If you from Indian Subcontinent, likely hood is that you are familiar with Pakora (or pakoda). Onion and Potato pakoras are most popular, being one of the most desired thing during monsoon season. The combination of pakora and hot tea is something which many will swear by. Pakoras are my favourite too, just like any one else. Paneer is hot favourite with masses. This sandwich paneer pakora takes the taste of pakoras a level up.
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Sandwich Bread Pakora is an interesting snack recipe that you can prepare by deep frying bread fritters on festivals and other gatherings. The name sandwich suggest that it has got some kind of stuffing inside, which can be anything varying from spicy potato mixture, vegetable mixture or simply paneer. Here, in this recipe today, I am showing how to make it with paneer.
What is Sandwich Bread Pakora
Sandwich Bread Pakoda or Sandwich Bread Fritters are savoury snack which is made by simply slicing the bread slices into halves, giving them some kind of stuffing and then coating with gram flour batter by dipping them gram flour and finally deep frying.
This Bread pakora is a favourite snack at our home. Mostly I make these for breakfast on special days or for get togethers. Its always a party hit, as its loved by everyone. We love these bread fritters and enjoy it with a sweet tangy tamarind chutney or a spicy mint-coriander chutney accompanied with a cup of hot Indian masala chai.
What is Pakoda or Pakora
Pakora is a fritter. These fritters can be plain with no stuffing, or most common ones are onion and potato ones. Pakora is normally made from gram flour. For pakora, make a semi-dry paste with water and gram flour, add salt, pepper and other spices like carom seeds, Chaat masala, etc and then deep fry.
Method to make Sandwich Paneer Pakora
- First of all, slice the paneer and keep aside. Heat oil in a wide mouth pan / kadai on low-medium heat.
- In a mixing bowl, add gram flour, salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder, carom seeds and asafoetida to it. Mix well, so that there are no lumps in there.
- Add water and mix well. The batter should neither be thick nor thin. It should be right consistency so that it coats the bread slice well. If you feel, the batter is too thick, then add little more water.
- Now add 1 tablespoon of hot oil from the pan or kadai to it and mix well. This makes the batter smooth and helps in coating well. Whisk the batter for 3-4minutes to incorporate some air in it. That will result in pakora crispy from outside and fluffy from inside.
- Take two slices of bread, add date-tamarind chutney on one and mint-coriander chutney on another.
- Place enough paneer slices to cover all the chutney on one bread and sprinkle little chat masala on it. Cover it with second slice of bread with different chutney. Bread sandwich is ready.
- Press the bread sandwich gently and dip it in batter so that it is nicely coated from both sides.
- Add this to oil and fry them on medium heat until they are crisp and golden brown from both sides, by turning them 3-4 times in between.
- Take them out and place on a kitchen towel. Cut them into two or four pieces and serve with hot chutney.
Pro Tips for best Sandwich Paneer Pakora
- Stuffing could be anything, batter remains the same which is a mixture of gram flour, few basic spices and carom seeds. Carom seeds give a nice aroma and also aid in good digestion. As these fritters are a heavy snack, adding carom seeds and asafoetida help in digesting it.
- Bread – You will get the authentic taste by using white bread, however you can replace it with brown bread for a little healthier version. I will not suggest you to use seeded bread here.
- Gram Flour – Most Indian fritter recipes are made with Gram Flour which is flour made from husked and split chana dal(bengal gram) or brown chickpeas. Here we get three types of gram flour: a) superfine, which is best for make pancakes. b) Fine, which is good for fritters and kadhi and, c) Coarse or semi fine, which is good for making laddoos. Always use fine gram flour for any kind of fritters as it makes smooth batter.
- Batter Consistency – Always make a medium consistency batter, as thick batter neither will be easy to coat nor yield a soft, fluffy textured pakoras. Also high chances of pakoras remaining raw from inside. Similarly a thin batter will not coat nicely and result in uneven textured as well as soggy pakoras by absorbing too much oil.
- Oily Pakora – If pakoras are fried on low heat, they tend to soak excess oil resulting in oily pakoras. To avoid oily pakora, fry at medium high heat in the oil. Do not fry on a low heat as then the pakora will absorb more oil. Similarly, frying on a high heat will turn them brown from outside leaving the inside raw and soggy.
This Sandwich Paneer Pakora
- Is a great appetiser, loved by elites and masses.
- Offers a refreshing change from usual onion pakoras.
- Tastes heavenly with the layers of chutney and paneer. It is same as entering the taste cave of Aladin and finding the jewels of taste in each layer.
- Is suitable for a lavish weekend brunch.
Serving suggestion
Serve these sandwich paneer pakora hot and fresh. Pair it masala chai.
In case these get cold, reheat these in microwave before serving. These are not suitable for freezing.
Other Delicious Appetiser
If you looking for other tasty starters, you may like to try Tandoori Gobi, Paneer tikka puff patties, Shami Kebabs, or Banana Cutlets.
Recipe Card
Sandwich Paneer Pakora
Ingredients
- 6 slices Bread
- 1 cup Gram flour / Besan
- 300 Gram Paneer / Indian Cottage Cheese
- 4 Tbsp Date Tamarind Chutney
- 3 Tbsp Mint Coriander Chutney
- 1 Tbsp Chaat Masala
- 1 Tsp Carom Seeds
- 1/2 Tsp Turmeric Powder
- 1/3 Tsp Red Chilli Powder
- 1/3 Tsp Asafoetida
- 1 Tsp salt As per taste
- Oil For deep frying
- 1/2 Cup Water
Instructions
- First of all, Slice the paneer, to form a thin slice and keep aside. Heat oil in a wide mouth pan / kadhai on low-medium heat.
- In a mixing bowl, add gram flour, salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder, carom seeds and asafoetida to it. Mix well, so that there are no lumps in there.
- Add water and mix well. The batter should neither be thick nor thin. It should be right consistency so that it coats the bread slice well. If you feel,the batter is too thick, then add little more water.
- Now add 1 tablespoon of hot oil from the pan/kadhai to it and mix well. this makes the batter smooth and helps in coating well. Whisk the batter for 3-4minutes to incorporate some air in it. That will result in pakora crisy from outside and fluffy from inside.
- Take two slices of bread, add date-tamarind chutney on one and mint-coriander chutney on another. Place enough paneer slices to cover all the chutney on one bread and sprinkle little chat masala on it. Cover it with second slice of bread with different chutney. Bread sandwich is ready.
- Press the bread sandwich gently and dip it in batter so that it is nicely coated from both sides. Add this to oil and fry them on medium heat until they are crisp and golden brown from both sides, by turning them 3-4 times in between.
- Take them out and place on a kitchen towel. Cut them into two or four pieces and serve them hot with both the chutneys on the side and Masala Chai.
Nutrition
