Onion Bhaji Recipe | Easy Plain Flour Method | Hint Of Helen (2024)

Onion bhajis are one of my all-time favourite snacks. I love them served with green chutney or spicy ketchup, and they’re the perfect side dish or starter for a curry night in. Tonight we ate our bhajis as a side dish to my favourite chicken jalfrezi.

They’re so much easier to make than you’d expect, once you’ve mastered making them from scratch you’ll never buy from a supermarket ever again. With simple ingredients, these bhajis are guilt-free and vegan-friendly. You’ll likely have all the ingredients already in your cupboards to whip up a batch today!

The key to a great onion bhaji is to slice the onion very finely – this is important so the onion has time to cook within the batter when frying. If your onions are too chunky they’ll end up raw inside the bhaji, missing out on the delicate, sweet taste of thinly sliced onions.

In this recipe, I have chosen to use plain flour instead of gram flour. I am to make all recipes on my site with easily accessible, fuss-free ingredients. Whilst gram flour is the traditional flour used when making bhajis – it is not always readily available in all UK supermarkets. And you might what to make onion bhajis with what you have in without having to make a special trip to the supermarket.

Is there a difference between using gram flour and plain flour for bhajis?

The taste does differ slightly. Gram flour has an earthier, nutty flavour which works really well in Indian cooking. It also holds liquid better and becomes a batter very easily. To make up the difference we’re adding some extra spice to our plain flour mixture and a little more water. These bhajis turn out great every time using plain flour – practice makes perfect.

Leftover Onion Bhajis?

These onion bhajis will last around 3 days when stored in the fridge. To reheat simply place in your Actifry for a couple of minutes, or the oven for around 5 minutes on 180C. They’re also amazing cold the next day in lunch boxes.

If you make too many and have leftovers (we never have leftovers haha) you can freeze these onion bhajis. Simply place in a zip-lock freezer bag and store in the fridge for up to a month. Defrost thoroughly and reheat in the oven to get them crispy again.

How to make Onion Bhajis at home with plain flour

Scroll down for printable recipe card and ingredient list

1. Cut two onions in half

2. Slice as finely as you can, lengthways

3. Then, in a bowl, measure out the flour and spices – then mix to combine

4. Add water gradually (tbsp at a time) to the flour mixture and stir until a batter forms

5. The batter should be thick and gloopy, slowly dripping off the back of a spoon

6. Add the chopped onions to the batter mixture and stir to evenly coat

7. Then, heat oil in a deep frying pan

8. Add a small drop of batter into the oil once heated, it should bubble and rise to the top

9. Take 1 tbsp of the onion batter mixture at a time – for each bhaji

10. Drop each bhaji into the hot oil – one at a time. Make sure to not crowd the pan. Cook for 2 mins on each side, or until brown and crisp

11. Place onto a sheet of kitchen roll to drain any excess oil – and turn off the heat.