(Maharashtrian-style super crispy onion fritters)

‘Khekada’ means ‘crab’ and ‘bhaji’ means ‘fritters’ in Marathi language. Don’t panic! These are not crab fritters! They are called so as their shape resembles that of a crab! These are basically onion fritters that are made by coating sliced onions with gram flour batter (besan), and then deep frying them. They are the crispier version of onion/pyaaz pakoda!

If you have been to Sinhagad (a fort) in Pune city, you know, food stalls there serve the BEST khekada bhaji ever! Having khekada bhaji with chai there is a heavenly experience! However, you can recreate that magic at home too! Today I am sharing this lip-smacking recipe which is undoubtedly my favourite.

What is the difference between khekada bhaji and the regular pyaaz pakoda/onion bhaji?

1. Khekada Bhaji are crispier than the pyaaz pakodas.

2. We don’t use baking soda while making khekda bhaji as it tends to make the fritters soft and puffed up.

3. We use no/very less water to make the batter. Thus, the batter is comparatively thicker than the pyaaz pakoda batter.

RECIPE VIDEO

Ingredients

• 2 onions (प्याज / कांदा)

• 1 cup chickpea flour/ besan (बेसन)

• 2 tbsp rice flour (चावल का आटा / तांदळाचे पीठ)

• 1 tsp carom seeds(अजवाइन/ ओवा )

• 1 tsp turmeric powder (हल्दी / हळदी पाउडर)

• 1 tsp red chili powder (लाल मिर्च का पाउडर  / लाल तिखट)

• 2 tbsp oil (तेल )

• 3-4 green chilies (हरी मिर्च / हिरवी मिरची)

• oil for frying (तलने के लिए / तळण्याचे तेल)

  
  
  

Method

• Thinly slice the onions.

• Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a small tadka pan and keep aside.

• In a large bowl/deep plate add besan, rice flour, carom seeds, haldi powder, red chilli powder, and salt. Mix everything properly.

• Add the sliced onions, and the heated oil to these dry ingredients and mix everything well.

• Leave this mixture aside for 15-20 minutes. The onions release water at this time and make the batter moist. Check the amount of water released. If needed add just very little water (1-2 tbsp) and make a thick batter as shown below-

• In a heavy bottom pan, heat oil, on low-medium flame, for frying.

• Once the oil gets hot, drop a little portion of the batter into it. If the portion rises up, the oil is ready to use. If it doesn’t rise to the top then heat the oil a little more and try again.

• Drop portions of the batter in hot oil and deep fry from both sides. Repeat this process for all batches.

• Remove the bhajis on a kitchen paper towel to remove excess oil.

• Slit the green chilies into half, and fry them carefully. These tend to explode so be careful. (Read the notes section below). Serve them with the bhajis.

  KHEKADA BHAJI IS READY TO BE SERVED !!

  SERVE HOT.

Notes -

• Chop the onions into very thin slices. Thick slices make the fritters soggy.

• On addition of salt, the onions release a lot of water, on sitting for some time. Add very little water to the batter only if needed. We need a thick batter for this recipe.

• Adding rice flour makes these fritters crispy. Don’t skip this step.

• The gram flour(besan) is a little difficult to digest. That is why we add carom seeds which aid in digestion.

• We don’t use baking soda while making khekda bhaji as it tends to make the fritters soft and puffed up.

• We fry these fritters on a low-medium flame to ensure that they are cooked properly till the center. Reduce the flame if you see too much smoke coming from the hot oil.

• NEVER ADD WHOLE GREEN CHILLIES TO HOT OIL. THEY WILL EXPLODE! Always slit them (along the entire length) first. Be very careful while frying them.

• Eat the bhajis immediately after frying as they tend to become soft after a while.

Did you make this recipe?
Kindly let me know in the comments section below and tag @bitesandbokeh on INSTAGRAM.