Name: Crispy Onion Bhaji
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 3 medium size onion (around 400 g); 1 carrot; 1 teaspoon coriander powder; 1 teaspoon cumin powder; 1 teaspoon garam masala; 1/2 teaspoon turmeric; 1 teaspoon salt; 10 small curry leaves (sliced); 1-2 green chilis; Handful coriander; 130 g gram flour; 130 ml water; Squeeze of lemon; Vegetable oil for frying

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Onion Bhaji or Pakoda (Pakora) are a crispy and flavourful Indian appetizer or snack. Ideal to serve with your favourite Indian mains or even as a snack with different chutneys or sauces.

One thing we love about Onion Bhaji is that they are naturally vegan and gluten-free. A perfect snack to prepare for the family or friends served with chutneys or fresh sauces, or an appetizer to enjoy with your Indian curries. We particularly love serving bhaji with our Whole Roasted Cauliflower Tikka Masala.

Onion Bhaji or Pakora are super easy to make at home using ingredients that can be found in a regular or Indian supermarket.

You have probably already tasted bhaji before from a restaurant or from your local store, but believe when I say the crispiness you get from your homemade bhaji it's just too good to not try making your own!

Our Crispy Onion Bhaji or Pakora are made with a delicious batter which combines gram flour, spices, curry leaves, fresh green chilis and fresh coriander. We add super finely sliced carrots as well with the onion, which makes them absolutely delicious.

Our Crispy Onion Bhaji are

An appetizer
Vegan
Gluten-free
Slightly spicy
Party food or finger food
Perfect as a snack or side dish
Easy to prepare
Quick to make

What is gram flour?

Gram flour is the main ingredient when making bhaji or pakoras. People tend to think that they are made with regular flour but no. Gram flour or Besan is a type of flour made from ground brown chickpeas.

To prepare your bhaji you can get chickpea flour too, which is made from ground white chickpeas, but if you can find a good quality gram flour, we recommend using the right one. The taste and nutritional value will always be better!

As gram flour is made from a pulse, it's gluten-free. Many delicious Indian appetizers are made using gram flour.

Ingredients needed for homemade Onion Bhaji

Gram flour. As mentioned above, you can use chickpea flour as well, but the traditional recipe calls for gram flour.
Onion and carrot. Obviously onions are used for our onion bhaji, but we love adding some finely sliced carrots too for extra colour and flavour.
Spice mix. To flavour your batter, you need a good spice mix. For our batter we use garam masala, coriander, cumin, turmeric and salt.
Curry leaves. You can use fresh or dried curry leaves. This is an optional ingredient that may be difficult to find, but if you have easy access to it, we strongly recommend using it as it gives your Bhaji a delicious flavour.
Fresh coriander. We use fresh coriander in the batter as it gives your pakoras a great flavour and fresh touch.
Fresh green chilis. If you love spicy food, don't leave this ingredient out. Adding some finely chopped green chilis makes a huge difference, giving your bhaji that spicy touch you are going for.
Lemon. Last, we like adding a squeeze of lemon into our batter.

Step by Step method

Bhaji are quick and simple to prepare, following these steps:

Finely slice onion and carrot and add in a big mixing bowl.
Add the spices, curry leaves, fresh chilis and coriander finely chopped. Combine all the ingredients.
Add the gram flour into the mixture making sure the ingredients are well coated.
Pour the water and lemon into the mixture and combine until all ingredients are perfectly incorporated.
Heat some vegetable oil in a non-stick pan to medium temperature.
Using a spoon, form the bhajis making sure they have a similar size so they cook evenly. Drop them into the pan once the oil is hot.
Cook until golden, turning them halfway to make sure they cook evenly on both sides.
When cooked, take them out of the pan, and leave them on a kitchen paper for a couple of minutes to remove the excess of oil.
Sprinkle some salt and fresh coriander on the top and serve.

Tips to prepare the perfect Crispy Onion Bhaji

This appetizer is so simple to make and delicious that once you know how to make them properly, you will probably be cooking them quite often.

When making Bhaji, make sure your batter is flavoured enough. Spices, salt and fresh ingredients such as coriander and green chilis are a perfect combination to give a delicious flavour to your batter.
Use gram or chickpea flour. This flour is lighter, healthier and turns out crispier than regular flour.
Always make sure the oil is hot enough before dropping your bhajis. You can always check by dipping a bit of the mixture.
When you take the Bhaji out of the oil, leave them on a paper kitchen towel for a couple of minutes to get any excess of oil and get them crispier.
Serve hot. The best Onion Bhaji are the ones served hot. Once they get cold, they lose their crispiness and are not that enjoyable. You can always have the batter ready and leave the cooking process for the very last minute.
Get the mixture so it drops off the spoon easily. This will ensure crunchy and light bhaji.
If the veggies are not sticking together, add a bit more gram flour. If the mixture seems too dry, add a bit more water.
Add a pinch of salt when still hot.

Serving Suggestions

Our crispy Indian fritters are best served with a fresh sauce such as yogurt and mint dipping sauce or a sweet chutney such as mango chutney. We love making our own mint sauce by mixing some plain soy yogurt with fresh finely chopped mint, freshly squeezed lemon, and a pinch of salt. You can add some maple syrup to make it sweeter.

Onion Bhaji can be served as an appetizer or snack. They are often served with Chai tea around India, which in our opinion, it was a delicious combination.

Bhajis are a great side dish to serve with your favorite Indian Curries or a spicy Gobi Manchurian.

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