Onion Bhaji

Indian food isn't part of French colonial heritage the way Vietnamese isn't a British thing. Each country, apparently, takes away a rich heritage of cooking as part of the spoils of colonial rule. For our family, curry is an inherited taste. We enjoy a good curry (usually home made) and I'm not too fussy what I'm currying. Lamb is probably my favourite, chicken more often, beef occasionally, but my recent discovery is veal. It is at its most tender when cooked long and slow in spices and I admit I prefer it curried rather than as blanquette, for instance. Also I love to experiment with spices and I have a Tupperware spice box that has taken on all the smells of exotic places. 

Yesterday I cooked the veal all afternoon on top of the woodburner, in a sauce of red & yellow peppers, onions, garlic, ginger and tomatoes, spiced with a Madras curry mix. One of the few things I miss about living outside the UK is being able to pop into Waitrose (or whatever) for a wide and exotic range of ready made accompaniaments for my curry. Naan bread, puppadums and onion bhajis in particular. Naan is simple enough once you've got the knack, puppadums must be deep fried (don't even suggest microwaving them), and onion bhaji can be home-made without much difficulty. In fact, I suggest using the same oil as for puppadums and make & fry them whilst the rice cooks. Home made are so simple and delicious that it probably wouldn't be worth buying them even if they were available. 

I'm not going to claim I've been making them for years, I just suffered without for too long and finally found Gram flour (the essential ingredient) in my local supermarket's Bio section. The first time I tried them to a traditional recipe they were lovely, but lacked crunch. Then a friend, who was out of Gram flour said he had used a combo of other flours and that they were lovely and crisp. So I had a good thinki about what it is I want from my bhajis. Firstly I love the flavour of Gram flour. Chick pea flour is what it is and it gives that earthy, nutty flavour. I want some crunch, but also a soft interior. This doesn't mean undercooked or doughy, just that the crunch shouldn't be everything. As for onions, use the ones you enjoy. I use a yellow onion for every day cooking and these worked perfectly. 

I spiced the bhajis - a teaspoon of turmeric, a teaspoon of curry powder, salt to taste, cumin, a little chilli powder for heat. Someone told me that their local restaurant adds fennel seeds and I'm looking forward to trying that.

I recommend Colza oil for fryng. The key quality of this oil is it can be heated to a high temperature without burning, I us 3-4 cms at the bottom of a deep pan

 So, to business. 

Ingredients

6 tablespoons Gram (chickpea) flour

2 tablespoons Self-raising flour

a glass of water (this isnt a precise measure - it is how much you need to have to hand)

I medium onion, cut into four and sliced thinly

seasoning

1/2 tspn salt

1 tspn turmeric

1 tspn curry powder (or garam marsala) 

1/2 tspn cumin

a pinch of hot chilli powder, to taste

other spices as you wish 

Method

Stir all the dry ingredients (flours, spices, seasoning) together.

Add sufficient water to make a fairly stiff dough, but not too dry.

Add the onions and stir in.

Fry

In hot oil for 3-4 minutes, turning half way through. I shape mine into rough patties and flatten them slightly. Turn out into a dish or basket lined with a paper napkin and serve with chutneys and sauces of your choice.