The Best Bhajis (and Birthdays!)

Recently Alice has decided that Spicery staff birthdays need a little extra celebration, and what better way to do that than with food?! So without further ado a list went round for each person's birthday request, bringing on half an hour's serious discussion. What's the favourite food of a spicerer??? We ummed, we ahhed, and in the end we got there. Boss James started off the list in a typically helpful manner - "I like everything" he says. Thankfully everyone else has more of an opinion on the matter, ranging from the non-spicy "Pizza & Icecream" (John) and "Chicken Kiev" (Amy) to the incredibly specific "Lamb & Apricot Burgers (with Tzatziki), and Bakewell Tart". Toby knows what he wants!

Deep fry action for Josh's birthday naan, bhaji and chutney feast!

Other Spicery requests included ramen, fajitas, BBQ ribs and lamb Madras, but we started off the year of delicious birthdays last week with Josh's birthday favourite: "Naan Bread Fest with Bhajis etc". We've been experimenting with our onion bhaji recipe here this past year, and after many delicious test-runs we believe we've perfected it! Any curry spread is improved by a pile of crispy onion bhajis, and they make a great starter served with a couple of chutneys. So don't be daunted by the deep-frying - it's not that hard! For your eating pleasure and our top bhaji tips, read on! (...and for our naan bread recipe, see the Chronicles of Naania blog!)

The Best Onion Bhaji Recipe

...slightly sweet, very crispy and really really moreish.

Ingredients:

1 large white onion - very thinly sliced 1 small sweet potato - coarsely grated 2 cloves garlic - finely chopped 75g gram flour 75g plain flour 1 tbsp cornflour 1 tsp baking powder 2 tsp mild curry powder OR 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp ground cumin A handful of finely chopped fresh coriander (optional) Chaat masala to sprinkle on top (optional) Oil for frying

Method:

• Whisk the flour, gram flour, cornflour, baking powder, curry powder, 1/2 tsp salt and 200ml of water together to a smooth batter

• Mix in the garlic, grated sweet potato, the coriander (if using) and the thinly sliced onion

• Prepare kitchen roll for draining the bhajis on

• Heat 2 cm of oil in a wide, deep pan (make sure the oil is very hot before you start frying. It should sizzle immediately when you drop a bit of batter into it, but keep an eye on the heat while you cook and be very careful!)

• Drop heaped tablespoonfuls of the batter into the hot oil and fry for a few minutes until golden brown on one side (you will have to do this in batches). Flip over and fry until golden brown on the other side. Remove and place on kitchen roll to absorb any excess oil then leave to one side and serve at room temperature (or reheat them in the oven just before serving if you prefer)

• Sprinkle liberally with chaat masala (if using) and serve with your curry or chutney!!

Makes bhajis for 4.

SPICERY BHAJI TOP TIPS:

• Slice the onions nice and thinly, it helps the spikiness and crispiness

• Don't make them too big or else they won't cook evenly - a heaped tbsp of batter really is big enough!

• Get everything ready before you start deep-frying (to avoid drama! We've seen it happen...)

• Our top sauce combination to go alongside would be one tangy, one sweet and one cooling - so maybe a pickle or tamarind chutney, a sweet'n'spicy tomato chutney and a coriander and mint raita!

Alice and Suze putting together starters at our Winter Pop-Up, including aloo tikki, shami kebabs and those delicious bhajis!

 Happy frying! And do let us know how you get on!