Baked Pakora (Onion Bhaji)

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

5 from 16 votes

By: Vegan Richa

Prep: 15 minutes mins

Cook: 18 minutes mins

Resting: 10 minutes mins

Total: 43 minutes mins

Servings: 6

Course: Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine: Indian

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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.

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Ingredients 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 2 cups thinly sliced onion, red onion works best, separated out so that they don't clump together
• ▢ 1/3 cup 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

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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

Add chopped up curry leaves for variation 

Nutrition

Calories: 80kcal, Carbohydrates: 12g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 3g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 227mg, Potassium: 143mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 29IU, Vitamin C: 5mg, Calcium: 16mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Did you make this recipe? Rate and comment below!

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!