Topic: CWG's Onion Bhaji Recipe v1.0

[qprbob]

How stupid of me. Of course there is no weight equivalent for a  1 Cup measure, slightly inebriated last night.
I stand corrected on the American and Canadian Cup, they are different.

[Cory Ander]

Not stupid at all QPRB.  It does get confusing when the "international measures" vary throughout the world! It's probably clearest to stick with actual weights for weights of ingredients I feel (provided it's metric of course!)!  Saves a lot of confusion! 

[Secret Santa]

Secret Santa,

How did the 1 tsp of hing come through - did it overpower and chuck the recipe out of balance

Well it didn't really seem to feature as a dominant flavour BUT I used the vandevi powder which is all I had to hand, and I do not think this is a very good variety of hing. The spice balance was just wrong for me in having too many whole spices and then only garam masala. It just didn't seem to work but, as I said before, I hope other people try this as it's so easy to make bhajis, and I'd like some other opinions.

[chriswg]

Hi chriswg.

Well I just tried these and...disappointed really. Unlike the others I didn't think that the spicing was too much from reading the recipe, so I made it exactly as stated. The flavour was, if anything, understated and certainly not anything like any bhaji I've had from a restaurant.

I have to say the spice mix is a little weird to me, having neither coriander or cumin in it and relying almost totally on garam masala. The problem is that garam masala covers a very wide range of spice blends. And the lemon juice...why?

BTW, I don't understand vague measures like 'cups' and 'large' (as in onions), proper weights would have been nice.

So it was a miss for me but I'd love some feedback from others to see if they agree or not.

Hi Secret Santa

Firstly, thank you for trying the recipe and leaving feedback. I'm sorry that you found them disappointing in flavour. What were your thoughts regarding the cooking method? Maybe they taste better the more you reuse the oil, mine are always packed with flavour.

Regarding your thoughts on the spices, there is a tablespoon of cumin seeds and a tablespoon of fresh coriander in the recipe, do you think it would be better suited to using ground cumin and coriander? The lemon juice I think gives a fresh taste and goes really well with onions. I always put a big squeeze of lemon juice over them before eating too.

The measurements are just how I make them. I have a set of measuring cups and I just fill one and pour it in. Next time I make them I will note how much a cup of gram flour weighs. The 2 onions equal approximately 500 grams (in total not each).

Did you notice the later post about including 1 Tsp of Turmeric, that makes a big difference to the flavour and the colour.

Any other thoughts or suggestions would be very welcome.

[Cory Ander]

Hi SS,

I would also love to see others' opinions on this.  I wouldn't necessarily agree that "it is so easy to make bhajis" though.  It seems to me that the problem with making bhajis is:

a) having the correct recipe to give the BIR flavour

b) Having the cooking method to give the crispness (throughout the entire bhaji)

The challenge, it seems to me, is to make a bhaji that's not lacking in flavour and that doesn't have stewed (undercooked) onions but are crisp throughout the entire bhaji.

I'm sure that once you have both the above it is a doddle though!  

[chriswg]

I agree with Cory. I'm hoping this recipe will give a good solution to b). As for getting the balance of spices right, is there a correct answer? No 2 restaurants ever have the same tasting bhajis. Some have quite a spicy kick, some have a strong aniseed taste. I am now convinced that the oil is very important to the final result. Here is a picture of the oil I use, look how dark it has gone compared to fresh oil. That's only after about making 3 batches. With SS finding the results 'disappointing' the only difference must be with the oil used. I also cant stress enough how important it is to keep the temperature just right. I check it every few minutes with a sugar thermometer to make sure it isn't too high or too low. To get them cooked all the way through I believe they need to deep fry for at least 8 - 10 minutes in total after which they should still be golden brown rather than dark brown.

[Bobby Bhuna]

The challenge, it seems to me, is to make a bhaji that's not lacking in flavour and that doesn't have stewed (undercooked) onions but are crisp throughout the entire bhaji.

I totally agree. I'm almost always either burning the outside, or having that oil soaked onion cake centre.

[Curry Barking Mad]

Now use the dark oil in your base instead of your measured amount of new /fresh veg oil,
this goes a long way to getting the taste in your curries that I am aiming for,
Bob

[Secret Santa]

What were your thoughts regarding the cooking method?

I don't think the method was the problem but, in my opinion, bhajis shouldn't be flat. They never used to be flat. They were always round, large, and always perfectly cooked all the way through. This flat bhaji technique seemed to arise at about the same time that the BIR curries took a nose dive, flavour wise, and to me meant that the people making them didn't know how to make a well-cooked round bhaji.

This is no criticism of you by the way, I still struggle to make a well cooked round bhaji.

there is a tablespoon of cumin seeds and a tablespoon of fresh coriander in the recipe, do you think it would be better suited to using ground cumin and coriander?

Cumin seeds and fresh coriander are not unusual in bhajis but the lack of either cumin powder, or coriander powder, or both, is. Relying on garam masala and turmeric and paprika doesn't seem to work.

The lemon juice I think gives a fresh taste and goes really well with onions. I always put a big squeeze of lemon juice over them before eating too.

A big squeeze of lemon juice over them when they are cooked is delicious but I fail to see what it adds to the bhaji mix. It seems to be one ingredient too many.

Did you notice the later post about including 1 Tsp of Turmeric, that makes a big difference to the flavour and the colour.

I did, and made the 30 second trip to my local indian grocers to get a new bag because I had run out.  ;D

[Secret Santa]

I wouldn't necessarily agree that "it is so easy to make bhajis" though.

I couldn't agree more CA. I actually have great difficulty in making the large size, perfectly cooked through,  round bhajis of old. What I was saying was that that to whip up a few onions with spices and fry them up takes, what, 20 mins max? And to test a recipe you only need the taste. If it has bad texture, raw innards etc, isn't the problem (initially). The spicing is the main concern for me when testing a new recipe, and when that's right I'll worry about the other problems of bhaji making (which are numerous).