Crispy Onion Bhaji / Pakoda

Sliced onion tossed in gram flour, rice flour and spice batter and is fried until crispy on the outside. These gluten free onion fritters are a treat in monsoon and can easily be baked or air fried.

Course Snack

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Servings people

Calories 387kcal

Author Subhasmita

Ingredients

3 large Onions
1 cup Besan / Gram Flour (about 150 grams)
¼ cup rice flour (50 grams)
6-7 garlic pods
10-12 curry eaves
1 teaspoon chilli powder
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
pinch of baking/cooking soda
¼ teaspoon hing (asafoetida)
1.5 teaspoon salt (or adjust as taste)
2 tablespoon hot oil
Oil for frying

Instructions

Heat the oil

In a large pan or kadhai heat enough oil for frying.
Add enough oil so that the bhajis will not touch the bottom of the pan while being fried.

Prepare Batter

Peel and thinly slice the onions. Make sure they are all sliced evenly.
With the back of the knife crush garlic and roughly chop it.
Roughly chop the curry leaves.
In a big bowl add sliced onion, garlic, curry leaves, besan, rice flour, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt, hing, baking soda, and salt.
Mix well and let it rest for 10 mins. Mix it again. The mixture will be moist and would start coming together.
Add a teaspoon of water at a time and mix well until the batter is not too dry. You should be able to hold a spoonful of it and it should hold a loose shape.
Take a couple of teaspoons of hot oil and mix it with the batter well using a spoon.

Frying the Bhajis

To make sure that the oil is hot enough for frying, drop small amount of batter in the oil. The drops should have bubbles and rise up. This shows the oil is hot enough to fry.
Using a spoon or with your hand take about a tablespoon of batter, form a loose shape and carefully drop it into the oil.
Avoid overcrowding the pan with too many slices put together. Cooking a few at a time ensures even cooking of the onions.
Flip the pakodas halfway through and allow to brown it evenly on both the sides.
When the batter turns brown, take them out using a slotted spoon and put them on some tissues to soak the excess oil.
Serve with sauce, chutney or raita

Video

Notes

Cutting Onions evenly ensures that they get cooked the same else we might have some cooked while other undercooked.
Sprinkle water while adding to the batter and mix it. Repeat if you feel the dough is too tight and needs some more water. Sprinkling will help you control the amount of water you add and avoid the batter getting too soggy by accident.
Have enough oil in the kadhai or pan so that the bhajis should not be touching the bottom of the pan.
Oil needs to be heated on medium heat - any high and it would burn the bhajis yet the inside will not be cooked. If the heat is too low and the oil isn't hot enough, it would take a long time to cook the onions and make the bhajis soggy.
Test the oil before you start frying. Just dip a drop of batter in the oil. It should bubble and float up. That shows the oil is ready for frying. If the drop of batter drowns then wait till the oil heats up further for a minute and test again.

Nutrition