Onion Bhaji Recipe

[Axe]

I am sure I am not alone in my obsession with the Onion Bhaji. Along with the popadums and the magic roundabout of chutney, pickle and mint sauce, it is the only dish I can guarantee will accompany my order whenever I eat out or take-away from an Indian Restaurant.

 

They do of course vary from restaurant to restaurant, but generally the recipe is almost normally similar in flavour and texture. But the one thing that has frustrated me about Onion Bhaji is that no matter what recipe I try and there has been a few, I can't seem to replicate the perfect Bhaji at home.

 

I have recently been trawling the internet to see if I can find the perfect UK Indian Restaurant Onion Bhaji recipe, but it would seem that the true recipe is more like a highly protected trade top secret. Nearly all the recipes I have found are a long distance from what I have managed to learn about the infamous Onion Bhaji.

 

I have been told that the Bhaji should be deep fried then allowed to cool and dry out for 24hours then gently pulled to create cracks in the batter, before finally being deep fried again just before serving. The other basics are that it is obviously made with gram flour, fresh green chilli and has a small aniseed flavoured seed which I assume is fennel. Other flavours like turmeric and cumin also find their way in. The rest however, is a mystery to me.

 

The following recipe is one I have married together from various others and what I know. We tried it tonight and its pretty close and rather tasty, but it still lacks that something only to be found in a restaurant.

 

I would be more than grateful if someone could show me the holy grail of the Onion Bhaji recipes.

 

 

In the meantime, here is the one the wife and I tried tonight:

 

Onion Bhaji Recipe

Axe Style

 

Ingredients

1/2 tsp Onion seeds

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds

1/2 tsp Fennel seeds

1/2 tsp Black Mustard Seeds

1/2 tsp Chilli Powder

1/2 tsp Fenugreek

1/2 tsp Garlic & Ginger paste

1 tsp Turmeric

1 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Lemon Juice

1 lge Spanish Onion

3 Green chillies, seeds removed, chopped finely

4 tbls Yoghurt

4 oz Gram Flour.

 

 

Method

Preheat oven to 150C. Grind seeds in a pestle & mortar and mix with remaining dry spices and flour. Add garlic & ginger paste and lemon juice and 3 tbls of yoghurt and mix to a thick paste. Add more yoghurt if required. Half and slice the onion and mix well into the paste. The onion will give moisture to the batter making it looser.

 

Taking a spoonful of the mix at a time, drop into med-hot oil for several minutes. Make sure the Bhajis do not stick to the pan as this will colour them prematurely. Carefully break the centre slightly with a fork and turn the bhaji and cook for several minutes more. Drain and move to a baking tray and place them in the oven for 15-20mins. This will ensure that the mixture is cooked right through.

[rascal_2005]

nice one. my favs

[lord_seagrave]

How big do you like them?

 

I've had scrumptious little ones, but huge satisfying big ones too.

 

Either way, you're bang on with the green chillies - but why no star anise?

 

LS

[Beretta28g]

I dont even know what a onion thingy is so definatly no help from me however i know someone who may be able to so ill ask him.

[Dunkield]

How big do you like them?

I've had scrumptious little ones, but huge satisfying big ones too.

No help with the cooking, but the 'how big' question remeinded me of this one at our local Indian

 

[christy]

I to like to cook Indian from scratch. The above recipe contains all the usual suspects so what is it that is missing for you? Is it the texture or in the flavour? I would prob use fresh garlic and ginger but that is all I can see to poss change. I have a mate who is Indian and his mrs is a fab cook. I must say though her food is excellent and bears little resemblence to the resturant, hers is much better. I'll ask her nxt week about Bhaji.

[Axe]

When I cook them at home I normally shallow fry in about an inch of oil, so I tend to go for a flatter bhaji about the size in diameter of a tennis ball. This is normally about a dessert spoon of the mixture and the Bhaji ends up about 3/4 inch thick. My favourite restaurant makes them as a ball, again about the size of a tennis ball.

 

What I have always struggled with is getting a deeper savoury flavour but essentially, that dryer almost baked consistency in the centre. In the past, mine always seemed to be more of a set batter consistency than the restaurants. Though yesterdays efforts have definitely got me closer to the right consistency. The baking Powder helped here as it reacted well with the yoghurt.

 

Star Anise was always my first thought on the flavour until I started getting into cooking Indian food. The defining moment was when I actually got a seed stuck in my teeth at the restaurant after a Bhaji and picked it out. It was very similar to a Fennel seed and when I bit down on it to try it, gave off that typical taste. I did ask what it was and the restaurateur did give me a name but I am can't remember it properly and have used Fennel instead as its easy to get hold of.

 

I do have one recipe that list Ajwain seeds which are odd indeed, I tried them once but haven't since. I have also seen another that uses Asafoetida but haven't tried this yet.

 

I never imagined that trying to find the perfect recipe would be such a problem but the quest continues.....

 

 

 

 

EDIT: Stuart, that is by far the biggest Bhaji I have seen, but it sure looks tasty.

