Onion Bhajis

Onion Bhajis

Serves 2-3
Onion Bhajias are a very popular street-food found at hawker stalls all over India. These crispy-golden fritters are deep-fried in large cast-iron Kadhais (woks), right in front of customers on mobile wooden carts. Often stuffed in savory bread buns (called pao) along with spicy coriander chutney, these tasty sandwiches are the Indian equivalent of a vegetarian burger. Made with just a few simple ingredients, they are high in protein, completely gluten-free and super-easy to make. A word of caution though - once you start eating these crispy-golden balls of deliciousness, you just can’t stop.
A few things to remember,
  1. Chickpea flour is commonly known and often labelled as “Besan” or “Gram flour”. It is made by peeling, and grinding black chickpeas, i.e., gram lentils or chana dal.
  2. Besan (or gram flour or chickpea flour) is easily available in most international supermarkets and Indian grocery stores. However, if you are on strict gluten-free diet, always always make sure your flour is certified gluten-free. Many brands that are produced in India are often not gluten-free, as there is contamination from other grains like wheat.
  3. Step 1 below, where you salt, sweat and squeeze onions is to ensure you end up with super-crispy fritters each time. Make sure you squeeze the onions really well and get all that spicy-sweet onion juice out. The juice will help bring all the dry ingredients together. Don’t be tempted to add extra water - you don’t need it.
  4. No matter what you do, DO NOT try to bake these fritters - it just doesn’t work. Indulging in deep-fried food once in a while is not a bad thing :)
  5. Always make more - I often double the recipe coz’ we can never eat enough of these, especially with chilled beer.
​Enjoy the recipe! 

Onion Bhajis Recipe Video

Ingredients
​

1 large or 300g onion, sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon of besan (gram flour)
1-2 fresh green chili padi, finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves
1/4 teaspoon hing (asafoetida) or 1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
1/4 teaspoon chili powder, optional
1/4 teaspoon ajwain (carom seeds - available at Indian grocery stores)
vegetable oil or coconut oil, for deep-frying

Recipe
​

1Sprinkle salt all over onion and set aside for about half an hour until it starts sweating. Squeeze onion with your hands for a few minutes to extract more water. Do not discard the water.

2Add all other ingredients except oil and mix well using your fingers. Don’t be tempted to add more water - there should be enough moisture from the onions.

3In a frying pan or deep-fryer heat about 1.5 inches of vegetable oil on medium heat until it reaches 375ºF. Once hot, drop in onion mixture spreading evenly, making sure not to overcrowd the pan.

4Deep-fry for 10-12 minutes flipping occasionally, until crispy, golden-brown all over.

5Strain using a slotted spoon and remove on paper
towels.

6Serve hot with coriander/mint chutney or sweet chili sauce and chilled beer.

For more delicious recipes, check out our upcoming hands-on cooking classes in Downtown Singapore.​
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