Crispy Onion Bhaji (Easy Recipe) - My Morning Mocha (2024)

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How To Make Onion Bhajis Like A Takeaway – An Easy Recipe!

Thinly sliced onions coated in a spicy batter and fried until crispy and golden! You can make delicious onion bhajis with this simple bhaji recipe. It’s vegan, gluten-free, easy to make and ready in just 30 minutes.

An Indian takeaway is not complete without onion bhajis! They’re a popular Indian starter or a delicious side to any curry or Indian feast. I love them dipped into homemade chutney, ketchup or simply dunked into a sweet chilli sauce. As this onion bhaji recipe uses gram flour (made from chickpeas), they’re naturally gluten-free and perfect for many to enjoy.

Deliciously crispy and light, this onion bhaji recipe is full of so much spice and flavour. They are so easy to make and definitely worth the effort of cutting all those onions! You’re going to be so shocked when you find out how simple this recipe is.

What Are Onion Bhajis?

A bhaji is simply an Indian spicy fritter, onions are thinly sliced and coated in a batter made from gram flour, spices and water. The batter is then spooned into hot oil and left to fry until crispy and golden.

They’re also known as kanda bhaji, onion pakora and various other names depending on where you are in India. It’s a popular street food in India and popular here in the UK too. Now you don’t need to go to your local Indian for a tasty bhaji, you can make homemade ones yourself.

Watch How To Make It

Onion Bhaji Recipe Ingredients

Onion bhaji recipes slightly differ from recipe to recipe but the main ingredients generally stay the same. Below are the few ingredients used for this onion bhaji recipe:

• Onions: I used medium yellow onions but you can also use white or red onions.

• Gram Flour: Gram flour also called besan flour is used a lot in Indian cuisine. It’s made by grounding chickpeas and has a slight beany nutty flavour. Plus, it’s naturally gluten-free.

Don’t have gram flour, don’t panic!!! Traditionally, onion bhaji recipes are made with gram flour but you can use plain flour as an easy swap. It’s the next best alternative to use if you can’t find gram flour.

• Spices & Seasonings: The remaining onion bhaji ingredients are salt, turmeric, cumin, garlic granules and chilli powder. If you don’t have garlic granules you can use garlic powder.

• Baking Powder: The addition of baking powder helps to create an onion bhaji that is crispy, light, slightly crunchy and has a nice brown colour. It helps to create tiny air bubbles on the surface for the perfect bhaji texture.

How To Make Crispy Onion Bhaji

Below is a step-by-step guide on how to make homemade onion bhaji. Full instructions are on the recipe card at the bottom with a video too.

Step One:

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Cut the onions in half and slice the onions lengthways into thin strips, you’ll want to slice them as thinly as possible.

Step Two:

In a small mixing bowl add gram flour, salt, turmeric, cumin, garlic granules and chilli powder. Mix together until evenly distributed.

Step Three:

Add water into the flour mixture and mix together, the batter should be thick in texture.

Step Four:

Add the sliced onions to the batter and mix together until the onions are evenly coated.

Step Five:

Add oil to your pan, you’ll need enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan you are using. Heat the oil on a medium heat.

Spoon 3 to 4 tablespoons of onion bhaji batter into the oil at a time and fry for 2 minutes on each side. The onion bhaji should be crispy and browned.

Pro Tip: To test if the oil is hot enough for frying, add a small amount of batter into the oil. If it starts to fry and lots of bubbles appear then it’s ready.

Can I Bake The Onion Bhajis?

Yes, you can bake onion bhajis in the oven, you don’t have to fry them. Making baked onion bhajis is simple, preheat the oven to 180°C (gas mark 4, 350°F) and line a baking tray with parchment paper. Then spoon equal sized onion bhajis onto the parchment paper and bake in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until crispy, browned and cooked.

Can You Freeze Homemade Onion Bhajis?

To freeze your homemade onion bhajis, they’ll need to cool down first. Once cooled, you can place the bhajis onto a sheet of parchment paper and place in the freezer for the bhajis to firm up. Once firm, transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to a month.

Can Onion Bhajis Be Reheated?

To reheat the bhajis from frozen, place them in the fridge to defrost overnight before baking in the oven for 5 to 6 minutes at 200°C (gas 6, 400°F).

If you have any leftovers, they’ll last for up to 3 days stored in the fridge but they’re best eaten fresh! To reheat, simply place in the microwave until heated throughout but it will lose it’s crispiness.

My Top Tips For Making A Tasty Onion Bhaji

Try to cut the onions as evenly as you can to avoid a mixture of thin and bigger slices of onions. As the bhajis are cooked for 2 minutes on each side, bigger and chunkier pieces can end up being raw inside the bhaji.

If the oil temperature is too low, the bhajis will absorbs too much oil when frying and will become very soggy and oily. It’s best to fry the bhajis on a medium temperature. If the oil is too hot, then the bhajis will burn too quickly.

Don’t overcrowd your frying pan, if you put too many into the pan then the oil temperature will drop and you’ll be more likely to get soggy bhajis. I added 3 to 4 bhajis but you can add more or less depending on the size of pan you use.

Serve With:

• Chicken Bhuna Curry
• Chicken And Aubergine Chicken
• King Prawn Balti
• Tandoori Lamb Chops
• Chicken Rogan Josh

More Side Dishes

• Keema Rice
• Keema Naan
• Salt And Chilli Chicken
• Sweet And Sour Prawns
• Honey Chilli Chicken
• Crispy Salt And Pepper Chicken

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