These are crunchier and lighter than most. Gram flour is made from chickpeas. Find it in Indian and health food stores.
Prep
- Peel the onions. Cut them in half and then slice them very thinly so the pieces resemble crescent moons. Tip the pieces into a colander or large sieve. Sit it over a bowl. Sprinkle with salt. Leave it for 30 minutes to draw excess moisture out. Rinse the pieces well. Squeeze them dry. Now blot dry with kitchen paper or a clean tea towel. Transfer to a dry bowl.
- Mix the cumin, coriander, turmeric, coriander, gram flour, baking powder separately. De-seed and finely dice the chillies then add to the bowl Mix everything in with the onions, using a fork.
- With clean dry hands, shape the mix into 12 spiky balls by squeezing and rolling it. Wash and dry your hands between shaping if they clag up.
Cook
- Heat 8 cm/3 in oil in a wok or deep saucepan or deep frying pan. Once it’s hot enough to crisp a breadcrumb to the count of 10, add 3- 4 of your bhajis (crowding the pan causes the oil to rise and possibly overflow/catch fire so don’t cook them all at once and always stay watching the pan). Lower each one in carefully on a large spoon.
- Turn the balls carefully with a long handled spoon so they cook evenly. Once they’re cooked through, browned and golden, remove with the spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Keep warms as you finish cooking the rest.
Plate
- Enjoy with or before any curry as a side dish. Or as a snack, dipped into mango chutney and Raita
