For ages I’ve been trying to cobble together an onion bhaji recipe from somewhere out there on these lovely interwebs! I have had some, frankly, inedible disasters, however, I now have come up with something I am happy to call an onion bhaji and can whip up a batch whenever I want a curry. Probably not an “authentic” type recipe at all but it does the job nicely!
I was browsing Smitten Kitchen’s latest offerings and was very taken with the Zucchini Fritters recipe, and then the Latkes recipe it developed from. I was definitely planning to whip each of those up (still am!) but then it hit me: If I used onions I would end up with bhaji! Since I had forgotten to get any bhaji in to go with my curry that night (as I almost always do) I thought that it was the perfect time to give it a try!
Makes 6 large bhaji
2 large onions, finely sliced
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp turmeric
3 tbsp olive oil
– Put the onions in a medium bowl and sprinkle with the salt.
– Add the beaten eggs and mix thoroughly.
– Add the flour, baking powder, garam masala and turmeric and mix until all the dry ingredients are combined.
– Heat the olive oil in a cast iron pan over a medium heat (if you don’t have one go for non stick but the results just won’t be as good I’m afraid).
– Add spoonfulls of mixture to the pan and press down with the back of the spoon to an even thickness. You will want to cook these in two batches.
– Fry until golden and crispy on the underside then flip over and continue to cook on the other side. If they brown too quickly then turn the heat down.
– Transfer to a disk and keep warm in the oven while cooking the next batch.
– In the interests of saving washing up I went on to cook the curry in the same pan and just left the bhaji in the oven until I was ready for them.
– Serve with whatever your favourite curry is. I’m a Korma girl I have to say.
Anna in the kitchen 