Onion Pakodas (or deep fried Onion fritters) and Monsoon evenings are a match made in heaven. I had longg resisted making any deep fried snacks at home, till last Sunday evening both S and kiddo opined to eat it. Boy! Did I race into the kitchen to make these, along with a mixed bhajia platter that disappeared before I could click pics.. I had to make these again, just to take pics (and of course to devour them all over again) ! You can bet we didnt look at the bathroom scale for days after this snacking 🙂
These pakoras bring back distinct memories of an old lady who dished out these fried delights near my school, and these pakodas' aroma attacked our nostrils everytime we passed by her stall (or was it just a shack) every evening on our way back from school. Thanks to my grandmom, eating out was considered a sin (she came about accepting us eating out at restaurants with a pinch of salt till the very end). Although paati (grandmom) and mom made this at home, nothing could beat the garlicky pungency of the pakodas made by that old lady near school and today's Onion Pakoras made at home somehow oozed of that fragrance as they came out of the frying pan. Sending this to Day 2 of BM # 18 under "Warm foods to beat the rain" theme. It couldnt have been warmer or spicier or crispier than this 🙂 Check out the fellow marathonershere
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Prep time - 15 mins
Frying time - 10 mins
Serves - depends on how much you get to munch 🙂 🙂
Difficulty level – Easy
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Ingredients:
- Besan / gram flour – 1 cup
- Onions – 2 large (sliced thin)
- Rice flour – ¼ cup
- Salt – to taste
- Red Chilli powder – ½ TBSP
- Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
- Hing / Asafoetida – ⅛ tsp
- Dry Coriander seeds – 1 TBSP
- Saunf / Fennel seeds – ½ tsp
- Oil – to deep fry
- Ajwain / Carrom seeds – ½ teaspoon (crushed slightly)
- Water – about 1 -2 tsp
Notes:
1) Some people like to add soda to this to make it crisper. I didnt add the same
2) To pep this much more, you can add 1 or 2 deseeded and finely minced green chillies.
3) Preferably make the batter sans any water. The moisture from the salted onions is more than enough to make a batter. Ensure the onions are finely chopped lengthwise to give it a crisper look and taste.
4) Addition of coriander and fennel seeds are totally optional, but we loved them for that ethereal flavour. Addition of ginger-garlic paste is also preferred by some, but I avoided adding that to preserve the flavour of gram flour and carrom seeds.
Method:
1) Slice onions finely into hair like thin strips. In a large bowl, sieve besan, salt, rice flour twice over. Add turmeric powder, hing, red chilli powder to this and mix well.
2) Dry roast the coriander seeds and fennel seeds separately. Cool and coarsely powder it with a pestle and mortar.
3) Add the chopped onions to the besan mixture and mix well. Let it rest for 5-10 mins
Now add the coriander-fennel powder, ajwain seeds and mix the onion-besan mixture. The salt from the onions should be enough to get a thickish batter. Use 1 teaspoon of water if its absolutely necessary.
4) Meanwhile heat oil for frying. When it is hot, turn the heat to low and take a small ladleful of hot oil to the besan-onion mixture. With a ladle / broad spoon, mix this well (Warning ! Do not use hands to mix, the oil will scald your fingers). You should get a thick batter that you spoon out or use your wet fingers
5) Turn on the oil pan to medium-high heat now. With a spoon or with slightly wet fingers, pinch out small portions of the onion-besan dough into the oil and fry them in batches on medium-high flame till they turn golden brown and crisp
( Note: you are allowed to munch on all this batch and the next even while making these pakodas – try resisting that thoughtJ)
6) Repeat for remaining dough.
7) Serve warm as it is or with coconut chutney (who has time to wait for the chutney to be made when the pakodas are sooo inviting !!)
Linking this to:
- BM # 18
- My event :Kitchen Chronicles - Only Vegan hosted by Vardhini
- Gayatri’sWTML hosted by me this July
- Sayantani’s JCO : Celebrating Monsoon
- Valli’s Kids Delight : Warm foods to beat the rain hosted by Pradnya
Sangeetha Nambi says
Perfect snacker...
http://recipe-excavator.blogspot.com
chef and her kitchen says
Love to munch these onion pakora wid evening tea in this rainy season..
Vandana Dilip says
yummy!!!!feel like grabbing one of those 🙂
रवि says
चित्रों को देखकर तो मुंह में पानी आ गया... 🙂
meena says
this is so yummy yuummy bhajiyas
virunthu unna vaanga says
looks very crispy...
VIRUNTHU UNNA VAANGA
Divya A says
Looks so crispy and perfect for a tea-time snack 🙂
Glad to follow your lovely space 🙂
~Today's Recipe~Karuvadu Kulambu / Dry Fish Gravy
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vaishali sabnani says
wish it wud rain..ah it is such a treat to enjoy these in monsoon..the typical kanda bhajiya..
Unknown says
i know that match kal a match made to perfection i ll say even though a lil high cal and greasy lol.. hmm an all time classic which granny used to whip up in a min!! thanks for rekindling the memories kal
Spice up the Curry says
very crispy and yummy
FewMinute Wonders says
Who can miss out on these goodies. I agree rain and pakodas go hand in hand.
Chef Mireille says
don't like onions this much, but will def. try wioth other veggie
The Pumpkin Farm says
Mirielle...you have to try this with onions...this is amazingly tasty...have come out really well Kalyani
divyagcp says
Delicious snack.. perfect for rainy days..
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Srivalli says
All time favorite Kalyani, between can you update the links for Kid's delight..thanks
Unknown says
Looks good
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Unknown says
My all time favourite....Looks very crispy!!!!
runnergirlinthekitchen.blogspot.com says
An all time favourite in the monsoon with tea .. sigh
Jagruti says
You made me miss the monsoons all the more.There's no better place to be than in India right now when these inviting bhajias would make any place heaven..Lovely clicks i must say 🙂
Priya Suresh says
Wat an addictive and super crispy pakodas, feel like munching some.
Priya Sreeram says
indeed a match made in heaven - yum
Harini R says
All time fav at home 🙂 Mouth watering pictures!!
Archana says
Mmmmm! reminds me have not made these in a long long time. Thanks.
Kalyani says
all time fav. snack to me ... lovely presentation ......
Anonymous says
Finger licking...
saadepunjab.com
Pranati Nath says
Hey, you have just been presented with the *drum roll* Sunshine Blogger Award!!
For award details pls visit - http://pran-oriya-recipies.blogspot.com/2012/08/partayyy-time-friends-another-award.html
enjoy!!
Kalyani says
Mouth watering pakoda....
Unknown says
Your recipe is looks awsme, you give the easiest way to prepare this recipe, from your recipe tips many people gets
advantage. Regards,
Onion Pakoda