Onion bhajis with tomato and chilli relish

45 MINUTES | SERVES 4 AS A STARTER | EASY | V

Bhajis are street food in India, eaten hot and crisp straight from the karahi. I serve them as a first course or small plate, with a tomato and chilli sauce. Cheap, cheerful and delicious!

plain flour 110g baking powder 2 tsp chilli powder or smoked paprika 1 tsp eggs 2, beaten onions 4, tough outer layers removed and discarded, thinly sliced chives or coriander finely chopped to make 1 tbsp oil for deep-frying

TOMATO AND CHILLI RELISH

green chillies 2, deseeded and chopped red pepper 1, cut into 5mm dice chopped tomatoes Ω x 400g tin garlic 1 clove, crushed caster sugar 2 tsp soft light brown sugar 2 tsp white wine vinegar 1 tbsp

• First make the relish. Put the chillies, pepper, tomatoes and garlic into a pan with the sugars, vinegar and 2 tbsp of water. Season and simmer for 10 minutes until reduced by 1/2.

• Sift the flour, baking powder and chilli powder into a bowl. Make a well in the centre, add the eggs, then gradually add in 150ml of water and mix to make a smooth batter. Stir in the thinly sliced onions and chives. Season and mix really well.

• Fill a pan no more than 1/3 full with oil and heat to 170C or until a cube of bread browns in 40 seconds. Drop dessertspoons of the batter into the oil and cook for 5 minutes on each side or until crisp and golden, then drain on kitchen paper. Keep warm in a low oven while you fry the rest. Serve hot or cold with the tomato and chilli relish.

PER SERVING 335 KCALS | FAT 13.7G SATURATES 1.6G | CARBS 40.6G | SUGARS 16.1G FIBRE 6.1G | PROTEIN 9.4G | SALT 0.7G