Indian cooking
Indian cooking / Dishes / Vengayya
Vengayya (Onion Fritters)

Vengayya

Onion Fritters
Vegetarian●●●Origin Tamil NaduPrep 15 minutesCook 10 minutes

Crisp, golden onion fritters encased in a seasoned chickpea flour batter with a fragrant bite of ajwain seeds and green chilli.

Batter spice

2 gWhisked into the batter (step 1)
01
2 g1 teaspoon
spice
Leave whole.

Everything else

02
3.3 g1 teaspoon
flour
03
Green chilli · Hari Mirchde-seeded and chopped
18 g3 chillies
vegetable
04
to taste
herb
05
Vegetable oil · Telfor deep-frying
to taste
oil/fat
06
450 g3 onions
vegetable
07
to taste
salt

Method

  1. Combine 150 g chickpea flour, the batter spice, 18 g green chilli, chopped coriander leaf to taste, and salt to taste in a large bowl. Gradually stir in enough water to form a thick, lump-free batter.
  2. Pour vegetable oil into a kadhai or heavy, deep saucepan and heat to 180°C/350°F (a small cube of bread dropped in should brown within 30 seconds).
  3. Working in small batches, dip 450 g onion slices into the batter until well coated, then carefully drop them into the hot oil. Fry for roughly 2 minutes until evenly deep golden and crisp.
  4. Retrieve the fritters with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

Don't have something?

Chickpea flour
  • Yellow split pea flour

    Use 100% of the weight. Many commercial gram flours are milled from split peas; performs identically in pakora batters and kadhi.

  • Cornstarch

    For crisping batters or binding cutlets: use 50% to 60% of the weight. Produces a very crisp shell but lacks the earthy, roasted nutty flavour of besan.

Rice flour
  • Cornflour

    Use about 60–70% of the weight for thickening; for coatings use the same weight but the crust is denser.

  • Plain flour

    Use the same weight for coatings; contains gluten, browns faster and is less crisp.

  • Fine semolina

    Use the same weight for crisp coatings; coarser texture and needs a short rest.

Ajwain seed
  • Carom seed

    Use the same weight; this is the same spice.

  • Cumin seed

    Use 75% of the weight, toasted; different, less medicinal flavour.

  • Fennel seed

    Use 50% of the weight, crushed; sweeter and milder.

Green chilli
  • Chilli powder

    Use 10 to 15% of the weight (about 1/4 teaspoon per chilli); imparts dry pungent heat and reddens the dish without the grassy crunch.

  • Dried red chilli

    Use 1 dried pod per fresh green chilli; snap in half and temper in hot oil for a deeper, toastier heat.

Coriander leaf
  • Coriander

    Use equal weight finely chopped; this is the exact same fresh herb.

  • Mint

    Use half the weight finely chopped; provides vibrant green freshness, though the flavour profile becomes noticeably cooler and sharper.

Vegetable oil
  • Peanut oil

    Use 1:1 by weight. Handles high-heat frying identically and introduces a very subtle, pleasant nuttiness.

  • Ghee

    Use 1:1 by weight. Yields a much richer, authentic aroma and a glossy, heavier mouthfeel.

  • Mustard oil

    Use 1:1 by weight. Heat until smoking, then cool slightly before cooking to temper its intensely pungent, sharp mustard kick.

Onion
  • Shallot

    Use equal weight, finely sliced. Shallots soften and brown faster, giving a slightly sweeter and more delicate base to curries.

  • Cabbage

    Use 80% of the weight, finely shredded and browned slowly with a pinch of asafoetida. Replicates the bulk and natural sweetness in gravies without allium.

Similar dishes

Vengayya Pakora
Onion Pakoras
Vengayya Pakora has a direct, earthy heat from chilli powder rather than the sharp, fresh bite of green chillies and the herbal, aniseed-like flavour of ajwain.
  • Same: Both are deep-fried fritters made with a base of chickpea flour, fresh coriander leaves, and vegetable oil.
  • Different: Vengayya Pakora uses dry chilli powder instead of fresh green chillies and omits the ajwain seeds used in this dish.
Pakoras
Deep-fried Vegetable Fritters
Pakoras tastes earthier and has less sharp, herbal heat, replacing the strong punch of fresh green chillies and ajwain with mild chilli powder and warm turmeric.
  • Same: Like this dish, Pakoras are deep-fried onion fritters coated in a chickpea flour batter seasoned with green chilli, coriander leaf, and salt, cooked in vegetable oil.
  • Different: Pakoras uses far more chickpea flour relative to onion, incorporates ground turmeric and chilli powder, and omits the ajwain seeds present in this dish.
Onion Pakode
Onion Pakode tastes warm and lightly spicy from cumin, fennel, turmeric and chilli, whereas this dish has a more direct ajwain and green-chilli fragrance.
  • Same: Onion Pakode and this dish are both deep-fried onion fritters coated in a chickpea-flour batter with green chilli, coriander and oil, and neither lists a souring agent.
  • Different: Onion Pakode adds coarse semolina, cumin, fennel, turmeric and mild chilli powder, while it lacks this dish’s rice flour and ajwain and uses less chickpea flour and onion.
Onion Bhajiya
Onion Bhaji
It has a milder, less pungent profile that lacks the sharp heat and herbal freshness of this dish.
  • Same: Onion Bhajiya is also a deep-fried onion fritter seasoned with ajwain seeds and salt, cooked in vegetable oil.
  • Different: It omits the green chillies and fresh coriander leaves included in this dish.