Indian Restaurant Style Onion Bhaji - Deep Fried Onion Fritters

French Tart's Note:

An absolute must as an accompaniment to curry or wonderful as a starter for an Indian meal. Onion Bhajis are tasty little onion balls bound together with lightly spiced and fragrant chickpea flour batter. Serve these with coriander chutney or cucumber raita. You will ALWAYS be offered these on any British Indian restaurant menu; they also make great snacks if served with salad and assorted chutneys and spicy dips. You can lighten these up a little bit by frying them, and then allowing them to drain over a wire rack before reheating them in a medium to hot oven for about 3 to 5 minutes.

• Total Time: 20 mins
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 2 large onions , sliced thinly
• 200 g chickpea flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons rice flour
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• ½ teaspoon black onion seeds
• ½ teaspoon chili powder
• ½ teaspoon cumin , ground
• ½ teaspoon coriander , ground
• salt
• 100 ml water
• 750 ml vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Put the vegetable oil into a large pan and heat over a medium to high heat.
2. Make the batter: In a large bowl, add the chickpea flour, baking powder, rice flour, turmeric, black onion seeds, chili powder, cumin, coriander, salt and the water. Mix together well and then add the sliced onion - mix the onion through until well coated.
3. Check the temperature of the oil by dropping a small cube of bread in - it should brown fairly slowly - not burn or go dark brown straight away.
4. Carefully drop spoons of the bhaji batter in to the oil, do NOT overcrowd as they will stick together. Fry them in small batches for 1 to 2 minutes until they are a golden brown and crispy. Remove them with a slotted spoon and allow them to drain on a paper covered plate in a warm oven.
5. Repeat until all the bhaji batter is finished and they are all cooked.
6. Sprinkle over a little salt and serve straight away with coriander chutney or cucumber raita.

Reviews

[Thymestudio]

Loved these! Easier than I expected to make and even better than the ones we have at our local Indian place. Perfect with the Curry I made. Added this to my favorites collection. ZWT6

[Ma Field]

Loved the Indian spicing and they were a crunchy crispy treat at brunch. We enjoyed ours with a cucumber raita dipping sauce. Next time I might bump up the seasoning as we like heat and spiciness. But there will definitely be a next time! Nade for ZWT6 by a Looney Spoon Phoodie.