Air fryer onion bhajis are remarkably similar to the fried version with a lot less mess.
For the past year I have been working on air fryer recipes for my new cookbook 'The Curry Guy Air Fryer'. Air fryers work amazingly well for all sorts of things like these air fryer onion bhajis, curries and tandoori recipes.
I have been amazed at the dishes I have served from my air fryer.
About this recipe.
The recipe is simple. It's actually the same recipe as the fried onion bhajis featured in my book 'The Curry Guy Bible' but with a few other ingredients thrown in just to make it a little different.
I also added Kashmiri chilli powder but that is optional. If you like your food spicy though, it is a nice touch.
You'll find the complete written recipe at the bottom of this page.
Is there a trick to making the perfect air fryer onion bhajis?
I have tried so many onion bhaji recipes over the year but always return to the recipes from my books.
It is important to finely slice the onions and then sprinkle a bit of salt over them. Not everyone does this.
By sprinkling salt over your sliced onions, in helps release the water from them. This becomes the water you need to make the batter.
No additional water is used. Add water and your air fryer onion bhajis will be a bit stodgy.
How did you come up with this recipe for air fried onion bhajis?
Trial and error.
I found that air frying them for 15 minutes at 380f/176c was perfect.
You will find that these onion bhajis are not only lighter but also just as crispy and delicious as deep fried onion bhajis.
Are air fried onion bhajis as good as deep fried onion bhajis?
I wasn't expecting to say yes when I started but yes!
In fact my family prefer them.
Air fried onion bhajis are deliciously crispy and cooked through to perfection.
I know I already mentioned that it is a lot less messy to air fry than deep fry but I'll say it again now.
It's so much nicer to take the onion bhajis out to serve and not have that deep frying mess to clean up.
Just in case you like to cook from photographs, I included a few photos below.
Looking for a good curry house style curry to go with your air fryer onion bhajis? Try a few of these!
Tikka masala sauce
Korma sauce
Pasanda sauce
Chasni sauce
Chilli garlic sauce
Pathia sauce
Jalfrezi sauce
Keema sauce
Bhuna sauce
Methi sauce
Madras sauce
Vindaloo sauce
Phaal sauce
Air Fryer Onion Bhajis
Ingredients
- 2 white onions slightly larger than tennis balls
- 1 red onion slightly larger than a tennis ball
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon garlic paste
- 1 x 2.5cm (1 inch) ginger - julienned
- 3 green chillies - pounded to a paste
- 1 tablespoon panch poran*
- 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder (optional)
- 2 tbsp rapeseed (canola) oil
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 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 up to four hours.
- After an hour the onions will be limp and moist. Squeeze the onions to release the water into the bowl. 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 your air fryer to 176c/380f. Spray the basket with oil spray generously.
- Place the bhajis in the basket. You will need to cook these in batches.
- After 15 minutes, your first batch will be cooked to perfection.
- Serve hot or at room temperature.
* equal measures of cumin seeds, onion seeds, fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds and black mustard seeds or use shop bought
Mrs. Marie Calzolari says
Your recipe for the airfryer is very interesting snf \i intend to use mine this afternoon for these baghis although I do not have all of the ingredients and to be quite honest I should have heard of thenm at 80 years old!!!
Howevr I am sure that I cn put logic into this recipe and will try my best. Thankyou
Dan Toombs says
Great - good luck.
Thanks
Dan
Sue says
I’m going to try these this evening. Do I keep the rotator blade in or take it out for air frying?
Thank you
Dan Toombs says
I don't know what sort of air fryer you have so could not advise about that. Mine doesn't have rotator blades.
Thanks
Dan
James Goacher says
@Sue, Having once owned a Tefal Air Fryer, with a paddle (expired sadly) I can say that you would not want the paddle to be in. Ideal for Chips but not for these I think.
Wayne says
Hi, you've got an * after panch poran but I can't see anywhere that explains why?
Dan Toombs says
Thanks for noticing, I have just added an explanation to the recipe.
* equal measures of cumin seeds, onion seeds, fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds and black mustard seeds or use shop bought
Dan
Keith says
Hi Dan, is the Panch Poran crushed, or just left as whole seeds? Thanks, Keith
Dan Toombs says
Use whole seeds.
