Crispy Onion Bhajis are the perfect tea time snack as well as a delicious side to your favourite Indian curries!
Made with onion, chickpea (gram) flour and basic Indian spices, these onion bhaji fritters are quick and easy!
Very addictive, vegan, gluten-free and ready in 30 minutes! Learn how to make these delicious Indian onion bhajia step by step.
EASY ONION BHAJI RECIPE
Do Onion Bhaji need any introduction really? I doubt so!
They are also popularly known as Kanda Bhaji, Kanda Bhajia, Pyaz ke Pakode or Onion Pakora. These Onion Bhajis are also a popular Indian street food snack!Â
I cannot imagine an Indian takeaway without a serving of these popular Bhaji, but they’re actually so so easy to make at home too! So delicious with homemade garlic naan, quick chana masala, mango chutney and cucumber raita.
In India, whenever we would invite friends and family over for tea, my mom would make a fried tea time snack. This tradition has travelled with me to UK. I love to make Pakoras, Samosa or even Vada’s too. Something crispy – either fried or baked!
Learn to make perfect Crispy Onion Bhaji at home with all the the tips and tricks!
Ingredients you’ll need for Onion Bhajis
Red onions – I prefer red onions in my fritters. But you can always use White onions too, if thats what you like.
Gram flour – also known as Chickpea Flour or Besan are naturally Gluten Free. They are easily available in major supermarkets.
Coriander Leaves adds a luscious flavor to the bhajis. If you don’t like them, simply leave them out.
Spice Powders – I like to use Ground Cumin, Ground Coriander and Turmeric.Â
Chilli powder or Green Chillies – I prefer Chilli Powder in the bhajis. If you like it spicer, you also add finely sliced green chillies too.
Salt – is essential and has an important role for making our cripy bhajis with onion.
Water – Add only as much as needed.
HOW TO MAKE CRISPY ONION BHAJIS?
Slice the Onions Thin and Uniform – either using Mandolin Slicer or using sharp knife.
In a mixing bowl, add the sliced onions, gram flour, coriander leaves, spice powders and salt. Mix them well with clean hands. Allow the mixture to sit for at least 20 minutes (or longer up to 1 hour). This step is essential for achieving crispy bhajis.
Salted sliced onions release the moisture(natural juices) and turn a bit soft. Gram Flour added in the mixture allows in binding together to make a simple fritter batter.
When you are ready to make onion bhaji’s, squeeze the Onions to release the water. Â This liquid is usually sufficient in combining the onion fritters batter. However, if you feel the batter is too dry, add one teaspoon of water at a time and mix with hands until the batter sticks to the onions together.
Heat Oil in your pan. Check if your oil is sufficiently hot by adding a pinch of the onion bhaji batter. If it comes up immediately, you know the oil is ready for frying the remaining Onion Pakora.
Using a spoon or clean hands, add small onion bhaji batter portions into the oil and fry for 3-4 minutes. Flip the bhaji’s once they are light brown on one side and fry until they are brown all over and evenly cooked.
Check if they’re cooked inside and the bhaji is not wet. Drain the fried fritter on a kitchen roll or absorbent paper to soak up any excess oil.
If you are making large batch of these fritters, place them in a baking sheet in the oven at a low heat to keep them warm.
Serve hot Onion Pakora with Coriander Chutney and Cucumber Raita!
Why is My Bhaji Not Crispy?
This can happen because of mainly Three Factors.
Onions are SLICED TOO THICK or they are not UNIFORMLY SLICED.
When you fry the bhaji in low heat, they tend to absorb a lot of oil and turn out soggy too. Remember to check if the oil is hot enough.
There is more water than required to make the Onion Fritter Batter.
There are more fritters in your frying pan and they are crowded!
All these factors will result in not-so crispy onion bhaji.
How to Store and Re-heat Leftover Onion Bhaji
Very rarely we will have any left over bhaji. But if any left, I usually place them in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
To reheat them, I pre-heat my oven to 180C and place the onion bhaji in the oven between 5-10 minutes or until just warm.
Can I Bake The Onion Bhajis?
Very much. Preheat the oven to 180 C and line the parchment paper on the baking sheet. Place equal proportion of onion bhaji on the paper, brush it with a little oil. Bake for 30 -40 minutes or until crispy and cooked.
YOU MAY LOVE THESE POPULAR INDIAN CURRIES TO SERVE WITH THE BHAJI
HAVE YOU MADE MY EASY INDIAN ONION BHAJI ?
Post a photo on my Facebook page, share it on Instagram, or save it to Pinterest with the tag #sandhyaskitchen. I would love to see your take on this crispy and crunchy homemade onion bhaji.
ONION BHAJIS RECIPE BELOW
Ingredients
- 2 large red onions sliced thin
- 1 cup gram flour /chickpea flour
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/2 tsp chilli powder
- 1/4 cup coriander leaves
- Salt to taste
- 1 - 3 tsp water as needed
Instructions
- PREPARE THE ONIONS - Peel the onion, wash and cut the onions in to thin slices. Cut them into halves again.
- MIX THE INGREDIENTS - In a mixing bowl, all all the dry ingredients - onion, flour, spices and salt.Mix them with clean hands and allow them to sit for at least 20 minutes ( or longer - up to 1 hour )
- ONION BHAJI BATTER - After 20 minutes, squeeze the onions with your hands to release the water. Combine the mixture together to form a thick batter. If you feel the batter is too dry, add 1 teaspoon of water at a time until the batter coats the onions well.
- If you feel, during the process of frying the batter has gone a bit watery, you can add 1-2 tsp of gram flour too.
- FRYING THE BHAJIS - Heat Oil Check if your oil is sufficiently hot by adding a pinch of the onion bhaji batter. If it bubbles up immediately, you know the oil is ready for frying the remaining Onion Pakora.
- Using a spoon or clean hands, add small onion bhaji batter portions into the oil and fry for 3-4 minutes. Flip the bhaji's once they are light brown on one side and fry until they are brown all over and evenly cooked.
- Check if they’re cooked inside and the bhaji is not wet. Drain the fried fritter on a kitchen roll or absorbent paper to soak up any excess oil.
- SERVE - Serve with your favourite coriander chutney or raita.
- STORE & REHEAT - Store any leftover onion bhaji's in an airtight container and refrigerate upto 3 days. To reheat, place them on a baking tray and cook in a preheated oven at 150C for 10-15 minutes.
I have never tried these before. Interesting. J am looking forward to trying withse at home with my family. Looks great!
This recipe is amazing! I loved all the flavors and it made for a great app! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Beautiful spirals! I love onoin bhaji and hadn’t the faintest idea on how to make them so thanks for making them so approachable!
Oh Yes, Farah! Onion Bhaji are really easy to make.
This is one of my family’s favorite appetizers / snacks to have on the weekend!! Crispy, flavorful and overall just so so good!
I used to buy Onion Bhajis from a local restaurant before – never made them but now thanks to your recipe I can!