I’m going to be totally honest with you here – I would literally live on Indian food if I could do so and still lose weight. Seekh kebabs, tikka masala, bhajis…. mmmm I’m drooling on the keyboard just thinking about it! It is my go-to takeaway (also its one of the only ones that doesn’t seem to contain truck loads of salt!)
But, unfortunately, it’s not a diet that’s particularly compatible with weight loss and dieting. However I feel like when you are dieting, you shouldn’t have to give up everything you love completely or you are much more likely to fall off the diet wagon because, let’s face it, dieting can be hard!
So anyway, after quite a period of experimentation with these bhajis I’ve figured out some changes in the kind of ingredients you would find in this takeaway favourite and exchanged the deep fat fryer for the oven and I think the end result is still pretty darn good!
I’ve used korma curry powder here because we are not great lovers of really hot food in our house. If you like it hot hot hot then maybe try some chili powder instead but you’d have to experiment with amounts. The bhajis, as made according to the recipe, have a small amount of heat to them and tonnes of taste.
You can serve these hot from the oven or cool them completely and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. I tend to batch cook them and have some warm or hot with a curry and then keep the rest in the fridge for snacking (mainly because it keeps me away from the crisps!).
You may not have used gram flour before – I came across it while doing research into Indian food and ingredients. It’s a type of flour made by grinding dried chickpeas. It’s hit and miss whether you will find it in your supermarket. I believe it’s sold in most ethnic food shops that sell Indian/Asian products or you can find it here. They only tend to sell it in whopping great packets but don’t worry because, like your average plain or self raising flour, it keeps for ages!
As always, if you made them or made a change that you loved, please do let me know in the comments or by using the contact me form. Enjoy! DDx
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Onion and carrot mini bhajis
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 24 mini bhajis 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Mini bhajis made with onion and carrot, lightly spiced. Serve them as a side with curry or keep them in the fridge and eat cold as a lower calorie snack.
Ingredients
- 4 white onions, finely sliced
- 2 large carrots, grated
- 2 teaspoons turmeric
- 2 teaspoons korma curry powder
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons coriander leaf
- 2 teaspoons garlic granules
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 140g gram (chickpea) flour
- 1 teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons tomato puree
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 lime
- Cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to fan 180C. Line 2 large baking sheets with greaseproof paper.
- Spray a large frying pan or wok with cooking spray. Add in the onion and carrot. Fry over a medium heat for 10 minutes – we are just looking to sweat and soften them, not to get any colour.
- Add in the turmeric, korma curry powder, ground cumin, ground coriander, garlic granules and ginger. Mix well and continue to cook for another 3 minutes. Then remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
- Meanwhile, put the gram flour, salt, lemon juice, coriander leaf and light brown sugar into a large mixing bowl. Add the cooled onion and carrot and mix.
- Combine the 2 tbsp tomato puree with 150ml of water and add to the bowl. Mix everything together so all of the onion and carrot is well coated.
- Using 2 teaspoons (the second to help you shape) drop heaped teaspoons of bhaji mix onto the prepared trays – you should be able to get 12 on each tray.
- Bake for 10 minutes and then turn the bhajis. Spray the tops with cooking spray and return to the oven for another 10 minutes until golden brown and starting to get crispy bits around the edges.
- When the bhajis are cooked, remove from the oven and sprinkle fresh squeezed lime juice and serve hot. You can also cool and store them in the fridge to eat cold as a lighter snack.
Notes
- As written, these are quite mildly spiced. If you like things hot hot hot then try adding some chilli powder or hotter curry powder.
- Store in the fridge for up to 4 days in an airtight container.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Indian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: Per bhaji
- Calories: 40.92kcal
