A bhaji or bajji is a type of

fritter A fritter is a portion of meat, seafood, fruit, vegetables or other ingredients which have been Batter (cooking), battered or breading, breaded, or just a portion of dough without further ingredients, that is deep-frying, deep-fried. Fritters ar ...

originating in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

. It is made from spicy hot vegetables, commonly

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion ...

, and has several variants. It is a popular snack food in India and is also very popular in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. It can be found for sale in street-side stalls, especially in '' tapris'' (on streets) and '' dhabas'' (on highways). It is also a common starter in

Anglo-Indian cuisine Anglo-Indian cuisine is the cuisine that developed during the British Raj in India. It was brought to England in the 1930s by the Veeraswamy restaurant, followed by a few others, but not by typical Indian restaurants. The cuisine introduced dishe ...

across the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

for the largest onion bhaji is held by one weighing made by

Oli Khan Oli Khan MBE, FRSA ( bn, অলি খান) is a British-Bangladeshi chef and restaurateur. Khan operates the restaurants Surma Takeaway and Spice Rouge in Stevenage. Khan and the team of Surma Takeaway Stevenage hold the Guinness World Record ...

and Team of Surma Takeaway

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a large town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevena ...

on 4 February 2020.

Regional varieties

Outside Southern and Western India, such preparations are often known as ''

pakora Pakora () is a spiced fritter originating from the Indian subcontinent. They are sold by street vendors and served in restaurants in South Asia and UK. It consists of items, often vegetables such as potatoes and onions, coated in seasoned gram ...

''. Its variations include the chili bajji, potato bajji, onion bajji, plantain bajji and the bread bajji (or

bread pakora Bread pakora is an Indian and Pakistani fried snack (''pakora'' or fritter). It is also known as ''bread bhaji'' (or ''bajji''). A common street food, it is made from bread slices, gram flour, and spices among other ingredients. The snack is ...

). Another version is called bonda (in south India), vada (in Maharashtra) and Gota (in Gujarat). Bonda has potato or mixed vegetable filling while Gota is made with green fenugreek leaves.

Cultural significance

Bhajis are a component of traditional Punjabi Pakistani and

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

, Marathi,

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

, Kannada and Telugu cuisines served on special occasions and at festivals. They are generally served with a cup of

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. S ...

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northe ...

, or a traditional serving of ''yameen''. Banana peppers are used for making mirchi bhajji. Onion bhajis are often eaten as a starter in Anglo-Indian restaurants before the main course, along with '' poppadoms'' and other Indian snacks. They may be served with a side of salad and a slice of lemon, or with mango chutney, and are traditionally made to a mild taste.

Gallery

File:Banana Peppers.jpg, Banana pepper used in mirchi bhaji File:A closeup of Bajji.JPG, A close-up of bajji File:The Bajji maker.jpg, Preparation of bajjis in

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...

File:Bajji's ;) (5549256969).jpg, A variant: aloo bajji File:Onion bajji picture.JPG, Onion bajji File:कांदा भजी.jpg, Kanda Bhaji

References

External links

* {{Doughnuts Appetizers Indian snack foods Pakistani snack foods Fritters Tamil cuisine Onion-based foods Hindu cuisine Indian cuisine South Asian cuisine Vegetarian cuisine Vegetarian dishes of India