Spiced Fried Onions
26 Aug
Few things compare to the taste and smell of just-fried onions. What’s usually an embellishment in meals plays starring role in this recipe: spiced fried onions strips with an aromatic peanut-sesame spice mix. Try it!
You could deep fry the onions for a crunchier texture, or you could go for a leisurely low-flame sauté. I went the sauté way.
You Need:
- Onions – 3 large
- Peanuts – 1/2 cup
- Sesame seeds – 1 tablespoon
- Dry red chilies – 3
- Salt – to taste
- Nigella seeds – 3/4 teaspoon
- Oil – 1 tablespoon
How To Make Spiced Fried Onions:
1. Make the masala
Take a thick-bottomed flat pan. Place it on low heat.
Dry roast each of these ingredients one at a time in the pan, and set aside to cool:
- 1/2 cup of peanuts, stirring occasionally, till the skin takes on a darker hue.
- a tablespoon of sesame seeds, till they turn golden and give off a lovely aroma.
- 3 dry red chilies, till they turn a deeper red and fragrant.
When all the ingredients cool, place them in the grinder with salt.
Grind the peanuts, sesame, red chili and salt together.
Tip: Do not grind peanuts and sesame too long, unless you want to end up with homemade peanut butter!
2. Sauté the onions
Peel and slice onions into thin rings of half-moons.
Heat a tablespoon of oil in a non-stick pan. When hot, add nigella seeds and let them splutter for a few seconds. Add the sliced onions.
Sauté the onions on medium flame.
Cook for 10-15 minutes, or till the onions turn translucent/golden.
You could continue to cook longer till the onions are more uniformly brown; for me, a slight crunch with the edges turning golden works fine.
3. Put it all together
Tip the ground masala of peanuts, sesame and dry red chilies into the pan of frying onions.
Switch off the heat. Mix well so that the masala coats the fried onions evenly.
Serve spiced fried onions on the side with chapatis and dal.
Old pic:
Meal below: chapatis, dal tadka, spiced fried onions, potato wedges, dahi, fresh tomato slices
Notes:
Looking for more recipes starring onions? Try quick tasty onion fry, slender green eggplant with onions, ridge gourd onion chutney.
Enjoyed the peanut-sesame flavor? Check out these dishes too that use this nutty combo: beans with crushed peanuts and sesame, bharwan bhindi, peanut sesame rice.
Thanks for stopping b my blog earlier. I love onions so I am keen on this Would it work with cashews instead of peanuts?
@Bintu – That’s an idea! I’m sure it would work, but I guess it would taste quite different as cashews are milder and “sweeter” than peanuts. Do try it and let me know how it turned out.
Made this last evening. So very good! Thank you for the recipe.
Great to hear that Sandhya.