It just isn’t a decent curry unless you have a side of little fried balls of onions that are crispy and generously spiced! I have made no secret of how disappointed I am in with Indian food in Berlin. The curries are mild with no spice or heat at all and are often just a watery or creamy bowl of blandness with some stodgy, wet rice on the side. A few years ago we did actually find a fairly good Indian restaurant and while their curries were in no competition to the ones we enjoy in the UK they were still thick, delicious sauces with fragrant rice and fluffy naan’s on the side. However, since my husband’s bout of ‘suspected’ food poisoning we have been forced to save our curry house visits for our trips back to England!
Even if we lived in the UK however, I think it is fair to say that we wouldn’t be eating a curry out that often! It is much healthier to make your own at home. I love to make my own and add plenty of fresh spices and as much heat as possible – there is no such thing as a mild curry in my home and my favourite is a Chicken Madras with plenty of chilli!
Making your own bhajis is incredibly easy. I simply finely chop some onions and add them to a light batter with plenty of herbs and spices. Some like to deep-fry them but I have never been a fan of deep-frying. I always find that they cook too quickly and burn and so instead I prefer to shallow fry on each side for just a couple of minutes.
- 100g plain white flour
- 150ml cold water
- 1 tspn turmeric
- 1 tspn cumin
- Small bunch fresh coriander (finely chopped)
- 5 or 6 tbpsn plain yoghurt
- 1 tbpsn mint sauce
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tspn chilli flakes
- 1 tspn garma masala
- 3 red onions (peeled and finely sliced)
- Half a tbpsn size fresh ginger (peeled and grated)
- Salt/ pepper
- Sunflower oil
- Mix the flour and water together then stir in the turmeric, garam masala, cumin, chilli flakes, ginger and juice of half a lemon. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and mix well. Then pour in the onions and mix well so that the mixture is well combined with the onions.
- Heat about 2 tbpsn of sunflower oil. Once hot take a scoop of the onion mixture using a tablespoon and then drop into the hot oil so that it immediately sizzles. Cook on each side for 2-3 mins and then drain on some kitchen paper. Keep to one side until the mixture is used up.
- For the raita: mix the yoghurt, mint sauce, half of the coriander and juice of half a lemon together.
- Plate up the bhajis with the raita and sprinkle some fresh coriander on top.
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