Every time I go to an Indian restaurant with my friends, the first thing they order is a plate of bhaji’s. I have seen peoples eyes brighten up with happiness the minute they see a plate full of warm crunchy bhajis (or bhajias – thats the real Indian term) and rightly so because they are absolutely delicious. This is one of the main reasons why I always make different types of bhajis (onion, coriander, potato, bread, okra) whenever I have guests at home for tea. It is ridiculously simple to make – I mean literally you can make them in less than 10 minutes time!

Lets look at the ingredients:

• Gram Flower (Chick Pea Flower) – You can get this at any asian super market
• Vegetable of your choice – Onion, Coriander, Spinach, Potato, Okra (literally anything you want)
• Lemon Juice
• Garam Masala

So there are 3 simple steps to making a Bhaji/ Bhajia –

Chop – Chop the vegetable you want to use, make sure you don’t chop them too much because you want it to be chunky and a good size. For example for potatoes, make thin round slices; for okra keep them about an inch long; onions could be chunky too and same with anything else.

Mix – Mix the gram flower, lemon juice, garam masala together , add some water to it to get a batter which is similar consistency like the pancake mix. Then add the vegetable to it.

Fry – Add a generous amount of oil to a pan which is wide spread (I usually shallow fry as its healthier) and then pick up a spoon full of the batter and just add it to the pan to fry it. Turn it the other way round and make sure both sides are cooked and it looks crispy and golden (slightly deep golden/ brownish).

Your hot, crispy, delicious bhaji is ready to be served with some chutney (whichever you want) and a steaming cup of tea!