[Axe]

Made some rather useful discoveries tonight firstly in the name. I came across a recipe for Onion Fritters and the title for the recipe was Onion Baje. So I Googled this and ran into a few more variations Piyava Baje, Piyava Pakoda, Onion Pakoda and Bajo instead of Baje. All of which look just like the Bhaji we know.

 

I have saved several recipes and notably the use of Asafoetida is in all of them and some also use Rice Flour and the Ajwain. So i'm going to be trying all of them.

 

These look like pretty tasty bite size snacks. http://chefatwork.blogspot.com/2008/01/piy...n-fritters.html

[holly]

ive tried recipes galore never seemed to get it just right then a couple of years ago a local asian supermarket started selling a ready made packet mix and its exactly the same as my local curry shop (deep fry a must) i use this for potato and mushroom bajis as well

Edited February 6, 2010 by holly

[Axe]

I don't suppose you could list the ingredients in it could you?

 

EDIT:

 

I just googled it:

 

Ingredients: Split Yellow Pea Flour (Besan), Salt, Red Chilli, Cumin, Coriander, Fenugreek Leaves, Black Pepper, Aniseed, Pomegranate Seeds, Garlic, Sodium Acid Prophosphate E450a, Sodium Bicarbonate E500, Asafoetida.

[faisal]

We are all different and we cook sliglty differently. The subcontinent has a lot of variation.

 

Personally I dont agree with recipes being tweaked for the european palate. but my opinion doesnt count. Whatever sells the restaurant will adapt. Generally the most original flavour is in the home cooked food as its for us.

 

With SHAN ready mix you cant go much wrong. They do the whole range, makes life simple and they are from my side of the subcontinent.

 

 

 

Keep experimenting with the ingredients till you find what you like.

when you get bored of the onion ones. use the same batter to coat sliced aubergines and fry them. I think you ll like it.

I just deep fry , dont bake at all.

 

Faisal

[Axe]

Had another go tonight using additional ingredients that I found when searching Piyava Pakoda and Baje. I have to say that both myself and the wife think we are almost there.

 

I have managed to get the right consistency which I believe was largely down two things having been changed. Firstly, I added Rice Flour with the gram flour in equal measures and secondly I mixed the flour with the onion and let it rest before only adding enough yoghurt to hold it together.

 

Fried it as usual on a med-high heat and turned once browned. For some reason it seemed to take longer, perhaps this is due to the Rice Flour. the result was a crisp bhaji with a cooked centre. I did not bake these off in the oven either.

 

Flavour is also very close now with the addition of the 1/2 tsp Asafoetida and 1/2 tsp of Fenugreek. Next time I will try leaving the fennel seeds whole and increasing the amount.

 

I am very pleased with the outcome.

 

Thanks for the help so far.

 

 

To top it it off I knocked up some Sag Aloo and Mushroom Bhaji from recipes found on an Indian site which were fantastic and had this with some Chicken Tikka made from regular Tandoori Masala. By far the best home made Indian meal we have had so far.

 

 

Thanks to everyone for the help and advice so far, the Aubergine Pakoda sounds great and I will try it next time.

[lord_seagrave]

Fenugreek.

 

That's what I was thinking of. I use lots of it when doing curried potato dishes.

 

This is a fascinating thread Axe!

 

LS

[Axe]

We had another stab at Onion Bhaji again last night. This time we used the Shan mix mentioned earlier, kindly donated to me for the cause (thanks Paul you are a true gentleman indeed).

 

I followed the packets instructions adding water, 3 chilli's and some chopped coriander leaves and allowed it to rest. The smell coming from the mix was fantastic but don't put your nose in the dry mix packet to sniff it. Anyway, we had decided to do both Onion Bhaji and Aubergine Pakora or Pakoda (not sure which is correct), so prepared onion as normal and aubergine in to slices about 1/4" thick.

 

Once rested, the batter is fairly thick and almost slightly elastic. Having tested the oil temp which was medium high with a small drop of the mix, we deep fried the onion Bhaji in small golf ball sized spoonfuls, . The first thing that I noticed is how much the batter puffs up, alot more than any of my previous attempts. once golden all over we strained and kept them warm in the oven.

 

Next up was the Aubergine which slightly more fiddly as getting a coating of the batter to stick to them evenly was awkward, perhaps it was to thick maybe. Anyway, we fried them off the same in small batches.

 

The results were very good indeed though a little hot for my taste buds, especially the Onion Bhaji (less chilli next time). The consistency of the finished batter on the Bhaji was good, crisp on the outside and quite light on the inside. They were cooked for some time but the batter didn't seem to over colour like I have experienced before. This allowed the middle to set better I think. Taste was very good getting past the heat of the chilli I put in, but you could certainly tell that fenugreek was in the mix, it was slightly overpowering.

 

However, the aubergine pakora / pakoda were a different story. If you haven't tried them, do so as they definitely stole the show. I think next time I will probably cut them slightly thicker as they tend to go very juicy as you would expect. But they worked so well with the Shan mix I will definitely be looking for somewhere to buy this again.

 

We served the Bhaji and Pakora / Pakoda alongside homemade Shami Kebabs, Mushroom & Spinach Bhaji, Naan Bread, Side Salad with lemon juice and mint sauce. Both myself, the wife and my two daughters enjoyed it and were very full afterwards.

