Fried Friday: Onion Bhaji

I'll be the first to admit that even with a health conscious lifestyle, the hankering for something crispy and fried may appear. And so sometimes we indulge, and that's okay; but there's a right way to do it.

For one, if you're going for one sin, try to combat it with some good. Instead of trying to deep fry that vegan chocolate bar (.... I've seen it go down) go for fresh veggies! Opt for monounsaturated oils (I went traditional canola oil, but peanut or olive work, though this will alter the taste).

Since Antonio was making a curry (curry attempt #6... 7? Just wait until you see the final product, they're already delicious!), I figured I'd satisfy my craving by veganizing a favorite: Indian Onion Bhaji.

Ingredients

* 1 medium yellow onion
* 3 medium carrots
* 1/2 tablespoon graham masala
* 1 teaspoon crush cumin
* 1 teaspoon crushed fennel greek
* 1 teaspoon crushed black pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
* 1/2 teaspoon raw pink Himalayan salt
* 1/4 cup flour (white, unfortunately, recommended for texture quality)
* 3 tablespoon cornstarch, mixed with 3 tablespoon water
* 1 cup canola oil

Directions

1. Peel onion and chop off ends, and slice in rings from end to end. Place in large mixing bowl.
2. Peel carrots, grate roughly into long pieces. Place in large mixing bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together spices and flour. Mix flour & spices with onion and carrots in the large mixing bowl.
4. Put cornstarch mixture in with flour and veggies. Mix very well by hand. You want to make sure to spread the cornstarch mixture through-out so everything is covered and binds together; this may take a lot of "mushing" together by hand... but that's the fun of it!
5. Roll out mixture into roughly six veggie balls and flatten as much as possible.
6. Once mixed, in a large shallow frying pan (I opted for the cast iron) heat half the oil on medium heat.
7. Once the oil is hot (test by dropping a small bit of water in and see if it sizzles, but be careful!), you can start dropping in the veggie patties, 3 at a time, making sure they are just touching. Wait until they are golden brown and then flip; once golden on both sides remove. Repeat process with remaining oil and veggie patties. Enjoy!

Next time I'm going to try to find another alternative for the white flour; I'm thinking chickpea flour, suggestions welcome :) In the meantime, here's a preview of Toni's delicious curry recipe to come!

peace&love