I've tried Dips and IG's bhajis and found both lacking a little something. IG's were a little bland for me, Dips didn't quite cook correctly, so here is my recipe which (hopefully) combines the best from both recipes.
Ingredients:
1.5 Large onions (300 grams)
0.5 Potato (50 grams)
1 egg
1 tbsp Kashmiri Masala paste
1 tbsp Spice mix (I use IG but any will do)
0.5 tbsp Aniseed (Essential, don't substitute with anything)
0.5 tsp Asafoetida
1 tbsp Lemon dressing (juice will do)
2 tbsps Chopped fresh coriander
1 tsp salt
A few drops yellow or orange colouring
Gram flour
Method
1. Slice the onions pole to pole very finely and put them into a large mixing bowl.
2. Chop the potato into the thinnest matchsticks your knife will allow, if you can get them half the size of an actual matchstick then you are doing well. Any larger and the bhajis will look like they have french fries sticking out of them!
3. Add all of the other ingredients apart from the gram flour, egg and salt and mix well.
4. Add the salt at the last second and give it a quick mix.
5. Add the egg to the bowl and mix well.
6. Start adding Gram flour until the mix gets very sticky and all of the onion has a coating of flour. You don't want too much so it gets too dry. See Dips video to get a good idea of what I mean. There is enough moisture with the egg and lemon juice not to need to add any water.
7. Now for the most important bit, preheat your oil in a medium sized saucepan to around 140 degrees (any hotter and the mix cooks too quickly on the outside and the onion will have a raw taste).
8. When you form the bhajis it is essential not to squeeze the mixture together too much. The secret here is to keep the mixture airy, like a birds nest would be. This means the oil can penetrate to the middle of the bhaji and cook it through evenly. Drop in 2 - 3 balls (about 2.5 inches in diameter (bigger than golf balls, smaller than tennis balls)) of mixture at a time and reduce the hob to low. You need to maintain a temperature of around 140 degrees (it will drop by at least 10 degrees when you put the bhajis in). Any lower than 125 degrees and the will go greasy and break up, and higher than 150 and they cook too quickly. They should gently bubble in the oil.
9. Turn them every couple of minutes until they start to go golden brown (after about 10 minutes). They can be eaten immediately, or left to cool and then either reheated in hot oil for a minute, or frozen for a quick snack another time.
10. Very important tip. Save the oil in a bottle to use next time. Once you have made these 2 or 3 times, the oil will smell amazing and the bhajis will taste even better. Wait until it is completely cool then pour it into the bottle. When you next use it, if you have a few floaters in the oil, just pass it through a sieve when you pour it into the saucepan.
Topic: CWG's IG Style Bhajis (Read 52687 times)
