These Baked Pakora are every bit as crispy and delicious as restaurant-style Onion bhajis just baked instead of fried! Make them as an appetizer for an Indian dinner or as a party or TV snack.
These Crispy Baked Onion Pakora (Onion Bhaji) are an easy alternative to the widely loved Indian fried onion snack and taste just as delicious as any restaurant-style bhaji! They’re just how we like them – crispy and packed with Indian spices and that addictive sweetness and umami from the onions! No greasy fingers afterwards and your tummy will also be less rumbly.
More veggie snacks and appetizers from the blog
- Zucchini Carrot Chickpea Fritters
- Baked Broccoli Pakora
- Apple Fritters
- Baked Dal Samosa.
- Cajun Chickpea fries
- Garlic Fries
Baked Onion Pakora/ bhajji
Ingredients
- 2 cups (320 g) thinly sliced onion red onion works best, separated out so that they don't clump together
- 1/3 cup (40 g) chickpea flour , plus 1 tbsp if needed, if using besan, you will need 2-3 tbsp more
- 2 tablespoons rice flour
- 1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
- 1-2 green chilies finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne or Indian red chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Generous pinch baking soda
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 2 to 3 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Add onions to a large bowl and separate.
- Add in all the spices, salt, chickpea flour and rice flour and baking soda .
- Sprinkle in the oil and mix in.
- Let the mixture sit for 5-10 minutes. The onion will leak some moisture and that will help you determine how much moisture you need.
- Add in water, just a little bit at a time so that you get a pasty pakora mix. It's not going to be a bowl of batter, it's going to be like onion rings with the onions covered with a layer of batter. If you like more coverage, add in 1-2 tbsp more chickpea flour and a sprinkle in water.
- Take spoonfuls of this mixture and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. You want to make small to medium sized pakoras and not too huge so that there aren’t too many thick clumps of onion. Then bake at 400 degrees F (205 C) for 20 to 25 minutes. You want to keep an eye on them and check after about 17-18 minutes to see that they're baking ok and not burning. Move the sheet around at that time that you check and then continue to bake. You can also brush some oil on the pakoras after the 18 minute mark.
- Once the pakoras are cooked, let them cool for a few minutes. You can serve onion bhaji with ketchup, vegan cucumber raita, mint chutney coconut chutney, tamarind chutney
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Ingredients
- onion – slice them thinly and use red onion for the best flavor.
- a mix of chickpea flour and rice flour makes these extra crisp
- minced ginger along with green chilies, turmeric, and red chili powder for that authentic Indian taste.
- salt – super important.
- baking soda for lightening up the batter
- oil – we need a bit of fat for flavor and better texture but these are way lower in fat than the fried version.
Tips:
- You can make these adding some spiralized carrots but I do not recommend any juicy vegetables for the baked kind. Those do better fried.
- When prepping the onion, make sure you separated out so that they don’t clump together. I like cutting them with a mandoline but a spiralizer would probably work really well too.
- If you want, you can add some chopped curry leaves or ground cumin to the batter.
- To keep them nice and crisp, let them cool on a wire rack. This doesn’t let the fritters collect the steam and keeps them crisp and fresh for long.
- You could sprinkle them with a bit of chaat masala just before serving to enhance the taste.
How to Baked Onion Pakoras in the oven:
Add onions to a large bowl and separate. Add in all the spices and salt and chickpea flour and rice flour and baking soda.
Sprinkle in the oil and mix in. Let the mixture sit for 5-10 minutes. The onion will leak some moisture and that will help you determine how much moisture you need.
Add in water, just a little bit at a time so that you get a pasty pakora mix. It’s not going to be a batter, it’s going to be like onion rings with the onions covered with a layer of batter.
Take spoonfuls of this mixture and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet while. You want to make small to medium-sized pakoras and not too huge so that you don’t have too many thick clumps of onion.
Then bake at 400 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes. You want to keep an eye on it after about 17-18 minutes to see that they’re baking ok and not burning. Move the sheet around at the time that you check and then continue to bake. You can also brush some oil on the pakoras after the 18-minute mark. Once the pakoras are cooked, let them cool for a few minutes.
What to serve with Onion Pakora?
You can serve onion bhaji with vegan cucumber raita, mint chutney or coriander chutney, coconut chutney, tamarind chutney or a simple avocado dip. Are they also delicious with ketchup? You betcha!
Erna
These are so easy and so delicious! Thank you.
