadak adrak-wali chai or ginger tea!!! Soft sandwich bread stuffed with terrifically well-spiced mashed potatoes & tangy mint-coriander chutney, dipped in glowing yellow gram flour batter and deep fried to crunchy golden perfection!! Flavour overload in the mouth!! Have it with chaat masala & lime, tomato ketchup or more green chutney, it tastes just as good either ways, difficult to choose.
True, this is more of a Delhi street side specialty, but when it’s school friends meeting up after ages, who cares?! They always have your back wherever you are, whoever you become!!
Cheers girls, look forward to meeting up real soon!!! Until then, enjoy the virtual party!!! Love you gals!!
Recipe for Dilli Wale Aloo Stuffed Bread Pakore
Ingredients (Serves 4 – 8 persons)
For stuffing:
- 4 medium potatoes, boiled, peeled & mashed
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chilli powder
- ½ teaspoon dry mango powder / amchur
- ½ teaspoon dried pomegranate seeds / anardana powder or lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons coriander leaves, finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder / haldi
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder / jeera powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder / dhania powder
- ½ teaspoon chaat masala
- Salt to taste
For green chutney
- 1 handful fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped
- 2 green chillies, finely chopped
- 1 inch ginger, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds / jeera seeds
- Salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon sugar
For besan batter:
- 1 cup gram flour / chickpea flour / besan
- 2 tablespoons rice flour
- ¼ tsp kashmiri red chilli powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon carom seeds / ajwain
- ¼ teaspoon asafoetida / hing powder
- ½ tsp salt
- pinch of baking soda
- ½ cup water or as required
Other
- 8 slices bread, white / brown
- oil for deep frying
- Chaat masala & green chutney / tomato ketchup to serve
Procedure
- Mash the boiled potato completely & add the spice powders, coriander leaves & salt as detailed. Keep aside while you prepare the chutney.
- To make the green chutney, grind the mint & coriander leaves with green chilli, ginger, cumin seeds, lemon juice, salt & sugar. Add 1 tablespoon water if needed to make a smooth fine paste. Keep aside.
- Make a thick batter with the gram flour, whisking in all the spices, salt & baking soda gently to form a nice smooth thick batter.
- Take a kadhai or deep saucepan for deep frying & place on high flame for heating the oil.
- Cut all the bread slices into triangles.
- Take a tablespoonful of potato mixture & apply it onto 1 triangle.
- Further, spread 1 teaspoon of green chutney over it and gently place the other half on top.
- To test if the oil is hot enough, add a drop of the besan batter into it & if it rises to the top instantly, it is ready for deep frying.
- Now dip this potato filled bread into the smooth thick besan batter, coating all sides evenly.
- Deep fry immediately in hot oil, gently splashing oil over the top of the bread pakora.
- Depending on the size of your kadhai, you can fry 2 or 3 triangles at one time on medium flame, flipping when one side turns a lovely golden colour.
- fry until the pakora turns golden and crisp on both sides.
- As it is a layered pakora, it is recommended to cut the first one & check if fully cooked from within.
- Repeat with all the other triangles.
- Sprinkle a generous amount of chaat masala onto your hot n crispy bread pakoras & serve with green chutney or tomato sauce.
Notes:
- On a lighter note, highly recommended for all weight watchers as once-in-a-while indulgences like deep fried food truly satiates the soul!
Making of Bread Pakore
The Culinary Konnoisseur 
Very good photos 📷, throw out the weighing scale!
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Looks yummy! Specially on a dull day! Love most things with green chutney
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