Onion bhajias on a bed of marinated onion with raita recipe

from Iron Chef

Liz Moore prepares these bhajias with marinated onions as dish of the day on Iron Chef UK. Served with raita, they make an intensely delicious starter recipe

Serves 2

Ingredients

Vegetable oil for deep frying

For the bhajias:

2 white onions, peeled and finely sliced
1 tsp turmeric
½ tsp sea salt
100g gram flour
2 pinches garam masala
2 pinches lovage seeds, crushed
1 green chilli, finely sliced
½ tsp fenugreek leaves
1 tbsp fresh, chopped coriander
2 tsp cold water if necessary

For the marinated onions:

2 red onions, peeled and very finely sliced on a mandolin
2 inch piece of fresh ginger, cut into fine sticks
2 tbsp caster sugar
2 tbsp lime juice
4 tsp fish sauce
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
Salt to taste
Coriander to garnish

For the raita:

100ml natural yoghurt
2 tbsp coarsely grated cucumber, squeezed to remove the juices
2 shallots, finely chopped
2 large slices of peeled Granny Smith apple, finely grated
6 leaves of mint, finely chopped
Salt to taste

Micro herbs to garnish

METHOD

How to make onion bhajias on a bed of marinated onion with raita

1. To make the bhajias, put the thinly sliced onions on a plate and sprinkle with salt and turmeric. Set aside.

2. Sift the gram flour into a bowl. Add all of the other batter ingredients and stir together.

3. To prepare the marinated onions, pour boiling water over the sliced red onions, drain immediately, refresh in cold water and drain once again. Set aside.

4. In a saucepan, cover the ginger with cold water and bring to the boil. Drain and add just enough water to immerse them. Once the water begins to boil for the second time, stir in the sugar and boil for 5-6 minutes, do not allow it to colour. Allow to cool in the pan.

5. To make the dressing, in a bowl mix 1 tbsp of the cooled ginger syrup with the lime juice, fish sauce and sesame oil. Season to taste.

6. Heat the vegetable oil in a deep fat fryer or deep saucepan to about 180°C.

7. Next add the finely sliced onion and turmeric mix to the gram flour mixture. It should have a sticky consistency that you can shape into small amounts with a teaspoon. You may have to add a tsp or 2 of cold water to loosen the mixture if not enough juice has been released from the onions.

8. Mix the ingredients for the raita together, seasoning to taste.

9. Fry the bhajias in small amounts until golden, which will probably take about 2-3 minutes. Drain well on kitchen paper.

10. To assemble the dish, sprinkle the red onion neatly in the centre of the plate. Sprinkle over a little of the poached ginger sticks and then spoon over some of the dressing. Dress with fresh coriander then place 3 freshly cooked bhajias on top. Garnish with micro herbs. Serve the raita separately.