Evening snacks especially during winter with a hot cuppa chai is one of the best things EVER!  One of the (dis)advantages in my house is that my pantry is not suitable for quick snacking except for dried fruits, fruits, nuts and seeds etc. So for the "real"(!!) thing, I would be forced to make some myself :( I know I bought it on myself cos I have no control on fried stuff. I love chips (esp.  Jalapeno chips!), saltine crackers etc which I eat and eat without stopping. My better half jokes that I can survive with only those around. So with such a situation, I am better off not buying snacks and repenting later. I count on my laziness and lethargy on making them as and when craving hits me. Usually the craving disappears after some time - our brains are our worst enemy sometimes!

Anyways, the other day, when this rain started splattering the windows, I caved in to making something fried. I saw few stale wholegrain bread in my counter and thought will make something with them....Remembered my mom's Bread Pakoda. She would especially make this when we had leftover potato curry (which was v rare!) that would go as a stuffing in this. Its a famous Street Food in the Northern parts of India (no wonder - they are YUMMY). There is no specific recipe for the potato stuffing - usually some boiled potatoes with peas cooked and mashed. I think you can use any leftover veggie curries to make stuffing. Just replace the wholegrain bread for white and make the stuffing little richer with butter, you might end up with the "real" thing. But I have tried to tone down on the additional bad calories except for the frying part (as if that's not enough by itself!). But this is one recipe that's immensely versatile and provides scope for creativity. Your family will love you for it, especially kids when they get back from school ;)