People often ask me how I manage to stay slim when I seem to be baking and cooking lardy things all the time.
Firstly – I’m not that slim. Being tall allows me to carry it well. True story.
Secondly – We very rarely eat all the things I make. I try to save rich foods and fancy stuff for when people come round, or to take to an event or to give as a gift. I just talk (blog) about it more than most ‘normal’ people.
It’s certainly the case that making your own food allows you to be very aware of what goes into ones cake-hole. I don’t shy away from using real butter, cream and even lard, but there are no hydrogenated fats or hidden sugars in what we eat. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not pious about it; I eat all sorts of shoddy stuff when it suits me, but I know we can make up for a hefty day, or week, by going a bit lean the next.
Onion bhajis kind of fall into the hefty zone. They are fried after all, but they are so very easy and satisfying to make that they are now on my regular list. If you get the oil hot enough, they hardly soak any of it up so they can’t be that bad.
There is one slightly faffy stage to this, in that I salt the sliced onions before I add them. This process draws out the moisture, and although you have to get in there with your hands to squeeze out the salty, slimy goo that they exude, it makes the end result extra tender and delicious.
I’ve just realised that I so cancel out the fried thing by dipping them in raita, made with 0% fat Greek yoghurt.
It’s all about the balance.
Onion Bhajis
Makes about 24
4 small or 2-3 large onions
1 tblsp fine table salt
1½ cups (150g) of gram flour
½ cup (60g) of self-raising flour
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp ground coriander
½ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp chilli powder
¼ tsp ground turmeric
Preparing the onions
Thinly slice the onions and then chop so that you have roughly 2-3″ pieces.
Sprinkle the salt over them give them a good stir round
Leave in a colander to drain for a couple of hours
Once or twice, when you are passing, give them a squeeze to remove any liquid
Rinse the onions really well (or they will be too salty) and squeeze out the excess water
Dry them by pressing firmly between plenty of kitchen paper
Making the batter
Mix all the other ingredients together
Stir in the onions
Add ¼ pint of cold water (perhaps a bit more) until you have a very thick clumpy mixture
Cooking
Heat 2″ of sunflower oil in a small hefty saucepan until very hot
Drop forkfuls of batter into the oil (spoonfuls if you like them neater)
We go for ping-pong ball sized blobs, 4 at a time
Turn once then lift out onto kitchen paper when rich golden brown
Serve hot.
We eat them with yoghurt and mint dip made with 4 tablespoons of Greek yoghurt, the juice of half a lemon and 4 teaspoons of mint sauce.
sylviadewy
April 23, 2013
This looks perfect . I can serve this easily in dinner as a side dish. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hélène (Cannes)
April 23, 2013
I will try to keep the O% fat yogurt idea for the balance ! ;o) I love this recipe, anyway, and I will try it soon … Thanks for sharing.
Hélène
radhika25
April 23, 2013
Yumm!
expatchef
April 23, 2013
My tummy is rumbling!
Iz
April 23, 2013
I think I may just have to give this a go! One question: what do you do with the oil in the pan after you’ve cooked them?
thingswemake.co.uk
April 23, 2013
Ha ha! The leftover oil is still sat in the lidded pan in my kitchen because I don’t know what to do with it yet! Maybe I’ll decant it into a jar until I make some more. We just finished off the last few 🙂
LaLonne
May 15, 2013
I just came across your site this morning, and after subscribing, following, and laughing around your site, I have decided on one thing: You. Are. Adorable! I’m already a forever fan! But about this post – when I have leftover cooking oil, I find a glass jar that it will fit in, then I put a coffee filter over the top, secure it around the rim with a rubber band. Then make a deeper dip by pushing the filter down into the jar about an inch, and then pour the oil onto the filter. It cleans the oil of batter and bits. Then I label the oil, and use it for cooking the same item later. (Within 3 months at room temp – if you refrigerate it, I think it would last longer.) I’ve found that oil used for unseasoned french fries can be used to cook other items without affecting the taste, but the one oil I haven’t saved is oil I’ve cooked fish in. It smells awful no matter what, so I always start new with that. (But I only deep fry fish once a year, so it’s not that big of a deal.) But all oil shouldn’t be used more than twice because it breaks down. (The same reason you can’t use oil that’s reached the “smoking point” – it’s broken down irreparably.) Hope my idea helps you. I look forward to your future posts while I’m finishing catching up on your site! 🙂
thingswemake.co.uk
May 15, 2013
What a lovely thing to say! Thank you so much! Since that post I DID get around to filtering and bottling the oil – so I will make sure I use it just once more…for the next batch of bhajis 🙂
IshitaUnblogged
April 24, 2013
This is so brilliant. I was most intrigued (almost checking!) on the recipe – it’s perfect! I’ve tried doing the Bhajis in Airfyer as well – they turn out quite nice, without the oily effect if you add a bit of oil to the batter itself:)
thelittleloaf
April 24, 2013
I think you’ve got the perfect approach to food – never say no to anything fattening but know where your fats are coming from. I’d much rather eat a fresh handful of these gorgeous little treats than a ready meal rammed with salt and sugar or other hidden nasties. Plus, obviously, the fat free yoghurt cancels out any sins 😉
lemonylovesbaking
April 24, 2013
Lordy! They look delicious. Surely these would be part of your 5 a day??
thingswemake.co.uk
April 24, 2013
absolutely!
HenishaSP
April 25, 2013
The ultimate comfort food. A rainy day staple in my house. But I’ve never had it with raita. We usually do tamarind/date chutney or apple butter. Will definitely try that next time.
Jacqueline
April 26, 2013
I’m always meaning to try making these, but I never so get around to it. They look wonderful!
sara
April 27, 2013
These look incredible…definitely making me hungry 🙂
lisaloveforever
April 28, 2013
Reblogged this on lisalove slimming and commented:
I love this.
Sisters in the Kitchen
April 28, 2013
These look amazing! Thanks for sharing.
shaya
April 28, 2013
They are a very much loved dish when it rains.. with a hot cuppa tea or coffee to go with..
And with the left over oil, what i do is strain it so that no left over carbon or onions are their in it… store it in glass jar and use it in everyday savory cooking…not the sweet one… coz the onions tend to infuse their smell in the oil.. Hope it helps
justonemorebiteblog
May 17, 2013
This looks delicious, and I love your photos. Would love to make this, but I’m not sure what gram flour is or where to find it. Off to google ‘gram flour’…