Deep Fried Onion Bhajis

• An electric deep-fat fryer containing vegetable or groundnut oil, and heated to 180c. Or a wok filled to around one-third — about l ltr (1.75 pt) of oil — and heated over a fairly high flame - a 2.5cm cube of bread should take just over a minute to brown when the oil is at the right temperature;
• Six plates lined with paper serviettes, doilies or napkins
• Six small serving bowls for the yoghurt.

For the bhajis

• 1 75g (6oz) gram or besan (chickpea) flour
• 60g (2’/40z) rice flour
• l tbsp toasted sesame seeds (optional)
• l tbsp poppy seeds (optional)
• 1/2 level tsp hot chilli powder (or cayenne pepper)
• 1/2 level tsp turmeric
• 1 rounded tsp ground coriander
• 1 rounded tsp fine sea salt
• About 200ml (7f I oz) cold water
• 2 large mild onions, peeled, halved and finely sliced
• Preheat the oven to 130c for keeping the bhajis warm

For the yoghurt dip

• About 275m1 (lOfI oz) plain, thick yoghurt
• Small handful fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
• Medium handful fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped
• 1 tsp hot chilli sauce, or more to taste (optional)
• Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Process:

• Mix all the yoghurt ingredients in a bowl and season to taste.
• Divide among six small serving bowls. Leave to one side.
• For the bhajis, mix all the dry ingredients together thoroughly in a large bowl.
• Pour in most, but not all, of the water, and stir thoroughly.
• The batter should be very thick but just pourable, so add a little more water, if necessary.
• Now tip in the onions and, again, stir thoroughly until they are completely coated with batter.
• To cook, drop tangerine-sized spoonfuls of the mixture into the hot oil.
• After about 3-4 minutes the bhajis should be crisp and golden brown all over - you might need to turn them halfway through.
• Take them out with a pair of tongs and drain them well on a pad of kitchen paper.