Onion Bhaji. Bring the authentic taste of Indian street food to your appetizer/snack menu with these crispy onion fritters. Naturally gluten free and vegan, these bhajis are a delicious starter for your next meal and a great accompaniment to your afternoon tea.
What do you call these deliciously crispy bites? Onion pakora, kanda bhaji, pyaz ke pakode or kanda bhajia? Well, who doesn’t want to indulge in deep fried goodies when the rain is pouring outside? The heavenly combo of spiced fritters and piping hot chai is simply divine.
How To Make Onion Bhaji
Start with the onions. Peel and slice them as thinly as possible. The slices need to be super thin to make the perfectly crispy bhajis. Now place these onions in a bowl and sprinkle with a little salt. Using your fingers, gently massage salt into the onion slices. At the same time, you’ll also need to separate the slices. Keep this aside for about 15 minutes. The onions will absorb the salt and turn very soft. This is another special secret to guarantee super crispy onion bhaji.
After 15 minutes, you can add in the remaining ingredients for deep frying the bhajis. To begin with, add green chilies, coriander (cilantro) leaves and minced fresh ginger. Green chilies are totally optional in this recipe, add them only if you want really spicy bhajis.
Next up, add in the spices - ground turmeric, ground cumin, ground coriander, ground carom seeds and red chili powder. Stir everything really well. Once the spices are incorporated into the onion mixture, you can add the flours.
For this onion bhaji recipe, you will need two different kinds of flours - besan or gram flour and rice flour. Both the flours are 100% gluten free, so this is a great recipe to add to your gluten free diet. Besan flour is made from chickpeas and is easily available from your local grocery store or Indian store.
When you add salt to onions, they turn soft by releasing water. You can use this to mix the flours into onion mixture. If you need more water, just sprinkle with a little water.
Now, onto the frying part of this recipe. You have three options here - deep fry, air fry or bake. Depending on your preference, fry these bhajis anyway you like.
And finally, serve with your favorite chutney.
More Classic Indian Snack Recipes:
- Stuffed Chilli Pakora | Chilli Fritters
- Besan Dhokla | Steamed Gram Flour Cake
- Uzhunnu Vada | Urad Dal Fritters | Medu Vada
- Parippu Vada | Masala Vada| South Indian Lentil Cakes
- Kothimbir Vadi | Coriander Leaves Fritters
- Kerala Banana Chips
- Kerala Banana Fritters |Pazham Pori | Ethakka Appam
- Sukhiyan | Battered Sweetened Green Gram
Onion Bhaji | Spiced Onion Fritters | Video
Ingredients
- 5 large onions peeled and cut into very thin slices
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 large green chili chopped (optional)
- 2 tablespoons coriander cilantro leaves
- 1 teaspoon fresh minced ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon carom seeds or ajwain ground to fine powder
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- ½ cup besan or gram flour
- 2 tablespoons rice flour
- Oil for deep frying
Instructions
- Place sliced onions in a bowl. Sprinkle with salt.
- Using your fingers, rub the salt into the onion slices and separate the slices. Set aside for 15 minutes so the onions will release moisture and turn soft.
- Add green chilies (if using), coriander (cilantro) leaves and minced ginger. Mix well.
- Add ground turmeric, ground cumin, ground coriander, ground carom and red chili powder. Mix well.
- Add besan and rice flour. Mix well. Make sure the onion slices are coated in the spices and flour.
- Meanwhile heat oil for deep frying. When oil is hot, add a spoonful of onion mixture. Fry, turning occasionally with a slotted spoon, until crisp and golden.
- Using a slotted spoon, remove bhaji from the oil and drain on an absorbent towel.
- Depending on the size of the pan, you can make more bhajis at a time. Make sure there’s no overcrowding. Fry over medium heat to avoid burning or soggy bhajis.
To make in an air fryer:
- Air fry bhajis at 180C or 359F for 12-18 minutes. Turn them halfway through cooking to ensure even browning.
To make in oven:
- Add ¼ teaspoon baking soda to the onion mixture. Preheat oven to 220C or 425F.Place spoonfuls of onion mixture on a baking sheet. Spray with a little oil. Bake for 20- 25 minutes or until the bhajis are crisp and golden.
Video
Notes
- It’s very important that the onions are cut into super thin slices
- Carom seeds or ajwain is available from major grocery stores or your local Indian grocery store
- This recipe is gluten free and vegan
- You can substitute rice flour with corn flour if you like. But I highly recommend using rice flour for best results
- Green chillies are optional in this recipe. You can add them for more heat.
- Feel free to play with the spices. You can substitute the spices in this recipe with your favorites like curry powder, cajun seasoning etc.
- Make sure you fry the bhajis over medium heat. Low heat will make them soggy while high heat may burn them quickly.
Nutrition
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Ronit says
These look so crispy and tasty! Love the spices you've added. 🙂