Onion Bhaji

These are traditionally deep fried, but they work just as well when shallow fried.
 

Ingredients:

• 120g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp garam massala
• 1 tsp tumeric
• pinch of salt
• 3 medium onions, quartered and thinly sliced
• 100ml water
• enough sunflower oil to cover the bottom of a frying pan

 

Method:

1. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl.
2. Mix in the onions and make sure they're evenly distributed with the flour.
3. Mix in most of the water and stir well. You should get a thick batter around the onions which can hold it's shape. If it's too dry then add a bit more water, if it's too wet then add a bit more flour. Different batches of flour absorb slightly different amounts of water so it's not an exact science. Luckily it doesn't need to be exact, it just needs to be a sticky enough batter to hold it's shape.
4. Heat the oil in the frying pan over a medium heat.
5. Use your hands to shape the onion and batter mix into 4 balls and then press them flat, giving a thick burger shape.
6. Cook the bhaji's in the frying pan for about 10 minutes on each side. Turning over once one side is cooked. It's also a good idea to push down hard on the top of the bhaji once you've turned it over. This ensures that they bhaji will hold together well (and also makes a lovely sizzling sound).
7. Serve with a curry as a meal or some raita as a starter/snack.

 
Makes 4.