onion bhaji

[welsh wizard]

Sorry a little off topic I know but does anyone have a tried and tested Onion Bhaji recipe please? I need to make 500 of the little blighters.

Cheers WW

[wheels]

Not a recipe as such but what I sort of do:

8 tablesp Gram Flour (sieved)
1 tablesp Rice flour (or sometimes even SR Flour)
½ tablesp Cumin Powder
½ tablesp Coriander powder
½ tablesp salt
½ - 1 teasp Garam Marsala
¼ teasp tumeric
Chilli powder of fresh chilli according to what I fancy or have about

A couple or more onions depending on size. I cut the onions in half and then a couple of times along the onion before slicing across giving thin strips about ½ inch long. Mix all the dry ingredients with water to a dropping consistency and mix in the onion. I generally cook them in my wok as I can get more in then in the fryer - cook them slowly 170°C - particularly if they are large, otherwise you'll have uncooked batter in the middle.

One word of warning WW, the batter will get wetter the longer it stands - the salt seems to draw liquid out of the onion, so either make them in batches or have some Gram flour (and a sieve) on hand to adjust the consistency.

I've never done more than about a hundred at once - but they're a great buffet item, 'cheap as chips' as they say.

Another thing - they dry out inside if left any length of time - hence the reason that the supermarket ones are full of oil to counter this. I've never successfully added oil to the mix and by the look of it neither has the 'sweet mart' in town where my mate buys his. They're always dry on the inside when they're a few hours old, but a quick dip in tamarind chutney soon revives them!

There's a good recipe for the chutney here:

http://www.mamtaskitchen.com/recipe_dis ... p?id=10181

I add chopped fresh chilli to it: you want it hot!

Thanks for the post, I've just realised that I've never put this on my blog so you've given me something to write about!

I hope this helps, and good luck.

Phil

[onewheeler]

Sorry to drift this thread quite rapidly....

Some years ago I was in Idaho Falls, USA for a conference. We visited an "Australian" restaurant where one of the starters was described as "Onion Flower". The waitress was exceptionally pleasant, and my colleagues told me that she was also quite pleasing to look at (being PC, I'd not noticed ). She was pushing these onions quite hard so we bought one. I think we would have happily ordered deep fried horse poo from her, so pleasant was she, so it was a nice surprise to find that the onion was delicious.

Ever since it's been on my list of things to try, and it could be rather good done with bhajia spices. Basically, it was the biggest onion you've ever seen, cut down to the root so the thin slices stayed attached. It had probably been soaked in cold water to make the "petals" splay out, then battered and deep fried. Big enough to share between four, we pulled the petals off and dipped them into some sort of sauce.

Martin/

[johnfb]

Here is my one. I must admit they are very good. Pics included.


http://propereatingbetterliving.blogspo ... bhaji.html

[jenny_haddow]

Hi Onewheeler,

I think the onion you had was made with an American Gadget called The Great American Steakhouse Onion Machine. I have one, it' a bit like an apple slicer that you push down to produce perfectly even apple slices, but this has a stop which prevents you slicing all the way through. You need the strength of Hercules to put it through a large onion, but I have managed it with smaller onions which I have oiled, floured and roasted in a hot oven. Fab and fun.

Jen

[onewheeler]

Yes, that would be the thingy. Ebay knows of them. It could go into the "little used - USA" drawer along with the bagel guillotine and the obsolete 110 V 'phone charger.

It would be different if the waitress were thrown in......

Martin/

[mitchamus]

And you got this in an "Australian" restaurant?

ha ha!!

[jenny_haddow]

Here's the recipe I use for onion bhajias.

225g gram flour
Half tsp chilling powder
1 tsp turmeric
1tsp baking powder
Quarter tsp asafoetida
Half tsp each nigella, fennel, cumin and onion seeds, crushed.
2 large onions finely sliced. I sometimes use red onions, they look nice.
2 green chillies finely chopped
50g fresh coriander chopped
Salt to taste
Cold water
Mix it up and away you go.

Jen

[johnfb]

Here is my one. I must admit they are very good. Pics included.


http://propereatingbetterliving.blogspo ... bhaji.html

Just a note on these ones...they are the same as ones you buy from the takeaway because the recipe is from a takeaway, so maybe they are not for you, if you want to put your own slant on this food.

John

[welsh wizard]

Wow thanks to one and all - I had an experiment last night and I am now feeding all of Ludlow brewery with Onion B's. I went along the lines suggusted but added some smoked paprika. I am sure you are not supposed to but it seems to work.

Many thanks once again

Cheers WW

[Zulululu]

Like these here? http://forum.sausagemaking.org/viewtopi ... illi+bites

[mitchamus]

^^^^
MMMmmm they are good. I'll have to make them again.

[welsh wizard]

Those are the badgers Zulululu

Cheers WW