Crispy Onion Pakodas (Pakoras)/ Onion Fritters

Life at work has become pretty hectic and crazy again. We had a new release recently and the issues keep coming one after the other and there is no respite in sight. Handling issues and then couple that with meetings and regular work and the day is gone even before you realize it. 

But the good thing is that even though there is stress at work, the people and the environment are positive and nurturing. Thank God for that. Whenever there is an issue, the question on everybody’s mind is “OK, what caused the issue and how do we fix it?” no blame game or finger pointing. All the groups including Development, QA, and Product Management work together as required and find a fix to the problem. This removes the negativity and the emotional drain from the mind and helps us to concentrate on the problem and then find a fix for that. 

Whenever I am stressed at work or have to deal with four or five tasks with tight deadlines I get even more worked up. That is when I think of something to eat to soothe my nerves. That is the time when I feel like eating desserts or some crunchy stuff like pakoras or even bhajjis(fritters) with warm tea to calm and relax myself. Weird, I know but that totally works for me! 

Onion pakodas (fritters) are a famous deep fried snack of India.They are eaten as is or also along with ketchup or chutney. A famous snack to have during rains, along with a hot cup of tea. 

Now that I have brought up the topic of Pakoras, here is my version of the same. Some tips on making these crispy and crunchy:

1. Dice the onion into think long strips, add salt, red chilli powder and mix well. Keep aside for 15-20 minutes mixing in between. This will release water from the diced onions. Use this water to make the batter.
2. Do not add too much besan or water to the mixture.
3. Add little rava(sooji) or rice flour to the besan batter.

  Ingredients:

• 1 big onion
• 1 cup besan (add more or less as required)
• 1 Tbsp ginger grated
• 1 Tbsp sooji(rava) or rice flour (optional)
• 1 tsp Jeera(cumin seeds)
• Handful of chopped coriander leaves
• Salt to taste
• Turmeric, chilli powder (depending on spice level)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• Oil for deep frying

Preparation:

• Dice the onion into think long strips, add salt, jeera, red chilli powder and mix well. Keep aside for 15-20 minutes mixing in between. This will release water from the diced onions. Use this water to make the batter.
• Meanwhile add spoonful of besan at a time to this and mix well. Try not to add water while making the batter, but sprinkle some if necessary.
• The besan should be almost equal to or less than the onions.
• Finally add the ginger, chopped coriander leaves, rava(sooji) or rice flour and baking soda just before deep frying and mix well.

Method: 

• Heat oil in a thick bottomed pan sufficient enough to deep fry.
• Check to make sure that the oil has reached the correct temperature, by putting in small amount of batter. If there is a sound of a sizzle that means the oil is ready.
• Take handful of the batter from the tips of your hands and put it in the deep fryer. Add about 4-5 depending on the size of the pan at the same time.
• Let it fry on one side for a while and turn it after a little while.

• Remove from oil, when both sides are done and continue the above for the remaining batter as well.