Step 1

Slice onions moderately thin and add them to a mixing bowl.

Step 2

Add chilies, ginger, curry leaves, pudina and salt to the same mixing bowl.

Step 3

Nicely squeeze the onions with your fingers few times without mushing them up.

Step 4

Leave it aside for 5 minutes. This helps the onions to release some moisture.

Step 5

Then sprinkle besan, ajwain, cashews and more salt if needed.

Step 6

Mix everything well to coat the onions with the flour. The mixture will be fairly dry at this moment.

Step 7

Add water 2 tbsps each time and mix the flour to make a moist mass of dough.

Step 8

The dough must be tight yet very moist and not soggy like batter else they absorb lot of oil while frying.

Step 9

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a kadai until very hot.

Step 10

Be careful as it is too hot. Pour this to the dough.

Step 11

Immediately the oil will sizzle. Mix the dough with a spoon and not hand as the oil is too hot.

Step 12

Heat oil in the same kadai or fry pan for deep frying the pakoda.

Step 13

Check if the oil is hot enough in the kadai by sliding a tiny piece of dough first.

Step 14

It has to rise and not sink in the oil. Next it should not brown too quickly. This is the right temperature.

Step 15

When the oil is hot enough, regulate the flame to medium high.

Step 16

Take a small amount of dough and make small pakoda with your fingers and slide them gently in the hot oil.

Step 17

Do not add too many pakodas in the pan. They should have some space in the pan to swim around & fry well.

Step 18

While frying stir & if needed flip the onion pakodas occasionally for even frying.

Step 19

Fry them till they turn crisp & golden. Then transfer them with a ladle to an absorbent tissue placed in a plate or to a colander.

Step 20

Continue to make more onion pakoda in batches with the rest of the dough.

Step 21

Serve onion pakoda hot with a cup of tea or coffee. You can also serve them with green chutney.

Step 22

Or sprinkle some chaat masala or any ground seasoning of your choice.