Onion Bhaji

Crisp, lacy onion fritters bound with besan (gram flour). The salted onion releases its own water, so the batter needs almost none.

Untested: not yet made in this kitchen. It is here as the showcase for one flour in the Flour section and is adapted from the source named in the Notes.

Ingredients

• 200 g (2 cups, 1 medium) onion, thinly sliced (yellow, brown or red)
• ½ to ¾ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 green chili, finely chopped (optional)
• 1 tablespoon ginger, minced or grated (or 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste)
• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced or grated (omit if using ginger-garlic paste)
• ¼ cup coriander leaves, finely chopped
• ¾ cup (85 g) besan (gram flour)
• ⅓ cup (45 g) rice flour (or ¼ cup cornstarch)
• ⅛ teaspoon baking soda (optional)
• ½ teaspoon red chili powder or flakes
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• ½ teaspoon carom seeds (ajwain) or fennel seeds
• ¾ teaspoon garam masala (or ground cumin or chaat masala)
• 1 to 3 tablespoons water, only as needed
• About 1½ cups high-smoke-point oil for deep frying

Directions

1. Salt the onion. Toss the sliced onion with the salt, squeeze it, and rest 15–20 minutes.
2. Heat the oil over medium heat.
3. Batter. Mix in everything else except the water with your hand to a thick batter. Sprinkle in water only if it is crumbly (the source used about 2 tablespoons).
4. Test. Drop in a little batter: it should sizzle and rise without browning.
5. Fry. Slide in unshaped ¾-tablespoon portions. Leave them untouched 2–3 minutes, then fry about 3 minutes more at medium, turning, until crisp and light golden.
6. Drain on a rack. For extra crispness, re-fry 1–2 minutes. Serve at once.

Notes

Source Adapted from Swasthi Shreekanth, “Onion Bhaji,” Swasthi’s Recipes (indianhealthyrecipes.com).

Why this flour Besan is a legume flour: no gluten, plenty of protein, and enough of it to bind onion shreds into a fritter that fries crisp. The rice flour is for extra crispness; the besan is the binder and the flavour.

Safety Raw chickpea flour is not ready to eat — do not taste the batter. Take care with hot oil.

Gluten-free by ingredient: safe for coeliac disease only if every ingredient — flour, starch, baking powder — is labelled gluten-free. Naturally gluten-free flours are often contaminated with wheat in milling.

The Flour section of the Food site covers the history, the science, milling, label systems and every flour used here.