Crispy Onion Bhajis
Posted: July 21, 2023 Filed under: Budget, Dairy-free, Gluten-Free, Side Dishes, vegan, vegetarian | Tags: Budget, easy, onion, simple, spices, vegan, vegetarian 17 Comments
Wotchers!
I decided on this recipe because I need to use up some of the many flours I have acquired, and my cupboards can’t take the strain any more.
Specifically, I wanted to make inroads into the large bag of gram/besan (chickpea) flour that has been squatting in the cupboard the longest. It’s great to use as a thickening agent in stews and curries, but I never use that much at a time, and the bag is massive!
ANYHOO…
Another reason is the rather disappointing onion bhajis I have had when eating out (or ordering in). They’re either too greasy, too heavy, too heavy-handed on either the spicing or the food colouring or both. So yes, this IS a flouncy “If you want something done properly, do it yourself!” kinda post.
That said, I’ve read many recipes over the years, so this is in more accurately a melting pot of the best of all those recipes.
These bhajis are so light and crispy, the texture is the only hint that they have been anywhere near a fryer. Using the besan and a little rice flour makes for a light, minimalist ‘batter’ and the fresh ingredients really make the flavour bright and zingy. The most important tip I’ve picked up is to not use any water, but to allow the moisture from the vegetables to naturally form a barely-there coating with the spiced flours. This way, the pieces of onion don’t all clump together in a mass and end up with a dense middle bit not being fully cooked. I use forks to portion out the mixture and, as can be seen in the photo, the fritters are more like loose nests than a heavy ball and, as I might have mentioned already, SO CRISPY!
I didn’t have any mint for a dip, but what I did have was plain yogurt and the Epis from a few recipes ago, and mixed together they made a bright and vibrant sauce (see pic above).
If an all-onion bhaji is a bit much I have also tried this recipe with a mixture of red and green cabbage with a few spring onions, and can heartily recommend!
Onion Bhaji
Feel free to try this approach to other vegetables apart from onions and cabbage (although there is quite a lot of mileage in just those two vegetable families alone: white onions, sweet onions, shallots, red onions, leeks, brussels sprouts, kale, spring cabbage, hispi cabbage, red cabbage, white cabbage, sweetheart cabbage….etc). Do please pop back and let me know of any other winning combinations!
300g of onions (about 3 large) or the same weight of cabbage
1 tsp salt
75g besan/gram flour
50g rice flour
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 rounded tsp fresh grated ginger or ginger paste
1-2 jalapeno/green chillies, seeded and very finely chopped (optional)
2-3 spring onions (if using cabbage)
1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder (red & mild) – or a spicier chilli powder if liked
1 tbs dried coriander leaves (or if you prefer to use fresh, use 2tbs and add them to the onion mixture rather than the dried ingredients)
1 tsp garam masala or Berbere spice mix
- Peel and slice your onions. Cut your onions in half, top to bottom, then slice thinly either in semi-circles, or vertically, or indeed a mixture of both.
- Transfer them to a medium-sized bowl, making sure they’re separated. Add in the finely chopped chillies if using.
- Sprinkle over the salt and the fresh ginger, tossing the vegetables lightly to ensure the salt and ginger are evenly distributed.
- Set aside for 20-30 minutes to allow the salt to draw out the liquid from the vegetables. Stir every now and then.
- Mix the flours, bicarb and spices well, then sift, preferably twice, to ensure there are no lumps.
- Stir in the dried coriander.
- Sprinkle the flour mixture over the onions: use a large spoon and mix as you sprinkle to ensure an even coverage.
- Heat some oil – or your deep fat fryer – to 180°C.
- Using two forks, lightly gather the vegetables into small bundles the size of a golf ball and drop them into the hot fat 4 or 5 at a time. After 2 minutes, use the forks to flip over the fritters to ensure even cooking.
- Fry until golden brown and crisp – total cooking time for each batch should be about 4 minutes.
- Remove the cooked bhajis from the oil and allow to drain in a sieve placed on a few sheets of kitchen roll.
- Serve warm as is, or with dip.
Time To Cook - Online
Chickpea flour is not so easy to find here in Holland (or maybe I did not look in the right places). Would pure rice flour work too, or any other flour?
Wotchers Gerlinde!
My first suggestion would be a gluten-free flour, and an all-rice flour coating should be fine. You might like to experiment – do let me know if you do!
Otherwise, I suggest ordering online from an Indian food specialist. I have found one that sells – and ships! – in The Netherlands: https://indianfoodstoresardarji.nl/product/trs-gram-flour-1kg-besan/
Hope this helps!
MAB 😀
These look great! I want to give them a go in my air fryer. Have you tried cooking them that way?
Wotchers Amanda!
Interesting question!
I don’t have an air fryer, I’m afraid, but I’m all ears if you decide to give it a go!
Happy experimenting!
(Aarrgh! So many exclamation marks! 😉 )
MAB 😀
These look great! I had a similar tip from our local restaurant after there was fisticuffs over the last cabbage pakora: massage salt into the cabbage, use the liquid for the batter. Another gamechanger was sprinkling them with chaat masala which is the same level of addictive as Mayflower’s Chinese salt and pepper seasoning (it’s the black Himalayan salt, apparently). Too blummin’ yum. Incidentally, if you’re still looking for gram flour recipes, I used it for an eggless quiche and it worked really well: https://smugfacelazybones.wordpress.com/2020/02/21/a-tale-of-two-quiches/
Wotchers smugfacelazybones!
Fantastic info and hot tips – many thanks!
Quick query – is the seasoning called “Chinese salt and chilli pepper seasoning”?
I got a few leads with that phrasing, but not with just plain pepper.
My mouse pointer is hovering over the ‘Buy Now’ button, waiting for your advice (no pressure). 😉
MAB 😀
Yes, that’s the one! Sorry for the sloppy posting… don’t blame me if you end up putting it on everything!
Oh, also cauliflower pakoras – amazing. Cut the cauli into tiny florets, or use bigger ones that have been parboiled and dip in the batter.
Can I ask where you’re buying your dried coriander leaves from please? In case it’s relevant I’m in the city of the Dreaming Spires in the UK. Thanks.
Wotchers Mary D!
I’ve got lots of spice jars into which I decant from their original packaging (so they can all fit neatly into my spice drawer), so I couldn’t say for sure off the top of my head. However, a quick search on the websites of the limited number of places it might possibly be throws up the Schwartz brand (at Tesco) or Morrisons own label (although it doesn’t get very good reviews there).
Hope this helps!
MAB 😀
Dear MAB,
thankyou so much for this information. I hadn’t spotted this on the supermarket shelves myself but it is now on my list for my next shopping trip.
Dear MAB,
just a quick note to say that I found a jar of these in M&S yesterday so snapped them up and will be trying both the onion and the cabbage versions shortly.
Looking forward to hearing about the results, Mary! MAB 😀
I’ve now tried the onion version with delicious results and will be moving on to cabbage shortly.
Delighted to hear, Mary! 😀
I’m pleased to see a recent post from you, Mary-Anne. I was so impressed with your ingenuity on GBBO.
Gram flour makes unexpectedly excellent biscuits. I first stumbled on this via an Eve Sullivan recipe in 2016 – see https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/feb/01/cheap-meals-food-2-pounds-a-head-cook-budget