Introduction
Today I am going to let you in on the secret to the crispiest, most crunchy, popping with flavour, Onion Bhajis or Onion Pakoras. These homemade Onion Bhajis are an Indian street food classic, and there’s more, I’m serving them with a delicious creamy chutney or dipping sauce.
Ingredients
For the Onion Bhajis
- 750 grams Onions (2 large/4-5 medium), finely sliced
- 1½ tbsp Red Chili Powder
- 1 tbsp Coriander Powder
- 1 tbsp Cumin Powder
- ½ tsp Turmeric Powder
- ½ tsp Pepper Powder
- ½ tsp Garam Masala
- 1 tsp Carom Seeds (Ajwain Seeds)/Asafoetida
- 1 tbsp Garlic Paste
- ½ tbsp Ginger Paste
- 2 Green Chillies, finely chopped
- 3/4 tbsp Curry Leaves, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp Fresh Coriander, finely chopped
- 2 tsp Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp Salt
- 175 grams (1½ cups) Gram Flour (Besan)
- 125 grams (¾ cup) Rice Flour
For the Chutney
- 1 cup Cilantro/Coriander
- ½ cup Mint Leaves
- 1 Green Chili
- 1 Garlic Clove
- 1/2 tsp Cumin Powder
- 1½ tsp Lemon Juice
- ¾ tbsp Sugar
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 1-2 tbsp Water
- 1 cup Yogurt
Method
For the Onion Bhajis
- Finely slice the onions and place them in a big bowl.
- Toss in the red chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder, pepper powder, garam masala, carom seeds (ajwain seeds), garlic paste, ginger paste, green chillies, finely chopped curry leaves,
- finely chopped fresh coriander, lemon juice and salt.
- Mix together to coat the onion. While mixing make sure to squeeze the onions so that the onions release their juice.
- Now add in the gram flour and rice flour and continue mixing while squeezing then onions. Once the onions have got well coated with all the other ingredients and they begin to release their juice, cover the bowl and leave it aside so that the onions get a chance to absorb all the flavours and also release more of their juice.
- In a wok or large heavy-based pot, heat some oil over a medium heat. You need at least 3 inches of oil, but make sure that the wok or pot is less than half full of oil to avoid the oil from bubbling over.
- Test the heat of the oil by inserting a bamboo skewer. When you see bubbles rise to the surface of the oil around the skewer you know the oil is heated well.
- Using two tablespoons, carefully insert a tablespoon of the onion bhaji mixture into the hot oil. Fry only 4-5 bhajis at a time. Frying excessive bhajis at a time will make the temperature of the oil drop resulting in soggy and greasy bhajis.
- Using a spider skimmer occasionally move the bhajis around in the oil making sure that they fry evenly. Once the bhajis have fried till crispy (it took me approximately 8 minutes for each batch) using the spider skimmer, lift them out of the hot oil, drain off the excess oil and place in a colander to drain completely.
- Repeat the frying process till you have fried all the mixture.
- You can keep cooked batches warm and crispy in a warm oven (250F/130C) whilst cooking the remaining bhajis.
- Once all of the onion bhajis are cooked, place in a serving platter and garnish with some fried curry leaves, a bowl of chutney, lemon wedges and a green chili.
For the Chutney
- In the mixer jar, add the cilantro, mint leaves, green chili, garlic clove, cumin powder, lemon juice, sugar, salt and water. Give it a mix till you give a smooth paste.
- Now add the yogurt and blend it all together.
- Once the chutney is ready, transfer into a bowl, cover and refrigerate till you serve it.
