Baked Beetroot Bhajis everyone! This is what is happening in the Kind Earth Kitchen this week.

Colourful, super easy to make and incredibly delicious. As usual, we are baking instead of deep frying to make sure we keep your bhajis super healthy. Lots of us love bhajis and pakoras, but I am sure most of us would warmly welcome something that tastes delish, yet is NOT deep fried.

So here you go… a recipe just to delight your taste buds!

What is a bhaji?

OK, so what actually is a bhaji? A bhaji is an Indian snack food made with a vegetable and batter. Bhajis are usually deep fried and often served with chutney. They make excellent street food or party food since you eat them with your fingers.

Bhajis also work well as part of a curry night buffet, served hot or cold. Leftovers work nicely in a lunch box the next day.

Is there a difference between a bhaji and pakora?

What is the difference between a bhaji and a pakora? Not a lot really.

Bhajis are like pakoras in that they are made in a batter made from chickpea flour (also called gram flour, chickpea flour, or besan flour).

Bhajis are often known in the West for being made with onions… but to be fair, you can put whatever you want in them and still call them a bhaji. There are so many different variations depending on which region you are in.

Call it a bhaji, call it a pakora, call it whatever you like – it’s de-e-elicious.

Using beetroot in your bhaji recipe

I love beetroot for its fabulous health benefits and that deep beet red colour, so it is the star player in this recipe, and ideal to share with you gorgeous folk here!

You are going to love it.

I am using a delicious combination of flavours to get this dancing on the tastebuds.

We are talking about a medley of

freshly grated ginger
cumin seeds,
curry powder,
onion powder,
sea salt
black pepper

Add in freshly grated beetroot and chickpea flour and it transports you quickly off to tastebud heaven.

Baking your beetroot bhajis instead of frying them

We are looking for a crispy outer layer (hence the high oven temperature as we try to slightly mimic the super high temperature of deep frying).

We want to make sure the whole thing is nicely cooked, all the way through and that the flavours are dancing to perfection. So we’ll put them into an oven at around 450F (230C). I would however suggest that you explore and experiment with your own oven temperature because they vary.

Twenty minutes of baking should do the trick.

We need the bhajis to be baked and tanned on the outside (the odd little scorched piece is fine as it adds nicely to the charm, so no need to be super fussy).

These beetroot bhajis serve exceedingly well with my mango & ginger chutney.
Please do check it out here… Mango & Ginger Chutney recipe.

Beetroot bhajis video

I’ve made a video to show you how easy these are to make. The video also includes a quick bit about where I am staying (at the time of writing) on Vancouver Island… please do check that out here and enjoy!

Baked Beet Bhajis - gluten-free, vegan Indian food

Name: Baked Beet Bhajis - gluten-free, vegan Indian food
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: dairy free, gluten free, vegan, healthy
Ingredients: 1 beetroot (tennis ball sized); 1 heaped teaspoon fresh ginger; ½ teaspoon sea salt; Twist of black pepper; ½ teaspoon cumin seeds; 1 heaped teaspoon curry powder; 2 teaspoons onion powder; 50g chickpea flour (gram/garbanzo bean flour)

Yield: 6

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Beetroot and ginger inspired bhajis with delightful spices and a chickpea (gram) flour) - baked in the oven instead of deep fried.

Ingredients

1 beetroot (tennis ball sized)
1 heaped teaspoon fresh ginger
½ teaspoon sea salt
Twist of black pepper
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
1 heaped teaspoon curry powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
50g chickpea flour (gram/garbanzo bean flour)

Instructions

Please check out my video above to see how I make these.
Grate the beetroot (leaving the skin on is fine).
Finely grate the ginger.
Measure the chickpea flour and then add all ingredients to a mixing bowl together.
Use your hands to mix and squeeze the ingredients until everything is evenly combined.
Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
Divide the mixture into about 6 dollops and pop them onto the baking tray (give them a little squish down so they are more like patties about 1.5cm thick).
Pop it into an oven at around 450F (230C) for around 20 minutes – however, I would suggest that you explore and experiment with your own oven temperature because they vary.
Enjoy hot with chutney or cold.