Onion Bhajis

For a long time I had planned to make onion bhajis.   I love Indian food and often get them whenever I am getting a takeaway, but somehow, I’d never actually made them myself.   Until this month when I was given Samayalarai Cooking is Divine as my assignment for the Secret Recipe Club.  Now, it’s not the first time I’ve made something from this blog.  A year and a half ago we were paired up for a similar cooking event, Taste and Create.   That time I made lime pickle, another takeaway favourite.

I looked at many recipes this time and for a long time I couldn’t decide what to make.  I was considering making a bread recipe as I love naan breads but as soon as I found the recipe for onion pakoras I knew it was the one.

I was really pleased with how they turned out.   They tasted just like I expect onion bhajis to taste.  That may sound a bit weird, but often when you try to recreate something you know well it doesn’t quite match up to how you were expecting – even if it still tastes good. Not these – they were just how I wanted them to be.   I had to adapt the recipe slightly as I didn’t have any rice flour so I used all gram flour.  The recipe was a little different to any onion bhajis I’d ever had before as they also contained whole cashew nuts in the batter.   As there were so few I decided to chop them but I didn’t really feel they added anything so next time I would keep them whole or miss them out altogether.  All in all though, this was a lovely recipe and something I will definitely be making again.  Please also have a look at athe original recipe on Samayalarai Cooking is Divine.

Ingredients – Makes 6

1 large onion, sliced lengthwise

Small handful of cashew nuts – about 8

About 10 dry curry leaves, crushed (or a few fresh ones, sliced)

4 tbsp gram flour

1/4 tsp chilli powder

1 green chilli pepper, thinly sliced

Small knob of ginger, finely diced

Pinch salt

Pinch of bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

How to Make Onion Bhajis

1. Put the onions, green chillies, ginger, curry leaves, chilli powder and salt into a bowl and mix together.   Leave to stand for a few minutes.

2. Add the cashew nuts and sift in the flour and bicarb.  Add a small amount of water at a time, mixing it in until a thick batter is formed.

3. Heat oil in a saucepan.   Take a spoon and carefully drop spoonfuls of the batter into the oil.  Deep fry until they are golden and crispy on the outside.

4. Serve with a wedge of lemon to squeeze over them.

Click on the link below to see what other Secret Recipe Club participants have made:

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