On a rainy monsoon evening everyone feels like eating something crisp and spicy. Onion pakodas will be in the top 5 things to make on such an evening. It is easy to rustle up this snack and I love eating a couple of them once in a while. Add subtle spices like ajwain (om) or jeera, it will aid in digestion. Ensure not to fry them on very high heat, fry them on medium heat to cook them all the way till the middle. Enjoy these crisp, karara, onion pakoda/ kanda bhaji(Marathi)/ onion fritters/ eerulli bajji(Kannada) with your cuppa. These snacks are famous world over and they even sell these cold in supermarkets. But homemade fresh hot pakodas are the best!
Onion Pakoda | Eerulli Bajji | Kanda Bhaji | Onion Pakora | Onion Fritters
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Crisp pakodas to enjoy on a rainy evening
Author: Vindhya Desai
Recipe type: Starter/Appetizer
Cuisine: Indian
Serves: 12-14 small lemon sized pakodas
Ingredients
For dry mixture:
- ½ Cup besan/gram flour/kadale hittu
- 2 Tbsp rice flour/chawal ka atta/akki hittu
- 1 Tbsp fine semolina/fine rava/chiroti rave
- Salt to taste
- ½ Tsp sugar
- ¼ Tsp turmeric/haldi
- ½ Tsp red chilli powder/lal mirch powder
- ⅛ Tsp asafoetida/hing/ingu
- ¼ Tsp ajwain/carom seeds/om kaalu
- A pinch of baking soda (optional)
- Few curry leaves/karibevu
For pakodas:
- 2 Big onions
- Water to bind
- Oil to deep fry
Method
- Slice onions lengthwise or horizontally. I slice them horizontally, they slice thinner and slices are longer. Separate out the slices and keep aside
- In a bowl, start mixing dry ingredients. Add besan. Add rava and rice flour
- Add salt, sugar
- Add red chilli powder, turmeric and hing. Mix well
- Add ajwain and mix well
- Add a pinch of baking soda. Mix well till combined
- Add a few curry leaves. Mix and keep aside
- In a bigger bowl add onion slices
- To this, add the dry mixture. Mix well till besan mixture coats all onion slices
- Add a couple of tbsp of water. Mix well. Add a little more water if it is dry. I added around ¼ cup of water to bind it all together
- Heat oil on low-medium flame. Make small lemon sized balls with the onion mixture. Slowly drop into heated oil. Repeat for a few more pakodas
- Fry on medium flame till golden
- Remove from oil and put pakodas on kitchen paper towels to drain off excess oil
- Squeeze a little lemon juice on top. Serve with ketchup and a hot cup of coffee
Notes
When making pakodas do NOT press them tightly. Let them be rustic with a few onion slices poking out, this will make them crisp and not hard and chewy
Add water slowly while mixing, you do not want to end up with a batter but just enough to bind them all together to shape them
Add chopped green chillies if you want
Adding a bit of sugar gives a nice colour to the pakodas and balances all flavours
Adding a tbsp of fine rava makes the pakodas crisp
Add water slowly while mixing, you do not want to end up with a batter but just enough to bind them all together to shape them
Add chopped green chillies if you want
Adding a bit of sugar gives a nice colour to the pakodas and balances all flavours
Adding a tbsp of fine rava makes the pakodas crisp
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Stepwise:
Slice onions lengthwise or horizontally. I slice them horizontally, they slice thinner and slices are longer. Separate out the slices and keep aside
In a bowl, start mixing dry ingredients. Add besan. Add rava and rice flour
Add salt, sugar
Add red chilli powder, turmeric and hing. Mix well
Add ajwain and mix well
Add a pinch of baking soda. Mix well till combined
Add a few curry leaves. Mix and keep aside
In a bigger bowl add onion slices
To this, add the dry mixture. Mix well till besan mixture coats all onion slices
Add a couple of tbsp of water. Mix well. Add a little more water if it is dry. I added around 1/4 cup of water to bind it all together
Heat oil on low-medium flame. Make small lemon sized balls with the onion mixture. Slowly drop into heated oil. Repeat for a few more pakodas
Fry on medium flame till golden
Remove from oil and put pakodas on kitchen paper towels to drain off excess oil
Squeeze a little lemon juice on top. Serve with ketchup and a hot cup of coffee/tea