Restaurant style onion bhajis at home!
Are you ready to start making the best onion bhajis around? Look no further than this onion bhaji recipe. It gets outstanding results.
These are the onion bhajis that feature in m cookbook ‘The Curry Guy’ and so many people have tried and loved it. The thing I like most about this onion bhaji recipe is how crispy they get on the exterior while being super soft on and hot in the centre.
If you’re counting the calories, you might also like to try my air-fryer onion bhajis and baked onion bhaji recipe.
BE SURE TO check out the step by step photos below and your onion bhajis will be better than anything you can purchase. I promise!
So crispy and delicious. You’re going to love this one.
These are real onion bhajis, not a lot of stodge!
So often, you go out and order onions bhajis just to find they are like little balls of gram flour bread without much onion in them. More often than not, it is the ready made meals that have these stodgy onion bhajis in them.
You won’t find that with this recipe!
The onions are first salted to extract moisture out of the onions. Then, that liquid is used to make the batter. The batter really just holds them together. What you find inside is almost all onion!
So here you have my famous and authentic restaurant style onion bhaji recipe!
Make the recipe your own:
Feel free to play with the recipe some. If you like them spicier, add chilli powder or more fresh chillies. Want to try different spices…? Why not?
If it sounds good, it probably will be.
Just in case you aren’t familiar with panch phoran – it is Indian five spice. You can purchase it at most Asian shops or you could make it yourself if you have the ingredients on hand.
Just take equal measures of fennel seeds, fenugreek seeds, black mustard seeds, onion seeds and cumin seeds.
Give the mixture a good mix and you have panch phoran. Add as much or as little as you like. Play with the recipe and have fun!
If you like cooking by photos, I have step by step pics below.
The written recipe is at the bottom of this page.
Sprinkle the salt over the onions and leave for an hour. Then add the remaining ingredients.
Form the onion mixture into small onion bhajis.
Get you bhajis all ready before frying.
Cook in batches. This is important. Add to many and it will lower the oil temperature.
Transfer the onion bhajis to a paper towels after the first frying.
Raise the heat and fry the bhajis for a few more seconds.
These are so good!
Dig in!
You will find many spicy and delicious recipes on my blog. Here are some you’ve got to try!
- Curry house style base sauce – Make a curry just like those at the best curry houses using this sauce.
- Lamb Bhuna from Scratch – This one is from my book ‘The Curry Guy One Pot’
- One Pot Chicken Dhansak – from my book ‘The Curry Guy One Pot
- Asian Honey Glazed Baked Salmon
- Sri Lankan Black Chicken Curry
- Peruvian Chicken – Pollo a la Brasa
- Korean Braised Beef Stew
- Dal Makhani – An Indian restaurant favourite!
- Tonkotsu Broth – When only the best will do. This one takes some time but it is just like you find at the best ramen restaurants!
- Tonkotsu Ramen – Use that homemade tonkotsu broth in this ramen!
- The Best Butter Chicken – Try it and you’ll agree.
- Authentic Saag Recipe – This is so good
- Thai Beef Green Curry – Authentic recipe with homemade curry paste
- Air Fryer Chicken Biryani
- Cajun Mac and Cheese – The creamiest mac on the planet!
- One Pot Chicken Vindaloo
- Chicken 65 – One of my favourites. You might also like to try this air fryer chicken 65.
- One Pot Chicken Chilli Garlic Curry
- Homemade Sriracha Sauce – So much better than any sriracha you can purchase!
- Tandoori Chicken Tikka – Homemade is alway best and this recipe gets restaurant quality results.
Have you tried this recipe for onion bhajis?
If yes, please give it a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I love receiving your feedback and I’m sure other readers of my blog do too. Thank you.
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How To Make British Indian Restaurant (BIR) Style Onion Bhajis
Make the best onion bhajis with this crispy and delicious recipe. Step-by-step photos included for perfect results every time.
Ingredients
- 3 white onions slightly larger than tennis balls
- Oil for deep frying
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon garlic paste
- 3 green chillies - pounded to a paste
- 1 tablespoon panch poran*
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- 4 tbsp rice flour
- 140g (approx) sifted gram flour
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped coriander leaves
Instructions
- Cut the onions in half and then finely slice them. Mix the salt into them and set aside for an hour or so.
- After an hour the onions will be limp and moist. Add the remaining ingredients to the onions, being careful not to add to much gram flour. You should easily be able to pick up a ball of the onion mixture.
- Divide the mixture in to small bhajis.
- Heat some oil for deep frying to 160c (320f).
- When this heat is reached, cook the bhajis in batches until they turn light brown. Transfer to a plate while you cook the remaining bhajis. At this stage, you are not cooking the bhajis through. You just want to get them started.
- Turn the heat up until your oil reaches 180c ((356f)
- Add the bhajis in batches and cook for a further couple of minutes until they are crispy and deep brown in colour.
- Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain excess oil and serve hot.
- If not serving immediately, place in a warm (not hot) oven.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 105Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 347mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 2gSugar: 3gProtein: 3g
Mike
Saturday 2nd of March 2024
Thanks for this Dan!
Tried several other recipes for these which were never quite right. Always too runny or too much batter.
The salting of the onions and using the extracted water foe the batter is crucial to this recipe and what makes it work so well. Just adjust the seasoning to suit your spice preference.
I like mine spicy but the rest of the family not so much! 🤣
Great with some homemade pickle and raita!
Dan Toombs
Saturday 9th of March 2024
Really good to hear, thanks very much. Dan
Stretch
Thursday 7th of December 2023
I make these on a regular basis.. the whole family love them.. I also make keema rolls with filo pastry with your lamb keema recipe. Stunning, cheers.
Dan Toombs
Monday 11th of December 2023
Thanks very much for letting me know, I’m glad you all enjoy the recipe. Dan
Gail
Tuesday 10th of October 2023
Hello 👋 is it possible to freeze this recipe at all 🤞thanks Gail
Dan Toombs
Tuesday 17th of October 2023
Yes, freeze them and let them defrost before heating them in the oven or re-frying. Thanks Dan
Dan Blake
Tuesday 3rd of October 2023
Have made these a few times and is my all time favourite bhaji recipe. I do add a good pinch of my very hot Goan chilli powder :)
Dan Toombs
Wednesday 4th of October 2023
Excellent! Sounds good with the extra hot chilli powder. Thanks Dan
Maya Russell
Sunday 1st of October 2023
They look delicious and authentic!
Dan Toombs
Wednesday 4th of October 2023
Thank you, it is a very popular recipe. Dan