 

 

Thanks again to Holly and Faisal for the recipe suggestions.

[Mec 9000]

I don't use an oven for them. Deep fry till only half cooked, drain on kitchen roll and allow 10 mins for them to cook in own heat then return to pan till golden brown. My recipe differs all the time but I use some baking powder in the mix at all times.

Gerry

[holly]

tried the aubergine for the first time and was well impressed , with the shan mix i too found it a little too hot for my taste so i only put the chopped corriander in . if you liked the shan mix enough to find a supplier ask a asian corner shop keeper or taxi driver they will more than likely know one and at 69p a packet you cant go wrong

[Axe]

Living in Brighton we have a wide range of specialist stores and I know of one Indian Grocers that will hopefully stock it. I haven't looked but I am sure it could be purchased online too.

 

The Aubergine really was good and we are looking to try other vegetables next time too. I have seen a few suggestions both on the packet and on various sites which look or sound quite tasty. We were going to try some Cauliflower we had left over but ran out of batter.

 

Its certainly been an enjoyable quest thus far.

[faisal]

I am reading the thread quite late, but very pleased how it has turned out for you Axe.

You seem to be enjoying the original flavours.

 

As far as putting too much chilli, I dont personally like it.

I saw an English guy sitting in a desi restaurant sprinkling crushed red chilli on his already spicy food. It would have made my eyes water, dont know how he got used to it.

 

 

can I let you in on a secret , there is no such thing as a chicken tikka masala. It was all invented here in UK hahahaha

[Axe]

The good old Tikka Masala, I seem to remember seeing a program where one of the TV chefs said it was created almost by accident. The story went something like, a restaurant in Birmingham created it when asked for some gravy / sauce to go with a customers tikka.

 

I've had it a few times, it served as a good alternative to a Korma which I used to order quite alot. These days I normally stick to drier dishes and bread rather than rice. Had Lamb Doh Piaza last night simply cooked with a little Turmeric, Chilli, Paprika, Cumin and Cardamon. A little gravy was made from yoghurt and puréed onion, tomato and garlic and cooked back until almost dry then fried onions were added for the final cook out. Another recipe found on my quest for the Onion Bhaji.

 

I don't understand the heat thing and never have. I've often been told that Indian food whilst spicy is not meant to be as hot as we think it is as a nation. I much prefer to enjoy the taste with a little kick of heat rather than sweat copiously over my dinner.

 

The search for original flavours continues. But one of the biggest surprises to me so far has been the use of Ghee. I have always known about Ghee in Indian cooking but never used it whilst always opting to use vegetable oil instead. I never thought it would make any difference as it was always a vessel to cook the food, not flavour it. How wrong could I have been. I recently bought some Ghee and have used it in all the dishes (except for deep frying) and was surprised at how much flavour it actually imparts to the dish. You can certainly tell the difference and in my opinion, is just as essential as the spices themselves.

 

The quest continues.

[faisal]

Ghee is brilliant stuff but if used in moderation.

 

Paratha fried in Ghee for breakfast. Yummeeee.

 

for super rich flavour try Carrot Halwa (probably takes about 2-3 hrs of cooking on low heat) but Watch out for clogged arteries ! ! ! and diabetes ! ! !

 

 

The subcontinent has a very high rate of heart problems, which I believe is eating all this rich food and not excercising enough.

Edited February 18, 2010 by faisal

[natcot]

What a great thread Axe, I too have been on a mission to find the perfect home made Bhaji! I've also been having a go a making my own nan bread, but without a clay oven it's just not the same! For me the sides are almost more important than the curry itself. Curry and rice alone is not enough!! I've got far too many Indian cookbooks.

[Axe]

I tried some fried paratha at home once but not in Ghee. At 98% butter fat, its certainly something to be used sparingly. I haven't tried any Indian desserts yet. To be honest, i'm not normally a dessert person, but i'll try anything once so the Carrot Halwa is on the cards.

 

Natcot, i'm glad you like the thread. I have never tried breads at home but was given a tour of our local restaurants kitchen to see them in action. The clay oven is quite something. They said it reaches up to 800 degrees in the coals at the bottom and the breads are the naan is cooked by simply sticking it to the inside rim, when its loose enough to come away its done.

 

If any of my experiences are to go by, recipes found in of the shelf curry cook books won't give you the right ingredients as they tend to substitute for readily available western alternatives. This is not the answer, especially when it comes to the Onion Bhaji, or at least as I have found out so far.

 

Another recipe I am quite keen to learn next, infact is the next quest after the Onion Bhaji, is how to make a really good King Prawn Puri.

[holly]

called in a asian takeaway in glasgow on thursday and got a portion of mixed pakora normally onion mushrooms etc this portion came with some whole chillies dipped in the batter and fried you might fancy giving this a go but beware its not for the faint hearted

[Axe]

I can't remember where I saw it now but I do recall seeing a recipe mentioned for stuffed Chilli. I must admit it sounded very good, but I haven't yet tried it. I'll have to find some mild chilli to have a go with.

[Zapp]

MMMMmmmmm parathas.

 

ZB