Onion Fritters (Pyaz Ki Bhajia)

     I had no idea that the food fritter actually is named accurately. Merriam Webster has an archaic definition of fritter as: verb divide (something) into small pieces. That's what fritters are! Small pieces! I had no idea. The Wife is an English teacher. She should have pointed this out to me. Oh well. These particular fritters are an Indian recipe and filled with oniony goodness. These would be great with the All Purpose Curry Sauce for dipping! There is a fair amount of work in this recipe and thus will earn it P.I.T.A. status. Totally worth it, though. As always, any notes or changes are in blue.

Onion Fritters
pyaz ki bhajia
via Madhur Jaffrey's Quick and Easy Indian Cooking

Ingredients

• 1 large egg
• 4 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (I used the bottled kind. Don't judge me harshly)
• 1 cup chickpea flour (I actually keep this in the house. Since I started cooking Indian food regularly, this just seemed like a good thing to keep in stock)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 fresh, hot green chile, finely chopped (I used a jalapeno from the garden. You leave the seeds in there or you're a huge baby)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (my cilantro isn't doing particularly well this season; I used 2 teaspoons dried)
• 1 medium-large onion, peeled and chopped into medium sized dice (I tried chopping them into dice but it was too hard to draw those little pips on the side. I just chopped them and called it a day)
• vegetable oil for frying

Directions

1. Break the egg into a bowl and beat well. Add the water and the lemon juice. Mix. Add the chickpea flour and mix very well with a whisk. Put in the salt, cayenne, garam masala, cumin seeds, ground cumin, green chile, and cilantro. Mix and set aside for at least 10 minutes. The batter should be of a droppable consistency (technically, anything is "droppable" consistency. It could be light and fluffy or hard as a rock and I can just drop that shit right on the floor and let the dogs have it)
2. Put the oil in a wok or deep fryer (I used my trusty cast iron skillet) set over medium heat. You should have at least 3 inches of oil in the center of the wok (obviously this will vary based on the size of your wok/skillet. If I used 3 inches of oil, I'd have a spectacular fire on my hands. And face. And stove.) When the oil is hot, put the onion in the batter and mix. This should always be done just before frying (well, duh. If you tried to add the onion to the batter after you fried it, you'd look like a total schmuck.)

   

   If you've gotten to this point, it's probably for the best if you don't attempt to add the onions now.

3. Drop heaping teaspoons of the batter into the hot oil. Use up all the batter this way (resist the urge to put it all in at once and make an Uber-Fritter!)
4. Stir and fry the fritters (turning them over if you're not using deep oil) for 7-8 minutes or until they are a golden red. Remove the fritters with a slotted spoon and drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Serve hot, as soon as the fritters are made (this is generally not an issue in our home as anything coming out of the frier is quickly shoved into our craws as soon as it is safe)

Good times!