Topic: IG Onion Bhaji (Kitchen Demonstration)

[Secret Santa]

Thanks Axe I was intending to try dipuraja's next!

And the changes you've suggested are not going to increase what is insufficient spicing. They are underspiced and produce a poor result as a consequence.

Just for comparison here's two other recipes (onions and spices only):

Dipuraja's (3 onions to 7tsp spices)

2/3 medium onions
1 tsp methi leaves
1 tbsp mix powder (here: http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=4354.0)
1 tbsp Kashmiri Masala

Ashoka (via gazman) (2 onions to 4.5 tsp spices)

1tsp ground cumin
1tsp ground turmeric
1/2tsp chilli powder
2 onions, thinly sliced
2tsp coriander seeds, lightly crushed



Putting it more plainly, if we calculate it for one onion it is (onion : spices):

Dipuraja: 1 : 2.33
Ashoka:  1 : 2.25
IG:         1 : 0.38

Hopefully this will make it more clear that the ratio of onions to spices at 4 to 1.5 is considerably less by about 6 times than other BIR recipes.

[Malc.]

Well you can't please everyone. :

[Razor]

Ok Guy's,

Suprised by SS's review of these, I've given them another go tonight, just to see if my first attempt was a fluke really.

Onions, Coriander and fennel seeds (again, didn't have aniseed)


IG spice mix in


Spice mix and onions mixed.


Chilli powder and salt in


Egg and food colouring in.


Gram flour in.


All mixed together.


Finished Bhaji's


Cooked on the inside perfectly


As far as spicing is concerned, I think it's about correct.  The balance of the spicing is good for me being that, not one single spice stands out except maybe the fennel seed which I can take it or leave it.

The heat, no, these are not as hot as they were yesteryear and it was because of this, that they were a hit the first time around in my house, as they were made for the wife and kids also.  Personally, I would prefer a bit more of a kick to them and will be taking Axe's advice next time and get some fresh chopped chillies in them.

All in all, I don't think that there is too much to change really, the flavour was there alright, even if there wasn't too much heat.

Axe, am I correct in thinking that this was your first guess on the scaled down version, or are you settling on this?

Ray

[Secret Santa]

Ray there looks to be a good bit more spice than 1.5 tsp in that. Or at least it looks more than I put in.

Either way at 1/6 of the spicing of other BIR bhajis, there's something wrong somewhere!

[Malc.]

Spot on Ray they look very good indeed. It was my first attempt at the breakdown and I have tweaked it a little only as much as to cut back on the egg. We use Large or Extra Large normally which is too much for this recipe, so I have cut that back to half a beaten egg. It lends itself better to the overall quantity.

From your pictures, you have certainly managed to get a better result. Crucially you have followed the recipe too which is the essential part. The Aniseed lends a little more bite and heat surprisingly, if you can get them, I would highly recommend it. Fennel however is a good second best.

The chopped chilli is good, I mean really good. The IG doesn't add extra heat purely for the fact that not everyone likes heat. Just you and I wouldn't add it for our kids. When its just the wife and I though, I have simply have to endulge in the odd green chilli or two or three.  ;D

[Razor]

SS,

Maybe it was the camera angle giving the illusion of more spicing?  I defo stuck to the quantities.  Maybe there wasn't as much onion in there I only had 3 when the recipe calls for 4 but they were largish?

And next time, I will cut the onion the day before, and try to get hold of aniseed to replace the fennel.

With that said, I really enjoyed them.

Ray

[chriswg]

For me, the overriding taste should be the onions, with the spices being there to compliment them and not overpower. That said, the amount of spicing is very much a personal taste, I like lots of spices (I assume like SS) but I can also appreciate the finer subtleties of a less spiced version.

My current incarnation is a combination of Dip and IG. I use 2 large onions, 2 tsp IG spice mix, 1 heaped tsp Kashmiri Masala, 1 egg, a handful of chopped fresh coriander, a squirt of lemon juice, probably around a tbsp of aniseeds, a tsp salt and a dash of asefoetida (plus chilli powder in mine). I don't have a lot of reason to want to move away from this recipe as it gives better results than the local takeaways.

A word of warning though, it's easy to become complacent. I had friends round for a takeaway last week and thought I'd impress with my bhajis. The first batch were damn good but the second had been sitting in the salt for 15 minutes which had softened the onions too much and watered down the batter. The results were back to grey doughy undercooked batter in the middle. There is a very fine line between beautiful results and disaster.

[joshallen2k]

I really enjoyed these bhaji last time I made them and am preparing to do so again.

Last time I used fennel, but wanted to use aniseed as recommended this time round.

I scoured my local indian grocer (as well as my "traditional" one) and could not find anise seed. In the indian grocer, I did manage to find and buy some ground aniseed.

Any strong opinions on whether I should use this or not? Anyone take a stab at how much ground aniseed would be substituted in the home scale-down of this recipe?

Thx,
Josh

[Secret Santa]

I really enjoyed these bhaji last time I made them and am preparing to do so again.

I'm genuinely surprised considering their lack of flavour! Did you do your own scaling of the amounts?

Last time I used fennel, but wanted to use aniseed as recommended this time round...Any strong opinions on whether I should use this or not?

It seems to be a matter of personal preference. I don't exactly dislike them but neither do they do anything for me - it's not something I'm used to in a  bhaji. Others seem to insist that it's an essential.

[michaelpratt]

Onions vary massively in flavour and behavior as well as size. So recipes that advocate as their first ingredient "2-3 medium onions" are prone to massive variation - especially in taste. Water content, pungency and size all count as to the amount of spice added surely? It should taste of onion, so the spice is there to augment the onion, therefore the spicing depends on the onion itself.

Mike