Onion Bhaji

Crisp, golden fritters of thinly sliced onion in a spiced gram flour batter.

TIME BREAKDOWN
Prep: 30 min
Cook: 20 min
Total: 50 minutes
Vegetarian
✅
Nuts
❌
Serves
4 people
Difficulty
Easy

Ingredients

  • 3 onions, halved and very thinly sliced
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 100g gram flour (besan)
  • 2 tbsp rice flour
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds, lightly crushed
  • 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
  • 1/2 tsp nigella seeds
  • 2 green chillies, finely chopped
  • 3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
  • 4 to 5 tbsp cold water
  • 1 litre vegetable oil, for deep frying
  • Mango chutney or mint chutney, to serve

Method

  1. Toss the sliced onions with the salt in a large bowl and leave for 15 minutes. The salt draws out the water, which is all the moisture the batter needs.

  2. Add the gram flour, rice flour, cumin, coriander seeds, turmeric, chilli powder, nigella seeds, green chillies and fresh coriander. Mix with your hands, adding the cold water 1 tbsp at a time, until the onions are coated in a thick, clinging batter.

  3. Heat the oil in a deep, heavy pan to 170°C, checking with a thermometer.

  4. Drop in loose, golf-ball-sized clumps of the mixture, 5 or 6 at a time. Fry for 4 to 5 minutes, turning once, until deep golden and crisp.

  5. Drain on kitchen paper and serve hot with chutney.