Topic: BIR onion bhajis

[curryhell]

After my soul destroying experience on Saturday with the C2G base (not the bases fault but my own) I decided to try the BIR method for onion bhajis.  Until now I have always used the KD method with a few tweaks and have achieved very good results

[loveitspicy]

Looking great CH - mouth watering even at 0454 am here - No recipe??

best, Rich

[Stephen Lindsay]

CH - great looking Bhajis.

The problem I've found is that age old one of getting them cooked on the inside without cooking the outside to something resembling charcoal. How do you ensure the outside is cooked and you still retain that lovely golden red colour?

Also is there much water in your mix? I've done the thing where you put little to no water in and let the onions release their juices into the flour. However my g/f described them as "sinkers" so clearly this made them much too heavy overall! Any thoughts on how to avoid this?

[Petrolhead360]

Indeed fine looking bhajis.

How do you ensure the outside is cooked and you still retain that lovely golden red colour?

I have used C2G's technique of using a knife to pearce each bhaji in the centre after several minutes of the initial frying then continue frying for a couple more minutes to finish.
Seems to work.

[curryhell]

Looking great CH - mouth watering even at 0454 am here - No recipe??

best, Rich

Cheers Rich, any of those mentioned will produce very similar tasty results.  I need to read Axe's / ChrisWG's post on the IG bhaji again as well as the onion bhaji group test and see what additional info they contain to improve my efforts further .  I don't see any point in my posting a similar recipe to those already available.  I wouldn't say the subject has been done to death but has been extensively already covered with plenty of information and good recipes available on the site.  For me this box is now ticked and I am more than happy with my results but i may just tweak the recipe a little to my own tastes .  Plus with all the videos that are available, they are really helpful and will enable onion bhaji fans to create real BIR thing.

[curryhell]

CH - great looking Bhajis.

The problem I've found is that age old one of getting them cooked on the inside without cooking the outside to something resembling charcoal. How do you ensure the outside is cooked and you still retain that lovely golden red colour?

Also is there much water in your mix? I've done the thing where you put little to no water in and let the onions release their juices into the flour. However my g/f described them as "sinkers" so clearly this made them much too heavy overall! Any thoughts on how to avoid this?

A common problem SL.  Oil temp is critical to achieving this i believe.  I don't have any modern gadgets for deep frying, just my korai and my eyes. I simply test the temp of the oil as i am bringing it to heat using a piece of onion, or poppadum, drop it in and when it springs  straight up then is the time i start cooking it, not altering my hob settings.
Re, water, i didn't add any as enough comes from the onions other than when i was shaping them, and not very much then.  Maybe the secret, as often said, is not to squeeze them too much to achieve the bhaji, trying to keep the mixture loose enough to allow oil in but tight enough to keep the bhaji together.  I think the bigger the bhaji the bigger the vessel needs to be to cook it, unless you want to fry them one or two at a time.  Mine are average size which enables me to fry 5 - 6 at once in my korai.  Maybe, again, it's one of those things where practice makes perfect :

[curryhell]

I have used C2G's technique of using a knife to pearce each bhaji in the centre after several minutes of the initial frying then continue frying for a couple more minutes to finish.
Seems to work.

Works well for me too, or simply open it a little as Dipuraja does with his fingers.

[Stephen Lindsay]

CH and PH, I do the piercing splitting technique as well - I think I haven't given enough consideration to the oil temperature. I'm always worried about the oil not being hot enough and the bhajis soaking it up like sponges. I wonder therefore if I'm maybe over compensating and cooking on too high a temperature. I think that's where I need to refocus my technique.

[curryhell]

As i say, i have to assess the temp of my oil by eye AS IT IS COMING TO TEMPERATURE and a piece of poppadum is always a great indicator.  The oil also seems to shimmer and the surface moves as it approches that temperature.  Hope this help SL and your next efforts deliver the perfect results.  I may just have to make some more of these today for the locusts at work. Or i may just pop them in a tuppaware container  and have a bit of self indulgence over the next few days ;D

[Wickerman]

Mighty fine looking bhajis,CH.