The Best Onion Rings So Far
Yeah, I think we got it sorted out. What you will need:
- A big onion. You’ve seen ‘em at the store.
- Besan (gram- or chickpea-flour). This is what South Asians make Pakora and Bhajis from.
- Flour. Plain ol’ white flour, please.
- Amchur. (Powdered dried green mango.) This is the magic ingredient. Full of Umami
- Salt
- Pepper
- A deep fat fryer. Totally worth 50 or 60 bucks. I love mine (and don’t even have a microwave). Don’t mess around on the stove-top, you might burn the house down.
- Lard. Seriously, this is the stuff to fry with. Doesn’t break down, doesn’t soak in to your fritters. Canola oil is a passable substitute for the squeamish.
The procedure
A note on quantities: These are estimates; don’t be too fussy. Think in ratios, and remember: cooking was invented way before the metric system.
Get a one-gallon plastic bag and put in about a cup of Besan and a half-cup of flour. Add, oh, a tablespoon of Amchur and salt and pepper to taste (no, don’t actually taste this mix, just add what seems right).
Peel and halve the onion (from root to tip). Then lay it flat on a cutting board and slice thin (1/4 inch or less) half-rings.
A note on onion slicing: Full-ring onion rings look better, but are a hassle to slice and fry. Don’t bother with them.
Put the sliced onions directly into the bag-o-flour mix (they start ’sweating’ immediately) and shake.
Heat up the oil; continue to shake the onions occasionally while it comes up to heat (use the heat setting your fryer recommends for stuff like this).
Remove the onions from the mix and fry them up in batches as appropriate for the size of your fryer. You might shake the onions in a strainer before putting them in the fryer (to get rid of excess mix). Hint: let them get darker than you think they need to be — the oil makes them look more cooked than they are.
Use tongs or a wire dipper to remove them and put them into a colander. Maybe add a little salt? (You can taste them now.)
Serve.
Enjoy.
Remember: Onions are really good for you. This is an honest vegetable side-dish with starch added. Also suitable as an appetizer.