If you are looking for a Bread Snack Recipe, which is easy to prepare, tasty and gets done in a jiffy, then this Besan Bread Toast is just the one for you. Make a spiced batter with gram flour (besan), veggies, herbs and seasonings, dip the bread pieces in it and fry them on a tawa. Yes, this Besan Toast is this simple and gets done within 15 to 20 minutes. Besides all this, since this recipe uses all plant-based ingredients, it is vegan-friendly too.
About Besan Bread Toast
So, if you are a lover of the classic Bread Pakoda, the deep-fried stuffed bread fritters omnipresent in almost every nook and corner on North Indian streets, then this Besan Bread Toast is also going to woo you.
I’d actually call this Besan Toast as a low-fat version of the pakora, minus the flavor and aroma of carom seeds (ajwain). So, obviously I do not add ajwain in the batter of this particular recipe. However, if you want a typical bread pakora flavor, then you may add carom seeds in the batter.
Some people also refer to this Besan Bread Toast as the savory and eggless version of a French Toast. But I’d rather not call it so because this one is quite different from any of the savory or sweet French toasts. Do refer to the link that I’ve highlighted here to know what makes both these distinct.
Table of Contents
To make this Besan Toast, you can use any bread of your choice like white, brown or even whole wheat bread. The taste is going to be just amazing with each one of these. In addition to the gram flour, other ingredients that go in the batter are onion, tomato, green chilies, ginger, coriander leaves, salt and some spice powders.
I add a bit of asafoetida or hing too in the batter of this Besan Bread Toast as I love the flavor that it brings in the dish. But if you are not much of a fan of hing, you can omit it too. Also, if you want to make spicier toasts, then you can increase the quantity of green chilies and chili powder. If making for kids, you can skip the green chilies completely.
I make this Besan Toast pretty often, especially on days when a quick breakfast is the need of the hour. These toasts definitely make for a good eggless breakie option. This recipe is how I have been making these savory toasts for many years now.
When I make these, I always add tomatoes. I like the taste and texture which tomatoes impart in this Besan Bread Toast. However, you can skip it and even the onions, if you prefer and just make a plain spiced toast.
You can also add other veggies like capsicum or bell pepper, carrots, spring onions and cabbage. If doing so, it actually makes for a good way to feed these nutrient dense vegetables to your fussy kids.
The Besan Toast has to be served immediately or else they can turn really soggy. You can serve these spiced toasts plain or with tomato ketchup or coriander chutney.
How to make Besan Bread Toast
Making batter
1. In a bowl or small pan, take 2 to 2.5 tablespoons finely chopped onions, 2 tablespoons finely chopped tomatoes, ¾ teaspoon finely chopped ginger, 1 to 2 finely chopped green chilies and 1.5 to 2 teaspoons finely chopped coriander leaves. Everything has to be finely chopped. Otherwise its difficult to manage medium pieces of onions and tomatoes while frying the toast.
2. Add 1 cup gram flour (besan), ⅛ teaspoon turmeric powder, ¼ teaspoon red chili powder, 1 pinch asafoetida (hing) and salt as required.
3. Add 5 to 6 tablespoons water or as required.
4. Whisk to a medium consistency batter. There should be no lumps in the batter. Avoid making thin batter. In case the batter is thin, add a few tablespoons of gram flour and whisk again.
Making Besan Bread Toast
5. Heat 1 tablespoon oil for frying on a tawa or frying pan.
6. Cut 4 to 5 slices of bread into 2. Then, dip in the batter. With your hands, coat the bread piece evenly with the batter. Also, place the chopped onions and tomatoes on the bread slices with your hands. Don’t keep the bread too long in the batter as then the slice breaks.
7. Place the batter coated bread pieces on the tawa.
8. When the base is cooked and browned, flip and fry the other side.
9. Flip and fry a couple of times to get even browning and cooking. Fry the remaining bread pieces in the same way. You can add more oil, if required, while frying the remaining batch.
10. Remove and serve Besan Toast immediately, plain or with tomato ketchup, coriander chutney or mint chutney.
Expert Tips
- Finely chopping the veggies and herbs for the batter is important. Or else, while frying the toast, it can be an issue to manage the medium or large pieces.
- The batter has to be smooth, lump-free and of medium consistency, not thin. Adding a few tablespoons of gram flour in a thin batter, and whisking it again is a good option.
- Got brown bread, whole wheat bread and white bread at home? Choose any one to make this recipe or make a mixed platter with all the 3 varieties.
- Want to make it for kids? Skip the green chilies. Also, want to feed the young ones more vegetables like spring onions, carrots, cabbage and capsicum/bell pepper. Go ahead, add these to the batter.
- Avoid dipping and keeping the bread pieces in the batter for too long, as then the bread will soak more liquid and break.
- Scaling the recipe to double or triple quantities is possible for making a larger batch.
More Bread Snacks Recipes To Try!
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Besan Toast
Ingredients
- 1 cup besan (gram flour)
- 4 to 5 slices of bread (white or brown or whole wheat bread)
- 2 to 2.5 tablespoon finely chopped onions
- 2 tablespoon finely chopped tomatoes
- 1 or 2 green chilies – finely chopped (skip if making for kids)
- ¾ teaspoon finely chopped ginger
- 1.5 to 2 teaspoon finely chopped coriander leaves (cilantro leaves)
- 1 pinch asafoetida (hing)
- 1/8 teaspoon turmeric powder
- ¼ teaspoon red chili powder
- 5 to 6 tablespoon water or add as required to make a batter of medium consistency
- 1 or 2 tablespoon oil for frying or as required
- salt as required
Instructions
preparation
- In a bowl or small pan, take finely chopped onions, tomatoes, ginger, green chilies and coriander leaves.
- Everything has to be finely chopped. otherwise its difficult to manage medium chopped pieces of onions and tomatoes while frying the toast.
- Add besan (gram flour), turmeric powder, red chili powder, asafoetida and salt.
- Add water. Whisk to a medium consistency batter. There should be no lumps in the batter. Don’t make thin batter.
- Slice the bread in two triangular or rectangular slices.
making besan toast
- Heat 1 tbsp oil for frying in a tava or frying pan.
- Dip the bread in the batter. With your hands, coat the bread evenly with the batter.
- Also place the chopped onions & tomatoes on the bread slices with your hands. Don’t keep the bread too long in the batter as then the slice breaks.
- Place the batter coated bread slices on the tava.
- When the base is cooked and browned, flip and fry the other side.
- Flip and fry a couple of times to get even browning and cooking.
- Remove and serve them immediately.
- Fry the remaining bread slices in the same way. You can add more oil if required while frying the remaining batch.
- Serve these bread besan toast plain or with tomato ketchup or coriander chutney.
Notes
- The recipe can be doubled or tripled.
- You can use any bread of your choice like white, brown or even whole wheat bread.
This Besan Bread Toast recipe from the archives was first published in March 2014. It has been updated and republished in April 2024.
