Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 300 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 salt
- 2 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
Procédé
- Thinly slice the onions and put them in a mixing bowl.300 g onions
- Add the green chilies, ginger, curry leaves, mint, and salt.0.75 teaspoon salt, 2 green chilies, 0.5 teaspoon ginger, 1 sprig curry leaves, 10 leaves mint
- 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.150 g chickpea flour, 1.5 tablespoons rice flour, 0.5 teaspoon ajowan seeds, 35 g 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.1 tablespoon oil
- Heat oil for deep-frying in a sauté pan or wok.oil for frying
- 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°C.
- 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.
Notes
Kanda 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.
The 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°C.
On 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.
Other 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.
Serve piping hot, with mint or tamarind chutney and chai.
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