Onion bhajis are perfect for a simple little snack or prepared in advance for your special homemade curry.
They’re so much easier to make than you’d expect, once you’ve mastered making them from scratch you’ll never buy from a supermarket ever again.
With simple ingredients, these bhajis are guilt-free and vegan-friendly. You’ll likely have all the ingredients already in your cupboards and if you add one of our spice mixes it can make them extra special.
The key to a great onion bhaji is to slice the onion very finely – this is important so the onion has time to cook within the batter when frying. If your onions are too chunky they’ll end up raw inside the bhaji, missing out on the delicate, sweet taste of thinly sliced onions.
You can choose to use normal plain flour or the traditional gram flour (which also makes them gluten free!)
Is there a difference between using gram flour and plain flour for bhajis?
The taste does differ slightly. Gram flour has an earthier, nutty flavour which works really well in Indian cooking. It also holds liquid better and becomes a batter very easily. To make up the difference we’re adding some extra spice to our plain flour mixture and a little more water. These bhajis turn out great every time using plain flour – practice makes perfect.
Here's your recipe for delicious onion bhajis made easily at home with plain flour and spices. An Indian classic which is perfect served with dips or alongside your favourite curry.
PREP TIME
5 minutes
COOK TIME
5 minutes
TOTAL TIME 10 minutes
Makes: 8 BHAJIS
Ingredients
Vegetable Oil
7 tbsp plain flour
2 white onions (medium/large in size)
(Either use one of our spice mix packets or the below)
1 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp crushed garlic
1 tsp chilli powder (optional)
Instructions
+ Slice the onion(s) into thin strips - make them as thin as you can
+ Then, in a bowl combine the flour and spices
+ Add water, 1 tbsp at a time, until a thick batter is formed
+ Add the sliced onions into the batter and mix to thoroughly coat each piece
+ Next, pour oil into a deep-frying pan, to cover the bottom of the pan
+ Heat oil to 190C - test this by dropping a little bit of the batter into the oil, it should rise to the top and bubble. Once this happens, take a tbsp of the bhaji mix and drop it into the oil, one at a time, to form the bhajis
+ Cook each bhaji for 2 minutes on each side
+ Once browned and cooked, remove from the oil and turn the heat off
+ Place the bhajis on some kitchen roll to drain off any excess oil
+ Serve with dips as a starter, or alongside curry for a delicious side dish
For an incredible starter sprinkle our madras spice mix into some yoghurt for a dip with the wow factor!
