Bhajia (onion bhajis)

Ingredients

• 4 large onions, red or white. Make sure they are strong
• 200 g of chickpea flour
• 2 tbsp of rice flour
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 green chillies, small, seeded and finely crushed. Use less or more, according to taste.
• 4 tsp coriander seeds, crushed finely in a pestle and mortar
• 2 tsp cumin seeds, crushed finely in a pestle and mortar
• 1 lemon, juice only
• 4 tbsp of fresh coriander, chopped. Heaped tbsp
• 250 ml of warm water
• vegetable oil, for frying
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black sea salt
• 1 tsp dried mango powder, also called amchur
• 1/2 tsp caster sugar

Instructions

1. 1

   To make the chaat topping, mix together all its ingredients

2. 2

   Slice the onions to the thickness you prefer and set aside

3. 3

   To make the batter, mix all the dry ingredients together, pour over the lemon juice and add the water slowly till you get a paste like consistency. If it is too runny it won’t ‘stick’ to the onions

4. 4

   Heat the oil in a large wide pan or wok over a high heat. You can test when it’s ready by adding in a little of the batter. It should fizzle and float to the top. When it’s ready turn it down to a medium heat

5. 5

   Pop the onions into the batter and make sure they are evenly coated

6. 6

   Drop a few tablespoonfuls into the hot oil and cook until browned. You might need to flip them over to make sure they cook evenly

7. 7

   Drain them on kitchen paper and then sprinkle over the ‘chaat’ topping