Onion Bhaji

begin to heat a fryer, or a pan half full with oil at 170 Celsius. You want to use a thermometer to keep this temperature around this point so the bhaji cook thoroughly but do not burn

Slice the onions in half, remove the skins and then slice again into strips about 5mm wide and place them in a bowl

finely slice the green chillies and coarsely grate the potato and add them to the onions

rinse the lentils in a cup and allow them to soak in water for around 10 minutes to soften

add the the salt, fennel seeds, egg, mix powder, gram flour, fresh chopped coriander, garlic paste, ginger paste, turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and dried fenugreek leaves to the onions

mix thoroughly and allow to sit for 10 minutes to allow the salt to start extracting some moisture from the onions and for the spices to penetrate

now start by adding around 6 tablespoons of the gram flour to the onions and mix well with your fingers. Be careful though, you don't want to smash your onions to bits

continue to add more gram flour a couple of tablespoons at a time until the mix becomes really sticky and clumps together

wet your hands slightly (it stops the batter sticking) and take a small handful of onions and mould them gently into the size of a small tennis ball.

remove and drain and serve with mango chutney or as part of your meal