Books by Richard Sayce

Indian Restaurant Curry at Home Volume 1

Indian Restaurant Curry at Home Volume 2 Front Cover

Misty Ricardo's Spice Blends - Bhaji Blend

Misty’s Bhaji Blend – How to Quickly Make Onion Bhajis:

Now that you have Misty Ricardo’s Bhaji Blend, perfect onoin bhajis are only a few minutes away. Each 140g pouch will make about 8-10 medium-large size bhajis. Simply add finely sliced onion, an egg, and a splash of water and you’re good to go. Enjoy!

Click Here to order additional Bhaji Blends. A delicious Tikka Blend is also available.

Enjoy your bhajis with a mint sauce (raita), or your choice of dips. You can find my mint sauce recipe here.

If you would prefer to make the bhaji micture yourself from scratch, please follow my mainstay Onion Bhaji recipe. The recipe is from my cookbook CURRY COMPENDIUM, and is also in my first book, INDIAN RESTAURANT CURRY AT HOME VOLUME 1. All my books are available in both physical and kindle formats.

INGREDIENTS

1 Pouch of Misty Ricardo’s Bhaji Blend
450-500g Onion, finely sliced (peeled weight, about 3 medium large ones)

SPACEHOLDER

1 Egg, beaten
1 TBSP Ginger/Garlic Paste (optional)
3 TBSP (45ml) Water

METHOD

Top and tail the onions, chop in half lengthwise, peel, and slice thinly. Add to a bowl.
Add the contents of the Bhaji Blend packet, the beaten egg, the water, and optionally, the ginger/garlic paste. Mix gently with spoon or hand to evenly combine the ingredients.
No extra liquid is needed because the salt will start to draw some water out of the onion. You want a very dry mixture, but with enough moisture to be able to form sticky bhaji balls.
Do not leave the mixture to marinate. Over time more water would be drawn from the onions, making a soggy, ‘cakey’ batter.
Heat a medium-large saucepan half-filled with oil to 160-180C. A temperature gun or a cooking thermometer will come in handy here. Alternatively, use a deep fat fryer with a thermostat if you have one. For obvious reasons care and attention needs to be made when deep frying, and you should never leave the pan unattended.
Using your hands, scoop out enough mixture to form a ball of a size just larger than a golf ball. Using your palms, gently squeeze the mixture into the ball shape, as smooth and even as you can. The mixture should stick together easily. Wet your hands with a little water if needed to help form the balls.
Repeat until all the mixture is used.

SPACEHOLDER

Poke a deep hole in the top of each bhaji using a chopstick or similar implement. This will allow the hot oil to permeate and cook the insides.
Add a few of the bhajis to the oil, and leave to deep fry for 5-8 minutes, turning the bhajis a few times during cooking.
The oil needs to be kept at a minimum temperature of around 135°C. Likewise, keep the temperature below 160°C. The onion bhajis needs to be cooked inside (not ‘cakey’), whilst not burning the outside. A temperature gun or cooking thermometer is ideal for measuring.
Scoop them out and drain on kitchen towel. Repeat for the remaining batches.
The onion bhajis are best eaten immediately whilst still crunchy. If left they will lose their crispness. If you wish to prepare in advance of serving, reduce the cooking time to 4-5 minutes, and store in a warm dry place. Just before serving deep fry them again for a couple of minutes, or put in a medium hot oven for 5 minutes.