Onion Pakora Recipe (Khekada Bhaji Recipe)
Onion pakora is a wonderful recipe that is perfect to make at tea time, especially during the rainy season. Because of their shape, these pakoras are often referred to as 'khekada bhaji' in Marathi, meaning 'crab-like pakoras'. These can be enjoyed with ketchup or with the sweet tamarind chutney.
Ingredients
- Onion - 1 small
- Gram flour (besan) - 3 tbsp
- Salt - To taste
- Red chili powder - 1 tsp
- Carom seeds (ajwain) - 1/2 tsp
- Oil - 1 tbsp and more for deep frying
- Chat masala (optional) - Little for garnishing
Instructions
- Add salt, red chili powder, and carom seeds to the gram flour.
- Heat 1 tbsp oil and add it to the gram flour.
- Add water slowly to the flour to make a thick paste, making sure that there are no lumps. Then add little more water (about 1 tbsp) and mix well to form a smooth thick batter.
- Cut the onion vertically into long thin slices and keep aside.
- Heat oil in a pan for deep frying.
- To test the oil temperature, add a small drop of the batter to the hot oil. If it sizzles and quickly rises to the surface, the temperature is correct. If it sinks and rises slowly, heat it more. If it rises too quickly and turns red in just a few seconds, reduce the heat and allow it to cool a bit.
- Add the onion slices to the gram flour batter. (Adding the onion slices just before frying, makes these pakoras crunchy and less oily.)
- Mix everything together so that the slices get evenly coated with the batter.
- With a small spoon add the batter along with a few onion slices at a time, to the oil.
- Repeat for the rest of the batter, and fry in batches on medium-high heat till golden brown in color.
- Remove on a paper towel.
- Sprinkle some chat masala and serve hot with ketchup or sweet chutney.
