Topic: Onion Bhajis - Almost there!

[chriswg]

I finally have light at the end of the Onion Bhaji tunnel. The key to getting them like the BIR is to cook them the day before or at least 8 hours before use. Once part cooked they need to sit at room temperature for 7 - 8 hours. This allows all the spices to get absorbed into the onions which in turn soften without burning. All of the cakey rawness of initial experiments is gone, replaced by light and melt in the mouth bhajis. My last try was:

1 large onion (300 grams) chopped very finely in food processor
1 potato (100 grams) chopped very finely in food processor
0.5 tsp salt
1tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp cumin seeds
handful of chopped fresh coriander

All the ingredients went in the bowl for an hour to draw some of the moisture out of the onions. Then I added gram flour and a little bit of water to make a thick but runny batter.

I deep fried them in vegetable oil at 140 degrees for around 4 minutes so they were just going golden. Then I removed them from the oil, put them on a plate and stuck them in a cupboard until that evening.

The second fry through only took about 2 minutes at 150 degrees.

They tasted fantastic but I think the onion and potato was cut a bit too thin so the result was more like a fishcake than a bhaji. Nest time I'll cut them by hand.

Also, I added a tsp of baking powder to the mix just before frying which meant as soon as they hit the oil they swelled up. Again, I don't think this brought a lot to the party so I'll give it a miss next time. A couple more tries and I think I'll have the perfect Bhaji recipe / method!

[Unclefrank]

Hi chriswg, the best thing to do is make the mix the day before (with the onions in) then leave in fridge for as long as you can without any water at all, then add water bit by bit to get the batter just right then fry to get the colour on outside then leave go cold, store in fridge or freezer then put in the oven for 10-15 mins.They taste lovely.

[chriswg]

Hi Unclefrank, thanks for the suggestions. My only concern about leaving the mix overnight would be that last time I tried something similar the onions came out looking very limp. This meant the bhajis were very smooth rather than having bits of onion sticking out a bit. I guess that would be down to personal taste and what you are used to. The most important factor for me is the leaving them on the side for a few hours to go cold before the final heat.

I like the idea of reheating them in the oven. We know this isn't standard BIR practice but they have fryers on all the time so its quicker for them to deep fry them again. For home use, if they taste as good reheated in the oven then that means less mess to clean up afterwards and hopefully a slightly happier wife. It would also make timings a lot easier to get right. I'll give that a go next time and see how they taste. I'll also try a batch of overnight marinated onions but I don't expect an improvement over my method above. Hopefully I'll get a pleasant surprise!

[telecaster445]

Hi Chris

My local also has fennel seeds, but this of course will vary. I like the idea of the twice cook method. is this done at BIR's

[Secret Santa]

I like the idea of the twice cook method. is this done at BIR's

Definitely!

[Unclefrank]

Hello chriswg take a look at my thread underneath yours entitled "Three onion Bhajis tried", the third picture, is that the kind of "look" that you are looking for?
If so all three were done in the same way,think its what type of recipe you are using.
But good luck let us know what they come out like.
Cheers.

[Jeera]

Chris, in my experience the baking powder is the key ingredient to making the bhajis/pakora soft and light in texture rathen than that dense cakiness texture.

i usually add in at the start, so not sure what putting in at the end would do.

your recipe looks spot on to me.

[chriswg]

Unclefrank - thats kind of the look but not quite. Yours seemed to have a few 'holes' in them which look like having too little and possibly too dry a batter mixture. Im looking for them to look more like this:



No recipe will ever please everyone as so many people have different ideas as to what the perfect bhaji should be. Some like them as big as cricket balls, others like golf balls, I'm more of a thin and crispy man.

Jeera - the baking powder definitely gave them a lightness but these were a bit too light. I like a certain density to my bhajis but the key it to retain the melt in the mouth feeling. Maybe using half the amount of baking powder might fit the bill better. Also, maybe (probably) I'm wrong but I thought the baking powder lost most of its effectiveness after about half an hour. If I add some to the batter mix a few hours before cooking them then would that not negate the benefit?

[Jeera]

hi, don't think it would lose it's effectiveness if you put in at the start... after all self raising flour is just plain flour + baking powder and works under similar circumstances.

just looked up a recipe I used last time - has 1 tsp baking powder for 225g of gram flour so it looks like you are in the right ballpark there.

lets us know if you try it at the start and if it makes any difference.