Topic: IG Onion Bhaji (Kitchen Demonstration)

[Secret Santa]

It's a good point Mike. There's no doubt that as the amount of spices added gets less, the more of an effect the onion has. Certainly an onion with a high sugar content will shine through with low spicing as it will caramelise more.

Perhaps the choice of onion is crucial with certain recipes?! 

[Malc.]

I think it's just a case of if you want more spicing, add it in. As i've said before I often add chopped green chilli to give them a kick.

One of the comments made by the chef was that they don't eat the IG Bhaji as it is as they prefer more chilli. They explained that the level of spiucing is kept to a minimum to please all.

As Chris has mentioned, he adds the Kasmiri Masala Paste from DPR's recipe and he has found his Bhaji Mecca, so maybe that's all you need to SS.

[joshallen2k]

I made these again today, using the recipe to spec (except for using a mix of aniseed powder and smashed fennel seeds). I also upped the spice mix 50% after reading SS's comments. I also used JerryM's weights for the onion, potato and gram flour. I too much prefer weights, rather than "4 onions".

Unfortunately, these weren't nearly as good as the last batch I made. The taste itself was excellent, but the bhajis were too dense for my liking. I was very careful on the oil temperatures for the 1st and 2nd frying. I put it down to too much gram flour.

Last time I recall they were far more liquid, and remember fearing they would disintegrate dropping them into the oil. That time they didn't and I was very happy.

So what is the desired consistency for the final batter? How liquid should it be?

I love bhajis, but they haven't been a regular fixture for my cooking efforts, so I'd appreciate the input from some of the bhaji aficionados.

Thx,
Josh

[JerryM]

josh,

my weight of the flour could be out - i'm not sure either way. i think it's more likely the technique. i found it was impossible to get a tight ball without over crushing the bhajis mix.

i'd be more than happy though to reduce the amount of flour i use if u get anywhere in reducing it.

on my next go i intend prepping the onion the day before like i think IG do to see if the onion naturally softens a little over time (but without salt).

[Willyeckerslike]

I am thinking the same about prepping the onions the day before Jerry.  Doing a Curry night Saturday for my free painter (son in law + my daughter & grandkids)(hope the kids are not painting ;D).  When I made these everything was spot on but they were hard to shape and drop into the deep fat fryer(very loose)  Axe said about working the onions more too soften them so will try that after 24 hrs in the fridge.  So I will prep the onions Friday & make on Saturday.

Also I am wondering whether or not to make the curries Friday too to save time Saturday ( I have plenty of CA's excellent base in the freezer that I made last week).  Will it be ok to make them & chill in the fridge for 1 day?  The meat i will bbq or grill weather depending on Saturday?

  The last bit is off topic a bit for thes thread I know but hey I just done 16h nightshift  : and can't be bothered to look elsewhere .

Cheers Will

[joshallen2k]

I really wonder if the re-fry adds anything for taste, other than temperature and convenience.
The closest BIR to me cooks them on-demand from a bowl of batter. "Rush hours" are infrequent.

The consistency must be key. Mine where way too dense.

Not a knock on Jerry (i much prefer scientific weights>

[Malc.]

Next time I do the recipe I will weigh the onions in advance. I must admit, I hadn't given it much thought, but it is right to question as the amount of onion can be quite different. Though I have given a rough size, so that should help.

Crucially though, I have since realised that the one ingredient measure that needs to be right is the egg. The amount of egg defines how much gram flour you will need to to make a thick sticky batter. The problem here is that if you don't have enough onion, you end up with too much batter to onion and centres won't get cooked. We only ever have X-Large eggs in our fridge and I half this for the recipe. You are looking to have just enough batter to onion to hold it together. If you find you have too much batter, add another onion.

There shouldn't be any need to prepare the onions the day before, it really isn't necessary. I have produced near exact results at home as to the restaurants bhaji without doing so. As long as you work the onion stage by stage, it should be pliable enough when the mix is ready to be formed and cooked.

The final part is forming the baji. Take a handfull of the mix and form a ball but but don't squeeze it to hard, you need to roll or smooth it gently in wet hands from one hand to another. If all has gone well, you will be holding a surprisingly  weighty bhaji that you feel may fall apart in the oil, but of course it won't.

The second cook process only serves to reheat the bhaji and help crisp it up. If you do second cook, gently squeeze or pull the bhaji to break it very slightly. You will get a much crispier bhaji if you use the second cook method.

[chriswg]

Getting the flour amount right is best done by eye. Weighing out your sliced onions every time would be very time consuming. My best advice would be start with very little flour (I use a 25/75 rice/gram flour mix) and slowly add in a bit more until you are left with a very sticky bowl of onions that will stick to your hands. Anyone with dense ball syndrome (sounds painful) has almost certainly added too much flour. It should look like you are deep frying a birds nest, not a golf ball.

I agree twice frying doesnt add anything, I only go for a single fry and leave them in the warming oven until needed.

I'm not as convinced as Axe on the amount of egg being a big factor but that might be due to me having a right balance with two big onions to 1 egg.

Prepping the onions the day before shouldn't alter the result at all. You want the onions to stay pretty hard to get the right consistancy. It's also worth noting you shouldn't slice the onions too thin. I asked my wife to prep them last time and she sliced them wafer thin. I think thats why the second batch failed - the onion was too soft.

Hope this helps. One day I'll get round to recording a video which should help explain everything.

[Domi]

I'm really wanting to try these but haven't been able to find any aniseed I'm off to have a look at the asian supermarket tomorrow. I don't want to try them using fennel as a substitute given that so much has been made of the addition of the aniseed.

[JerryM]

Will,

i'd go for cooking anything the day before. i know fresh is best but cooking the curry and then using the microwave to reheat produces a decent result (u'd have to be really on the ball to spot the difference other than with a side by side comparison). just got top be careful with the meat.

on the bhajis - from what Axe's say's on the forming - this must be key. overwork and they are too dense, underwork them and they fall apart too much during the transfer to the fryer. something to practise.