New Season Garlic Bhajis Recipe | Food

Date Published:: 28/05/2008

Take a break form the usual onion variety and try this new season garlic bhaji recipe from River Cottage Spring

Serves 6

Ingredients

90g chickpea (gram or besan) flour
2 tbsp plain flour
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
A good pinch of cayenne pepper
A good pinch of black onion (nigella or kalonji) seeds
3 tbsp finely chopped coriander
4 bulbs of new-season wet garlic, sliced cross-ways as finely as possible
About 100-130ml beer or water
Groundnut oil for deep frying

Method: How to make new season garlic bhajis

1. Sift the flours, ground coriander, salt and cayenne together into a bowl. Whisk in the black onion seeds, coriander and fresh garlic. Gradually pour in the beer or water until you have a smooth batter, stirring as you go. You may not need all of the liquid.

2. Pour the groundnut oil into a deep, heavy-bottomed saucepan to a depth of about 8-10cm and warm over a medium heat. You want the oil to be hot, but not too hot as you want the garlic and flour to cook through without the outside of the bhajis burning.

3. Drop the batter into the oil in spoonfuls and cook until golden, about 4-5 minutes. Don't overcrowd the pan; you may need to cook them in batches.

4. Drain on kitchen paper briefly and then serve with radish leaves and radish raita. For an extra garnish, shred some of the fresh garlic stems, fry them until crispy and scatter them over the top.