Home made bread crumbs

Got any left over bread.  Well you can use it to feed the birds but there has been lots of articles lately about how bad bread is for the birds.  In that case, you can use it make bread pakoras or french bread pizza or spicy toasted sandwiches.  You can also use it to make bread crumbs.  The best bread I like for making bread crumbs is French bread sticks as they tend to dry really well. I usually make plain bread crumbs but you can add herbs such as oregano and rosemary to the bread if you wish.

Ingredients for 2 cups of bread crumbs:

half of a French bread stick

Method:

1. Allow the bread stick to become hard by leaving it in a paper bag.

2.  Cut the bread into small cubes

3.  Heat the oven at 190 degrees and allow the bread to warm in the oven for 10 minutes.

4. Once it's cooled, grind it in a food processor

5.  Using a  strainer, sift the breadcrumbs and grind any left over big pieces of bread.

6. Store the bread crumbs in an air tight bottle or freeze them to use whenever you need them.

I tend to use them to add to pakora batter.  Watch out for my paratha recipe using bread crumbs.

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Bread and mixed vegetable bhajias/pakoras

Most families tend to buy a variety of bread whist shopping and find that it either starts to go stale  or gets very dry and hard and it ends up either in the bin or gets fed to the birds.   I am one of those people who hates waste and am always trying to  use up sliced bread to make sandwiches.

I experimented with this recipe a number of years and now is a favourite .  This recipe works best with stale bread of any kind.  The seeded bread is the best as it gives the bhajias a unique flavour. 

Ingredients ( serves 6): 

Bread.: 6 slices of any bread or 3 to 4 rolls .  
1 small Onion - grated
1 small potato - grated
Small bunch of spinach or fenugreek (methi) finely chopped.
2 or 3 Crushed green chillies (depends on your taste)
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of turmeric
1 teaspoon of Ajwain or ajma seeds (Ajowan caraway, carom seeds)
2 teaspoons of whole coriander seeds
1 cup of chickpea flour (chanaflour)
Sunflower oil to fry the bhajias

Method

1.  Cut the bread or bread rolls into manageable size and soak them in water

2.  Prepare the vegetables. ( you can use almost any vegetables - I've tried this with marrow, apple and even carrots).

3.  Transfer  the bread from the water into a colander and remove as much water as possible by gently pressing the bread.

4. Mash the bread by hand in a mixing bowl.

5. Add in the grated onions, potatoes, spinach or fenugreek, chillies and the dry spices such as ajwain, coriander, salt and turmeric.

6. Mix all the ingredients.

7. Add in the chickpea flour - just enough to make a managable batter.

8. Heat the oil.

9. Drop spoonfuls of this mixture into the hot oil.

10. Fry on medium heat until the bhajias look golden brown.  The bhajias should be crispy on the outside and soft and pluffy on the inside.

11. Serve hot with any chutneys or ketchup or a nice cup of tea.

12.   These bread Bhajia/Pakora can be served as a starter or can also be eaten as a snack.

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