Crispy Onion Bhajis (With Gram Flour)

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Takeaway-Style Onion Bhajis

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

I always say… an Indian takeaway is not complete without a side of onion bhajis! After trying many in my time, I’ve developed this tasty recipe for us to enjoy at home – any time we want!

I love them dipped into homemade chutney, ketchup or pretty much any curry. And the texture? The texture is deliciously crispy, light, and they’re full of so much spice and flavour.

I’ve made this recipe using gram flour (which is made from chickpeas), this makes the onion bhajis naturally gluten-free and therefore perfect for many to enjoy. This recipe is so easy to make, and the effort of slicing onions is definitely worth it!

Recipe Ingredients

Below are the few ingredients I used for this onion bhaji recipe:

• Onions: I used medium yellow onions, but you can 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.
• Spices & Seasonings: I season these bhajis with 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.

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.

How To Make Crispy Onion Bhaji

Here’s a summary of how I make these onion bhajis. You can get the full recipe instructions on the recipe card below:

Step One:

I cut the onions in half and slice the onions lengthways into thin strips, you’ll want to slice them as thinly as possible. The thinner you cut them, the crispier they’ll become.

Step Two:

In a small mixing bowl, I mix together gram flour, baking powder, salt, turmeric, cumin, garlic granules and chilli powder. Then I add water into the flour mixture and mix everything together, the batter should be thick in texture.

Step Three:

I add the sliced onions into the batter and mix everything together until the onions are thoroughly coated.

Step Four:

Now it’s time to cook the onion bhajis! I add oil to my pan, just enough oil to cover the bottom of it. The oil is heated on a medium heat.

I 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, I add a small amount of batter into the oil. If it starts to fry and lots of bubbles appear then it’s ready.

How To Store & Freeze

Leftovers will last for up to 3 days stored in the fridge, but I think they’re best eaten freshly made whilst they’re nice and crispy. You can reheat them in the microwave until it’s heated throughout (though they will lose its crispiness) but reheating in the oven will help maintain a crispy texture.

You can freeze them too, but they’ll need to cool down first. Once cooled, you can place the bhajis onto a sheet of parchment paper and place it in the freezer for the bhajis to firm up. Once firm, transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to a month.

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

My Top Tips

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.

If the oil temperature is too low, the bhajis will absorb 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 because if you put too many into the pan, the oil temperature will drop, and you’ll be more likely to get soggy bhajis. I added 3 to 4 bhajis at a time, but you can add more or less depending on the size of pan you use.

How To Serve

I like to serve this dish with an array of Indian curries, like my chicken bhuna curry, this chicken and aubergine curry and let’s not forget this chicken rogan josh.

You can also add a side of tandoori lamb chops or this king prawn balti; there’s so many options to choose from! Occasionally, I just like to eat them by themselves, it doesn’t always need an accompanying dish.

More Side Dishes

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

Crispy Onion Bhaji (Easy Recipe)

Michelle

Here's how to make a crispy and spicy onion bhaji with this simple and easy recipe. It's homemade, vegan and gluten-free!

5 from 3 votes

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine Indian

Servings 4 People

Calories 125 kcal

Ingredients

 

MetricUS Customary

 

1x2x3x

• 2 Large Onions
• 100 g Gram Flour (Chickpea Flour)
• ½ tsp Baking Powder
• ½ tsp Turmeric
• 1 tsp Cumin
• To Taste Salt
• 1 tsp Garlic Granules
• ½ tsp Chilli Powder
• 90 ml Water

Instructions

 

• Cut the onions in half and slice the onions lengthways into thin strips, you’ll want to slice them as thinly as possible.
  2 Large Onions
• In a small mixing bowl add gram flour, baking powder, salt, turmeric, cumin, garlic granules and chilli powder. Mix together until evenly distributed.
  100 g Gram Flour, ½ tsp Turmeric, 1 tsp Cumin, To Taste Salt, 1 tsp Garlic Granules, ½ tsp Chilli Powder, ½ tsp Baking Powder
• Add water into the flour mixture and mix together, the batter should be thick in texture.
  90 ml Water
• Add the sliced onions to the batter and mix together until the onions are evenly coated.
• 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.

Video

Notes

How To Bake Them

If you don’t want to fry the onion bhajis, you can bake them in the oven instead. To do this, I preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C Fan, gas mark 4) and line a baking tray with parchment paper. Then I spoon equal sized onion bhajis onto the parchment paper and bake it in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until crispy, browned and cooked.

Nutrition

Calories: 125kcalCarbohydrates: 21gProtein: 6gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 79mgPotassium: 321mgFiber: 4gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 93IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 61mgIron: 2mg

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