Vegan Richa Support
great to hear, thank you Erna
Quinn C
These turned out delicious (and I forgot the baking soda). I was worried they wouldn’t hold together when I put them on the baking sheet, but they came out of the oven in-tact! I added some ribbons of carrots to the mix and served with a cilantro-mint chutney. I could only find a fava bean/chickpea flour blend but it seemed to work. I’ll definitely make these again: easy, flavorful, and a healthy alternative to fried pakoras.
Vegan Richa Support
sounds like a nice chutney
Juhi
is one serving one pakoda?
Vegan Richa Support
depends on the exact size that you make them into – but approx 1.5 pakoda = 1 serving
Manmohan Malani
This was great!
Vegan Richa Support
Excellent
Emily
Can these be made ahead of time and frozen before baking?
Vegan Richa Support
it’s not advisable – when the batter thaws it will probaly run off and not stick
Samyukta
Is it possible to prepare the batter in the morning and leave on counter, and pop into oven for guests expected to show up at chai time? What’s the optimal time between popping into oven and serving for crispness?
Vegan Richa Support
I would store it in the fridge and bring out of fridge 20 min before baking – and since they’re baked, not fried, they should be served immediately for the most crispy.
Jacquie
These were amazing!
Richa
Yay
Hoglets
We have made these on 2 consecutive days, such a big hit!! First day we used red onions, added garlic powder and baked in the oven. Second day had to use white onions as we had used all the red! Omitted the oil and cooked these in my air fryer. Both methods and onions worked beautifully. Thank you for sharing Richa.
Vegan Richa Support
excellent – thank you!
Jenny
Could Almond Flour be used to make this low-carb
Vegan Richa Support
instead of both the rice & chickpea flours?
Anne
Fantastic and easy, another winner
Vegan Richa Support
thank you Anne
Liane
Definitely going to give this a try. Do you think that leaving the oil out would make a big difference? Or maybe cutting it in half?
Richa
It will be dry. If you are accustomed to baking without then it might be ok for you. For me it feels too dry without oil
Vrinda
Oooh, can’t wait to make them. Is rice flour a must? I usually don’t have that and nor do I have semolina flour. Can I use more of chickpea flour or add besan?
Richa
Yes use more chickpea flour
Suee33
I just got this recipe in an email, I made it tonight. First it was very fast to put together and bake. I used white SWEET onions, my favorite in all things.
This is a great recipe and very healthy, being baked rather than fried.
I am keeping this recipe and will make it often.
Thanks
Lori
This may seem like a basic question but having grown up with very bland food I struggle with recipes that just say green chilis. Could you give examples of the exact types of chilis you might use? ie: Jalapeno? I can’t wait to make these.
Thanks!!!
Richa
Serrano , Thai chilies or jalapeño
R F Rotwang
Can these be served at room temperature? I am looking for a dinner appetizer that can wait for guests to arrive.
Richa
They won’t stay crisp. That’s the problem with baked version.
Aruna
Sounds awesome and so easy to make!
Vegan Richa Support
thanks for popping in ♡ let me know how it turns out for you
Girija Dube
Richa,
Thank you for this recipe. I can’t wait to try!
I have made pakoras but have fried instead of baking them. So, this version is healthier . Have you made this recipe with other vegetables such as eggplants , potatoes and cauliflower?
Vegan Richa Support
excellent – i haven’t tried those ones yet – go for it – may need to cook longer or remove excess moisture from eggplant or potatoe…before cooking
sylvia w
who needs american onion rings when these look so delicious and easy, not to mention healthy! as soon as i have full use of both hands – typing with one finger is hard enough, not trying slicing onions just yet – i am going to make this! i always wondered what pakora was, now i can’t wait to make them 😉
Richa
🙂
Marina Sanchez
Hello, do you think these onions can be prepared in air-fryer?
Thanks
Vegan Richa Support
Absolutely they would be perfect in an air fryer
Vivian
Is there another flour to sub for rice flour? Have all kinds just not that one. Thanks for your response.
Richa
You can use semolina flour
Maureen Koplow
I can’t wait to try this! But I’m on a very low sodium diet, and I usually omit salt from all my cooking. Why is 1/2 tsp salt very important? Can I at least cut the amount in half?
Richa
If you generally eat less then yes you can easily reduce it. Salt is a taste preference and you can adjust it in all recipes to preference
Maureen Koplow
Thank you for answering so quickly! I’ll leave out all the salt. Can’t wait to make this!