Thanks
Dan
Nizzyman says
Well done Dan. I've been with you since the daily mail printed your success. And I have your books. Definately a nice curry. And your curry. Sauce. Fantastic. Keep up the good work. It is appreciated.
Dan Toombs says
Thank you very much for your support, that Daily Mail article seems like a lifetime away!
Dan
Louise says
I have no rice flour, leave it out? Thanks
Dan Toombs says
I have never tried but I know others have successfully used coconut flour or corn flour - same measurements as rice flour.
Thanks
Dan
Paul Kostnadin says
I really liked how you salted the onions to pull out moisture and then used that as a base for the batter. It really steps up the onion flavor, I can't wait to make these again!
Dan Toombs says
Yes - that really helps, I am glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Thanks
Dan
andrew wells says
How did you cook perfectly cooked Basmati rice in the air fryer? This recipe looks great, I will try it very soon!
Dan Toombs says
Thank you but I have never tried to cook rice on an air fryer.
Dan
Sianzilla says
Tried this and it turned out a bit stodgy (and I only had bog standard yellow onions). I think I will add a few TSP of water next time and see if it comes out better, but in principle a great recipe - thanks!
Dan Toombs says
Hi
Good luck next time then, everyone seems to love the recipe so I am sure you will manage to perfect it.
Dan
Michelle says
Hi,
U mentioned using the onion liquid for batter, but then in the recipe u said to squeeze out liquids, and didn't mention them again.
Slightly confused🙄
Thanx
Dan Toombs says
You're just releasing the liquid from the onions into the batter. Just mix the released liquid in with the other ingredients.
Thanks
Dan
Carl DENVER says
I started squeezing out the onion water in the sink and then realised it was needed for the batter as the ingredients didn't include adding any water. Fortunately had enough onion juice to keep the balls firm and am now waiting 15 minutes for the result. I only used standard size onions for this first attempt as I didn't have any large ones in my veg box. Thanks.
Dan Toombs says
Thank you for your comment, I will change the recipe to make it more apparent the onion water should be retained.
Dan
Jessica says
Wow what can I say? I made these Bhajis yesterday and can honestly say they taste better than the restaurant/take away ones.
My husband even said he was super impressed with them. I worked it out and made 8 onion Bhajis and they were 165 cals each which is so good and not using oil in a deep fryer using the air fryer even tasted better
Dan Toombs says
Great to hear, thank you for letting me know.
Dan
Sue says
Hi Dan these look good but can you suggest an alternative to Garam flour - we have a family member with an allergy to legumes, so can’t use anything chick pea based 🙁
Dan Toombs says
You could use plain flour but you would get a very different flavour. Give it a go and let me know.
Dan
DaveD says
I didn't have any rice flour so substituted for coconut flour... OMG it actually worked. Was slightly messy creating bhaji balls might try cake cups next time and also include chilli powder.
Dan Toombs says
I'm glad the substitution worked.
Thanks
Dan
Dave D says
@Dan Toombs, made more today, onions 30 sec in microwave seemed to do the same as waiting 2hrs. Used cupcake cases, turned over and remove cases after 8 min, much less mess.
Dan Toombs says
Great ideas, glad it worked.
Thanks
Dan
Kerry says
hi, great recipe. Except temp given is incorrect - it states 380f/176c, realised this when after 15mins my onion bharjis still were not cooked. Ended up adding a further 10 mins at correct temp of 190c. Were a bit dry but tasted great.
Correct temp should read 380f/190c
Dan Toombs says
Great you got it to work in the end. All air fryers are different so great you were able to adjust.
Thanks very much
Dan
Calum says
Hi there, I tried searching for other instant pot recipes but only this one came up. Did you post recipes with instant pot instructions or is my searching rubbish! Thanks. PS loving the site and books - have had great fun BBQing curries on a Big Pig and Kamado following your BBQ book.
Dan Toombs says
Thanks for your message. I don't have any more instant pot recipes at the moment but plan on working on that next year.
Dan
Katy says
These were great, thank you!
Dan Toombs says
Glad you enjoyed them.
Thanks very much.
Dan
Stuart says
Hi Dan, going to give this recipe a go at the weekend. I have lots going on so was wondering if I could make the bhajis then keep in the fridge for a day? Or are they likely to dry out? Many thanks, love all your recipes
Dan Toombs says
Yes I see no reason why you couldn’t keep the bhajis in the fridge for a day or two.
