WeekTable
Menu
Plan my week
AI-generated photograph: Three golden, lacy onion bhajis stacked on a matte charcoal plate, a wedge of lemon and a few coriander leaves beside them

Home · Recipes · Crisp onion bhajis

South Asian · Soups and starters

Crisp onion bhajis

crisp red onion · spiced gram flour · lemon

AI-generated photograph

Lacy, crunchy fritters of sliced onion in a spiced gram flour (chickpea flour) batter, fried until deep golden. Serve hot with a squeeze of lemon.

Contains: none of the 14 allergens, as written. None of the 14 allergens is in this recipe as written, and it is gluten free because it uses no wheat. Some gram flour is packed where wheat is handled, so check the packet if you need it strictly gluten free. Many bhaji recipes add asafoetida, which usually contains wheat; this one does not.

Ingredients

  • 2 large onions (about 400g), thinly sliced
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 120g gram flour (chickpea flour, also sold as besan)
  • 20g rice flour (for extra crunch)
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • Half a teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chilli powder
  • 1 green chilli, finely chopped
  • 15g fresh coriander, chopped
  • 750ml vegetable oil, for frying
  • To serve: 1 lemon, cut into wedges

Plan a week with South Asian dishes

Let's cook

  1. Put the sliced onions in a large bowl, sprinkle with the salt and toss with your hands. Leave for 10 minutes. The salt pulls water out of the onions, and that water helps make the batter.
  2. Add the gram flour, rice flour, cumin, ground coriander, turmeric, chilli powder, green chilli and fresh coriander. Mix with your hand, squeezing the onions, until every slice is coated in a thick paste.
  3. Add cold water a tablespoon at a time, mixing, only until the mixture just holds together when you squeeze a clump. You will need about 2 to 4 tablespoons. Too much water makes heavy bhajis.
  4. Pour the oil into a deep, heavy pan so it is no more than a third full. Heat it on a medium heat to 170C, checked with a cooking thermometer, or until a small drop of batter sizzles and rises in 2 to 3 seconds. Never leave hot oil alone, and keep children away.
  5. Take a heaped tablespoon of the mixture and gently drop it into the oil. Fry 3 or 4 at a time so the oil stays hot. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, turning them halfway, until deep golden brown and crisp all over.
  6. Lift them out with a slotted spoon onto kitchen paper. Keep them warm in a low oven at 120C (100C fan) while you fry the rest. You should get about 12.
  7. Turn off the heat under the oil and let it cool completely in the pan before you move it. Serve the bhajis hot with lemon wedges.

Tips

  • Slice the onions thinly and evenly so the bhajis cook through before the outside gets too dark.
  • If the first bhaji is pale and soft inside, the oil is too cool; if it browns in under 2 minutes, it is too hot.
  • Lovely with the cucumber raita or a spoon of mango chutney.

Swaps

  • Milder: leave out the green chilli and halve the chilli powder.
  • Baked: shape on a lined tray, brush with 2 tablespoons of oil and bake at 220C (200C fan) for 20 to 25 minutes, turning once. They are softer but still good.

More in the South Asian meal plan

Our own recipe. The photograph is AI-generated.

From the same kitchen

What goes with it.

The South Asian meal plan