{"id":191454,"title":"Homemade Onion Pakoras (Kanda Bhaji)","modified":"2026-10-12T08:39:22+02:00","plain":"Onion pakoras from Maharashtra, bound with very little chickpea flour and fried until nice and crispy.\n\n\n\nIt\u2019s been raining since morning, and by around five o\u2019clock the craving for something hot and crispy becomes pressing. In India, the answer lies in a pan of oil: strands of onion barely coated in chickpea flour that come out golden, spiky, almost lacy. \n\n\n\nThere\u2019s the scent of ajowan, curry leaf and green chili. You grab them while they\u2019re still scorching hot, dip them in mint chutney, and the chai goes cold while you help yourself to another.\n\n\n\nTo tame the green chili, a nicely chilled lassi\n\n\n\nWhat Is an Onion Pakora?\n\n\n\nAn onion pakora is an Indian fritter: thinly sliced onions mixed with green chilies, ginger and herbs, bound with chickpea flour (besan) and a little rice flour, then deep-fried. In Maharashtra, it\u2019s called kanda bhaji. \n\n\n\nWhat sets it apart from other pakoras is the ratio: lots of onion, very little flour, and the water released by the salted onions to bind it all together. Like samosas, it\u2019s a street food staple of Indian cuisine.\n\n\n\nKanda means \u201conion\u201d in Marathi, and bhaji comes from the Sanskrit bharjita, \u201cfried.\u201d Pakora goes back to the Sanskrit pakvavata, a small cooked morsel. In Hindi, it\u2019s also called pyaaz pakoda.\n\n\n\nFrom Medieval Texts to Monsoon Street Stalls\n\n\n\nVegetable fritters made with chickpea flour already appear in medieval Indian texts, the Lokopakara (1025) and the Manasollasa (1130). Frying put them in the category of pakki rasoi, \u201cwell-cooked\u201d food, less moist and easier to carry than boiled dishes.\n\n\n\nIn Maharashtra, kanda bhaji is a street snack. In Mumbai and Pune alike, it goes hand in hand with the monsoon rains: steaming stalls, sizzling oil and piping-hot chai. A well-known variation, khekda bhaji, takes its name from the Marathi word for \u201ccrab\u201d: in the oil, the long strips of onion splay out like legs.\n\n\n\nTo make it a meal, follow up with a chana masala\n\n\n\nThe same besan batter coats other vegetables: thinly sliced potato (aloo pakora), whole spinach leaves (palak pakora) or small cauliflower florets (gobi pakora). The potato and cauliflower pairing shows up again in aloo gobi, and spinach in palak paneer.\n\n\n\nThe Main Ingredients in Onion Pakoras\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe onion does almost all the work. Thinly sliced and squeezed between your fingers with the salt, it releases its water within a few minutes, and that liquid binds the flour. Green chilies, grated ginger, curry leaves (or fresh cilantro) and a few mint leaves give it its aroma.\n\n\n\nChickpea flour, or besan, is sold in Indian and Asian grocery stores. It has a nutty flavor and browns quickly. A little rice flour makes the crust firmer; fine semolina or cornstarch can easily stand in for it.\n\n\n\nAjowan (ajwain), a small seed with a flavor close to thyme, is the quintessential pakora spice. Soaked cashews are optional and add crunchy bits. On the side, serve a mint or tamarind chutney, or a nicely chilled raita.\n\n\n\nTechnique Tips for Really Crispy Pakoras\n\n\n\nThe crispness comes from a deliberately low proportion of flour: about 150 g of besan to 300 g of onions. The mixture should stay a moist, compact mass, never a runny batter. \n\n\n\nWater goes in two tablespoons at a time, and too much water gives you soft fritters that soak up oil. A spoonful of very hot oil poured into the mixture makes them even crispier.\n\n\n\nWith a red lentil dal and rice, dinner is served\n\n\n\nFor frying, keep the oil between 170 and 180 \u00b0C: a small piece of batter should float straight back up to the surface. Too hot, and the oil burns the outside before the inside cooks. Too cold, and you get greasy fritters. Kanda bhaji is fried only once and eaten right away; if you make it ahead, a double fry just before serving brings back the crunch.\n\n\n\n\n\n\tHomemade Onion Pakoras (Kanda Bhaji)\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t300 g onions ((about 2 large), thinly sliced)150 g chickpea flour ((besan))1.5 tablespoons rice flour (or fine semolina, or cornstarch)0.75 teaspoon salt2 green chilies (chopped)0.5 teaspoon ginger (grated (optional))0.5 teaspoon ajowan seeds ((ajwain))1 sprig curry leaves (chopped, or 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro)10 leaves mint (chopped (optional))35 g cashews (soaked for 15 minutes, then drained (optional))1 tablespoon oil (very hot, for the batter)oil for frying\t\n\t\n\t\tThinly slice the onions and put them in a mixing bowl.Add the green chilies, ginger, curry leaves, mint, and salt.Squeeze the onions between your fingers several times, without crushing them.Let rest for 5 minutes while the onions release their liquid.Sprinkle in the chickpea flour, rice flour, ajowan, and cashews.Mix to coat the onions well; the mixture will still be fairly dry.Add water, 2 tablespoons at a time, mixing as you go, until the mixture forms a moist, compact mass.The batter should be firm and very moist, but not runny like a fritter batter.Heat the oil set aside for the batter until very hot, then pour it over the mixture and stir with a spoon.Heat oil for deep-frying in a saut\u00e9 pan or wok.Check the temperature by dropping in a small piece of batter: it should rise straight to the surface without sinking.Set the heat to medium-high, between 170 and 180\u00b0C.Pinch off small portions of batter with your fingertips and slide them into the oil.Don't overcrowd the pan.Stir and turn them occasionally so they cook evenly.Fry until the fritters are crispy and golden brown.Drain on paper towels.Continue in small batches.Serve piping hot.\t\n\t\n\t\tKanda bhaji owes its crunch to a deliberately low proportion of flour: a little besan for a lot of onion. That's what sets it apart from other pakoras, which are more heavily coated in batter. Don't try to make a runny batter. The liquid released by the onions plus just a tiny bit of added water is enough to bind the mixture. Too much water gives you soft fritters that soak up oil.\nThe spoonful of very hot oil worked into the batter is the little trick that makes them even crispier. The frying temperature matters just as much: too hot, and the outside burns before the inside cooks; too cool, and the fritters turn greasy and soft. Keep the heat at medium-high, between 170 and 180\u00b0C.\nOn double frying: traditional kanda bhaji is fried just once and served right away, when it's at its crispiest. If you need to make them ahead, fry them a first time until barely golden and cooked through, drain, then fry them a second time over medium-high heat just before serving, until golden brown. They get all their crunch back.\nOther vegetables work as variations, each with its own cut and cooking time. Potato (aloo pakora): cut into thin slices 2 to 3 mm thick or into sticks, dipped in a slightly thinner besan batter, and fried for 3 to 4 minutes for slices, a little longer for sticks. Spinach (palak pakora): whole leaves dipped one at a time in a thin batter and fried for 2 to 3 minutes. Cauliflower (gobi pakora): cut into small florets, left raw if small or blanched for 2 to 3 minutes if large, coated in batter, and fried for 4 to 5 minutes until tender at the center.\nServe piping hot, with mint or tamarind chutney and chai.\n\t\n\t\n\t\tSnackIndienne","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=191454"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191454\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/191373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}