Thanks
Dan
Mark says
@Dan Toombs,
Mark says
@Dan Toombs, Hi Dan, can you clarify whether you can pre-prepare the mixture, refrigerate and cook, or do you need to precook and reheat. Thank you
Dan Toombs says
You can definitely prepare the mixture, refrigerate then cook. That would be the best thing to do if you don’t want to eat them straight after making them.
Thank you
Dan
Mark Smith says
Hi mate , slightly confused about the specified 140gm of gram flour, then you say not to use too much?
Dan Toombs says
Hi Mark
That is correct - just don’t add any more than that. The recipe should work really well as I have always had fantastic feedback from it.
Thanks very much.
Dan
Michelle conaghan says
Just made me onion bahjis … DELICIOUS !!! AND so easy to make !!! Thanks Dan .. again … I regularly make your curries !!! 👏👏👏👏
Dan Toombs says
Thank you so much for letting me know. Really glad you are enjoying my recipes.
Dan
Johnno Johnson says
I have been meaning to make these for ages, but had a minor issue in that we didn’t have an air fryer! That has now been resolved and we have caught up with the rest of the world! Substituted the rice flour with corn flour as suggested by Dan, and they were gorgeous! Absolutely brilliant recipe (obviously) and so much helpful advice along the way. As there are only 2 of us we had enough for the meal that night and plenty to freeze. Thank you for this recipe and all the other fantastic ones we have tried and loved.
Dan Toombs says
it’s certainly been a popular recipe and I’m really glad you enjoyed it too.
Thanks very much.
Dan
Kate Armstrong says
I normally deep fry mine.Just made these onion bhajis in my air fryer. Absolutely delicious and so much better for you. Thank you
Dan Toombs says
That’s really good to hear, thanks very much.
Dan
Andy says
On these now as I type this!
And I’ve added too much flour so they’re a bit ‘cakey’!
Need to try again haha
Dan Toombs says
Good luck next time then, You'll get there!
Thanks
Dan
Deb Pettit says
Hi Dan, just come back to this recipe again as I am making some to take to a drinks party later. They are one of those things that people don’t try, for whatever reason ….but then when they see others eating them can’t stop and they then tell all the others and whoosh they’re gone!😂😂 I’ve shared your recipe so many times. I now have a couple of your books and am really happy with them. Thank you
Dan Toombs says
Thanks so much and I’m really glad you’re inspiring people to try the onion Bhajis.
Dan
andrew jones says
Banging fair play mr toombs
Dan Toombs says
Thank you!
Dan
Lesley says
Can I use regular flour instead of rice flour?
Dan Toombs says
You can’t use regular flour but maybe try cornflour. Rice flour and cornflour to an extent give them a nice crispness.
Thanks
Dan
Serena says
Love this recipe, Dan! Can you freeze them please?
Dan Toombs says
Yes, they freeze well. Fry them once then freeze. Once defrosted give them another quick fry to serve.
Thank you
Dan
Claire says
I’m making these next weekend, how many does it make please? Just want to make sure I don’t make them too big or small for the cooking time given, thank you!
Dan Toombs says
This should make around 8 average sized bhajis but make them as big or small as you like.
Thanks
Dan
Rosie says
Am I using the squeezed juice from the onions that's in the bowl or chucking the it so more of a dry mix with the and onions
Dan Toombs says
You use all the liquid from the onions that makes the batter.
Thanks
Dan
becktato says
Apologies if someone's asked already, but what is that amazing looking bright red sauce in your pictures? 🤤
Dan Toombs says
It’s this pakora sauce with a little extra red food colouring added.
Thanks
Dan
https://greatcurryrecipes.net/2024/03/25/pakora-sauce/#growSource=search&growReferrer=true
Diane says
Hi Dan, thank you so much for this great recipe! I’m just curious as to what the red sauce is in the picture please, and do you have a recipe for that please? Thank you in advance, you have a new fan!
Dan Toombs says
It’s this pakora sauce with a little extra red food colouring added.
Thanks very much for your support.
Dan
https://greatcurryrecipes.net/2024/03/25/pakora-sauce/#growSource=search&growReferrer=true