Onion Bajji | Vengaya Bajji

South Indian Vengaya Bajji are crisp batter coated onion rings. There are many ways onion fritters are made in India. This South Indian style onion bajji is also a well known variation. It makes for a good tea time snack served with a side of chai or filter coffee and green chutney.

Here the onions are cut in rings, batter coated and deep fried. Thus onion bajji tastes different than onion pakora where sliced onions are used.

The batter is made with gram flour, rice flour, spices and herbs. Rice flour helps in giving a more crispy texture. This results in onion bajji having a soft inside with a crispy outer texture. The spices and seasonings can be easily adjusted to your taste preferences.

Pakora and Chai is a combination which most Indians like. That is also one of the reason that one will find various varieties of pakora or fritters in the Indian cuisine.

Some more regional variations

1. Classic Onion Pakoda – North Indian style
2. Kanda Bhaji – Maharashtrian style
3. Ulli Vada – Kerala style
4. Onion Fritters – Crispy South Indian Style

Monsoons and winters are an apt time for having fried fritters and chai. Serve Vengaya Bajji with mint-coriander chutney or coconut chutney or tomato ketchup or any chutney of your liking.

If making for a party then you can easily scale this recipe to make a big batch.

How to make Onion Bajji

1. First peel, rinse and slice the onions in rounds having 0.2 to 0.3 cm thickness. Keep aside.

2. In a mixing bowl take ¾ cup besan (gram flour) and ¼ cup rice flour.

3. Add the following ingredients:

• ½ teaspoon ajwain (carom seeds)
• ¼ teaspoon red chili powder
• two pinches pinch of baking soda
• Also add salt as per taste

4. Add ½ cup water and mix very well to a smooth batter without lumps. The batter should be slightly thick, so add water accordingly.

I overall added ½ cup + 2 tablespoons water. The addition of water will depend on the quality of the besan. Whisk briskly for 1 to 2 minutes to aerate the batter.

Frying Onion Bajji

5. Heat oil for deep frying the fritters in a kadai or pan. You can use any neutral flavored oil.

Test a small portion of the batter in the oil. It should come up steadily and gradually. If it stays at the bottom, then the oil is not hot enough. If it comes up too quickly, then the oil has become very hot.

6. Dip one onion slice in the batter and coat it very well.

7. Then gently slid the batter coated onion slices in hot oil. Fry at medium heat.

8. When one side is light golden, then gently turn over the bajjis and continue to fry.

9. Turn over a couple of times for even frying and fry till they are golden and crisp. Once done then remove with a slotted spoon draining extra oil in the kadai itself.

10. Drain them on kitchen paper towels to remove excess oil. Fry the remaining onion slices similar way.

11. Serve onion bajji hot or warm with green chutney or coconut chutney or any chutney of your choice.

More Pakora Recipes

• Pazham pori
• Paneer pakora
• Aloo pakora
• Palak pakoda

This Onion Bajji post from the archives, originally published in January 2017 has been updated and republished on January 2023.