Kanda Bhaji Recipe, How to make Onion Pakoda

For the uninitiated, Kanda Bhaji/ Pyaaz ke Pakore are spicy fritters made of Onion and Gram flour. Rainy season in India is the time when everyone wants their share of Kanda Bhaji/ Pyaaz ke Pakode and Masala Chai. But as always, we should eat everything in moderation. My mouth is watering as I write this blogpost and I feel like having my favourite Kanda Bhaji with Masala Chai right now! These Kanda Bhajis taste great with tomato ketchup as well as sweet-sour chutney or Mint-Coriander chutney 🙂

If you are looking for other recipes to enjoy during the rainy season do check out Falafel and Tahini sauce, Tomato Saar, Poha, Besan Cheela, Masala Corn, Dal Khichadi and Aloo Paratha.

I have fried these Onion Pakoda in our own desi Groundnut oil which is filtered oil. The flavour that this oil brings to the food is amazing and it also has the right balance of Omega 3, 6 and 9. More on Oils in the below link to a video by India’s No. 1 nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar.

https://youtu.be/wLSYHzuVv78

Ingredients:

Kanda Bhaji Recipe, How to make Onion Pakoda

Recipe Type: Appetizer

Cuisine: Maharashtrian

Author: Shradha

Prep time: 40 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 50 mins

Serves: 14-15

Ingredients

2 medium sized Onions
1 cup gram flour (1 cup= 200 ml) or as required
1/4th tsp carom seeds/ ajwain
1/8 tsp turmeric powder/ haldi
1 tsp red chilli powder or as per taste
A pinch of asafoetida
1 tsp salt or as per taste
2 cups Groundnut Oil for frying

Instructions

Step by Step instructions to make Kanda Bhaji/ Pyaaz ke Pakore:

Peel the onions and cut into halves. I also like to cut off some portion from both the ends of the onion before thinly slicing them.
Once the onions are thinly sliced, add salt and mix well. Separate the pieces of onions from each other with your hand. This way, the salt will get evenly applied.
Add carom seeds, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and asafoetida. Mix well.
Keep it aside for at least 30 minutes so that the onion releases water. Do not put the AC on or else the onion will not release enough water. This is a tip from personal experience.
After 30 minutes you will notice the water released from onion slices. Now start adding the gram flour one to two teaspoons at a time and mix well. Keep adding the gram flour in parts as long as it is getting mixed in the water released from the onions. This way the Kanda Bhajji will turn out to be really tasty. DO NOT ADD EXTRA WATER.
You will notice that the mixture has become quite dry.
Heat oil in a kadhai for frying the Kanda Bhajji. Keep the gas flame on medium.
Tip: Once the oil is hot, take out 6-7 teaspoons of hot oil and immediately pour over the pakora mixture. Mix well with a spoon and once the oil cools down a little bit, mix properly with the hand. We have added hot oil to the pakora batter so that the pakoras will turn out to be crispy.
You will notice that the mixture has become moist enough but not quite liquidy.
Take a handful of mixture and divide it with the help of your thumb while dropping the pakoras in the hot oil. Check out the video to understand how to do it.
Fry the pyaaz ke pakore on low to medium flame till they turn golden brown. This will make the pakoras very crispy.
Serve hot with chutney or tomato ketchup and a hot cup of Masala Chai J