Three onions, two green chillies and a single egg are the whole of this Hairy Bikers onion bhaji recipe, bound in 125g of gram flour. Because Great Curries makes 12 to 14 from that, at roughly 135 calories each and 35 minutes start to finish.
“Home-made versions can be a bit flabby and oily, but not these”, the headnote promises, and the egg is the reason. So where most bhaji batters are flour and water, theirs is whisked with a beaten egg, which fries up crisper and browner.
The oil sits at 170C on a thermometer, and the book says one under a tenner will do. Because too cool and the onions drink the oil, while too hot browns the outside before the middle has cooked.
Hairy Bikers Onion Bhaji Recipe
Description
Finely sliced onions and chopped chillies are tossed through gram flour until every strand is dusted. Then an egg whisked with garam masala, chilli powder, salt and water goes over them as a loose coating, not a thick batter. And spoonfuls are dropped into 170C oil for three minutes or so until golden and crisp, then drained and served with lemon.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Slice the onions: peel 3 medium onions, halve them from root to stem and slice fairly finely. Then tip them into a large bowl with 125g gram flour.
- Add the chillies: halve 2 long green chillies, scrape out the seeds and chop finely. Then toss them through the onions and flour.
- Make the batter: break 1 egg into a bowl, then whisk in 1 heaped tsp garam masala and ½ tsp hot chilli powder. Then whisk in 1 tsp salt and 5 tbsp cold water.
- Coat the onions: stir the egg mixture through the onions until every slice is lightly coated. Then add a splash more water only if flour is still sitting powdery in the bowl.
- Heat the oil: pour sunflower oil into a large saucepan to halfway up the sides and heat it to 170C on a thermometer. Then keep it there, because the book is firm that it must not overheat and must never be left alone.
- Shape and fry: scoop a serving spoon of battered onions and scrape it into the oil with a second spoon. Then add 2 or 3 more the same way and fry for 3 to 3½ minutes, turning halfway, until golden and crisp.
- Drain and repeat: lift them out with a slotted spoon onto kitchen paper. Then let the oil climb back to 170C before the next batch, and work through the rest.
- Serve: eat them warm with lemon or lime wedges for squeezing, and chutneys if you have them.
FAQs
Why do homemade bhajis turn out flabby and oily?
Two things, and the book fixes both. Because a flour and water batter soaks up oil, theirs adds an egg, which sets fast in the heat and seals the outside. And because oil cools every time a batch goes in, the thermometer tells you when it is back at 170C.
And their courgette fritters use the same gram flour and egg batter, but squeeze the water out of the courgette first for the same reason.
Is this the BBC Food onion bhaji recipe?
No, and it is worth knowing why, since the two get muddled. Because the BBC version is by another cook and leans on garlic and ginger, while this one has neither, just garam masala and chilli. So if a page calls itself their recipe but lists cumin, turmeric or baking powder and no egg, it is not from their book.
Can I bake or air fry them instead?
The book gives two ways to cook them and an oven is not one of them. Because the batter is built for oil, you deep fry at 170C or shallow fry in a couple of centimetres if that makes you nervous. So the shallow route is their own lighter option, and it still gives you the crisp edge that an oven cannot.
What other bhajis do they make?
Two, and neither is an onion bhaji in the usual sense, while their spring onion pakoras are the same idea without the egg. Because Great Curries also has goll bhaji, rolled balls of cashew, fennel and rice flour that they compare to a spicy falafel. And Veggie Feasts has pickled onion bhajis, “Lancashire meets Lahore”, which is the one on their own website and has no egg at all.
How long do they keep, and what do I serve them with?
They are best within ten minutes of the oil, and no reheating brings that back, unlike their samosas from the same book. But two days covered in the fridge is fine, so crisp them in a hot oven for five minutes, never a microwave. And they belong beside their keema curry or chicken balti, from the same book, or before their Thai fish cakes.
