Onion Bhajis for Toddlers and Grown ups

Onion bhajis or pakoras; is there a more convenient finger food?  They are so ridiculously easy and cheap to make yourself too and you can mix up the type of vegetables in them.  Here I've included a bit of carrot.

My son liked them but only the bits with smaller onion pieces, he found the long bits a bit stringy.  Next time I might make them with more finely chopped or grated vegetables.  He was a big fan of the spicy yoghurt dip though which surprised me.

Onion Bhajis - makes plenty for one adult and one child

Ingredients

100g, 3.5oz Gram (chickpea) flour
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
2 tsp Garam masala
1-2 tsp Medium or mild curry paste
110g, 4oz Onions, sliced
Half a carrot, finely grated
Juice of half a lemon

Oil to cook

Spicy yoghurt dip (optional)
1 tbsp yoghurt
2 tsp medium curry paste
1 tbsp mango chutney

Method

Mix the garlic, spices and lemon juice together.  Add the gram flour and mix to a thick paste with approx 10 tbsp water, add it slowly until it's a thick batter only just thinner than a paste.  Add in the onions and carrot mixing to coat.  Make it thicker rather than thinner.

Heat a couple of cm / an inch or so of oil in a deep frying pan until a small amount browns in 2 minutes.  You don't want it too hot.

Drop dessert spoons of the mix into the oil and fry on both sides until browned.  Drain on kitchen paper while you cook the rest.

Serve as a starter or a side dish with dhal or as I have here as a simple lunch with a spicy yoghurt dip and some rice cooked with peas.  For younger kids or ones less keen on spice they might just prefer to dunk into mango chutney.

If just making for grown ups or for kids who are more keen on spicy foods, add some chilli or use a hotter curry paste.  If your child is less keen on spicy foods, you could miss out the curry paste completely so they are flavoursome without being at all hot.

Make it Thrifty:

This is a pretty cheap recipe as it is but I believe you could make them with plain flour rather than buying chickpea flour but I've never tried it.  Another way to keep costs down is to use a wok to fry them as they often have a narrower tapered base so you use less oil.  Also keep an eye out for large packs of Indian spices in supermarkets.  They're often cheaper than the small branded supermarket ones.  If you share a big bag of garam masala with a friend it will cost you far less.

I've linked this up to the wellness weekend.