Onion Bhaji and Pakora- Making Them With My Grandmother
Onion bhaji or pakora make a wonderful appetizer or afternoon snack. This traditional Indian street food combines thinly sliced onions with a flavorful, spicy batter to make an irresistible light, crispy, and flavorful treat for your tastebuds. In the US, we call these fritters.
Bhaji and pakora are technically the same but are referred to by different names depending on your location. In northern India, they are called bhaji, and in southern India, they are called pakora. The spices used differ by region as well.
Pakora is a favorite in the rainy season! When it would rain, my grandmother would say it’s the perfect weather to make pakoras…and off to the kitchen she would go to whip up a tasty snack for her 7 grandchildren.
As a girl, I can vividly remember the smell of these delicious fritters filling the house when we were having a gathering. Onion bhaji was one of my favorite finger foods and I was determined to find a way to recreate the recipe to be Medical Medium® compliant, not just to satisfy my own taste buds, but as a way to preserve Pakistani culture for our children and future generations. It’s my desire to pass down a legacy of healing and healthy foods so our future generations can thrive.
Although, traditionally, bhaji or pakora are deep-fried, I have found a way to bring you this delicious recipe with all of the flavor and none of the oil (deep-fried fat).
Once the oil is removed, onion bhaji becomes a surprisingly healthy food – packed with incredible healing ingredients.
Onions
Onions contain sulfur compounds that strengthen the immune system, brain, and nervous system. These compounds also help to detoxify heavy metals from the body such as mercury, cadmium, and lead.
Furthermore, onions are the highest food source of quercetin, a potent antioxidant that can help prevent blood clots, asthma, sinus infections, bronchitis, atherosclerosis, and diabetes.
Green Chili
Green chili is a hot pepper, and hot peppers are very healing to the body. They are generally high in vitamin C, and they help a lot with colds, flus, and bronchitis. They also boost circulation (ever see someone get red in their face after eating a hot pepper?) and help with the heart as well. Hot peppers can help to create hydrochloric acid in the stomach and can stimulate peristaltic motion of the gut – think, have you ever needed to ‘go’ after eating hot peppers?
It is easiest to find green chilis such as jalapeno and serrano at your local grocery store. However, if you shop at an Asian store you can find the smaller green chilis and Thai chilis – but be advised that these can be hotter than the South American or Mexican varieties.
Cilantro
Cilantro is an incredible herb! It helps to pull heavy metals and detoxify the liver. Being antiviral, antibacterial, and anti-worm, cilantro helps to suppress the level of pathogens in the body. To learn more about this powerful herb, check out my blog, Let’s Talk Cilantro – this blog includes a delicious bonus Heavy Metal Guacamole recipe.
Cumin
Cumin is an incredible spice to aid with digestive disorders such as indigestion, dyspepsia, stomach cramps, gastritis, bloating, constipation, nausea, and flatulence. Cumin seeds also contain vitamins E, A and B-complex in addition to being abundant in minerals such as zinc, selenium, iron, calcium, and manganese.
Cumin is known to help the body absorb and assimilate nutrients. Furthermore, it contains anti-cancer and anti-tumor properties that have been shown to reduce the risk of stomach, colon, and liver tumors. Cumin is also known to help with colds, flu, insomnia, asthma, pneumonia, chronic bronchitis, muscle spasms, and arthritis.
Turmeric
Turmeric is a powerful anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiseptic, and anti-depressant. The primary component of turmeric is curcumin. Curcumin has incredible anti-cancer properties and has been shown to help prevent and inhibit prostate, skin, colon, mouth, esophageal, lung, stomach, pancreatic, liver, and breast cancer.
Turmeric is a powerful healing tool. It has been known to help purify blood, soothe respiratory conditions, improve liver function, support the circulatory system, regulate menstrual cycles, prevent cognitive diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer’s, and heal gastrointestinal disorders.
As a powerful anti-inflammatory, turmeric has been shown to help significantly reduce the inflammation associated with arthritis and other auto-immune diseases such as lupus, irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue syndrome.
Additionally, turmeric is excellent for digestion and helps the body to digest fats and proteins while also helping to regulate blood sugar.
One of the most well-known properties of turmeric is its anti-aging effects. Due to the significant amount of antioxidants, turmeric has a fountain-of-youth quality – very beneficial to the skin.
Pair it With Sauce
This Pakora recipe pairs well with some of my favorite dipping sauces:
- Raita
- Indian Green Chutney
- Imli Date Chutney can be found in my Chutneys And Sauces Recipe eBook. There are a wide variety of amazing chutneys and sauces in this book. Plus, ALL proceeds from this book goes to Underdog Warriors, a not-for-profit organization co-founded by two incredible individuals who recovered from chronic illness using the power of Medical Medium® information and who decided they wanted to give back. Underdog Warriors provides scholarships to help subsidize the cost of Medical Medium® recommended tools and supplements, as well as health coaching sessions for those in need.
With so many healing properties, this delicious dish is an instant favorite for your taste buds and body!
Please leave me a note in the comments if you make this dish, and let me know what sauce(s) you chose to pair with it. Your feedback means a lot to me.
To your health & happiness,
Muneeza
Easy Baked Onion Bhaji Or Pakora
Ingredients
- 3-4 large onions, sliced into circles, or semi-circles
- 2 cups cilantro, chopped
- 1 green chili, chopped
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp garam masala (make it yourself with this recipe)
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 1 ½ cups chickpea flour
- ⅓ cup coconut milk (optional, if fat-free)
- ¼ cup water (if using coconut milk)
- If not using coconut milk use 1/3 cup water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F
- Prep a baking sheet with parchment paper
- Chop the onions, cilantro, and green chili in a bowl
- Add the chickpea flour and the spices
- Add water and coconut milk (if omitting the coconut milk just add water in this step)
- Use your hand to mix it all together until it forms a paste and the onions are sticking to the flour
- Spoon into the baking tray and bake for 15 minutes
- Flip them over and bake for another 10 minutes until golden brown
- Serve with one of the dipping sauces below!
