Air Fryer Vegetable Bhajis - Easy & Crispy Pakora

Forget deep fat frying, cook delicious crispy vegetable bhajis (also known as vegetable pakora in some parts of India) in your air fryer.

A popular Indian street food, these crispy vegetable bhajis are a modern twist on onion bhaji or onion pakora and cooked in an air fryer with just a little oil instead of deep frying in hot oil.

This air fryer version is much healthier option with a lot less oil and less mess.

They make a great snack, are fabulous on a wrap with mango chutney and salad, or served alongside your favourite dahl on curry night.

Jump to:

• 💭 What are vegetable bhajis?
• 💭 Are vegetable bhajis the same as vegetable pakora?
• ♨️ Are bhajis as crispy when cooked in an air fryer?
• 🥕 What you need to make air fryer vegetable bhajis
• 💭 What is gram flour?
• 💭 Can you use plain flour instead of gram flour?
• 📖 Variations to the recipe
• 💭 Top tips for cooking bhajis in an air fryer
• 🌯 How to serve vegetable bhajis
• 🥪 Lunch box snack
• 🍲 Storing vegetable bhajis
• 🌡️ Can you freeze bhajis?
• 👩🏻‍🍳 More Indian recipes
• ⭐ Save your favourite recipes for free!
• 👩🏻‍🍳 How to make Air Fryer Vegetable Bhajis
• 📖 Recipe
• Comments

💭 What are vegetable bhajis?

Vegetable bhajis are a variation on the more familiar onion bhajis.

Onion bhajis are commonly served in British Indian restaurants, but you can now find them on the shelves in the supermarket too, although homemade are always much nicer.

They are basically just onion tossed in spices and batter then deep fried until golden brown. A bit like onion fritters.

I prefer a healthier snack, so I make them in the air fryer and add seasonal root vegetables along with the red onion.

So instead of onion bhaji, I'm sharing these crispy vegetable bhajis.

The perfect Indian food.

You are going to love this variation on an air fryer onion bhaji recipe.

💭 Are vegetable bhajis the same as vegetable pakora?

Bhajis and pakora are very similar.

They are both made with onions or vegetables in a batter made from gram flour.

You will find they are both popular in different regions of India

♨️ Are bhajis as crispy when cooked in an air fryer?

Onion or vegetable bhajis are usually deep-fried for that crispy finish.

When they are cooked in the air fryer, the batter includes very little oil, but the air fryer still produces very crispy bhajis.

You won't be disappointed when you cook them this way.

🥕 What you need to make air fryer vegetable bhajis

Here are the simple ingredients you need to make these crispy onion bhajis with extra veg. It's a really easy recipe.

• Red onion - you can use brown or white onions, but I prefer red onions.
• Carrot
• Parsnip
• Gram flour
• Olive oil
• Chilli powder
• Ground cumin
• Ground coriander
• Turmeric powder
• Baking powder
• Salt

The full printable recipe is at the bottom of this page after the step-by-step photo guide.

💭 What is gram flour?

Gram flour is a protein-rich flour made from chickpeas.

It is also called chickpea flour, garbanzo flour or besan flour.

You can find it in the world aisle (or Indian aisle) in supermarkets or in Indian grocery stores.

It is gluten-free and has higher fibre and protein than other flours.

💭 Top tips for cooking bhajis in an air fryer

Here are a few tips for making the best bhajis in the air fryer.

• Crispy vegetable pakora or bhaji can be made in air fryers with a drawer or those with shelves.
• If your air fryer has shelves, use a baking dish that can fit in your air fryer and place it on one of the shelves. I use a square glass pyrex dish or a square brownie pan.
• Grease the dish with a little oil so the bhaji mix won't stick.
• Preheat the air fryer for a couple of minutes.
• Leave space between the bhajis to give them a chance to crisp up all over and to make it easier to flip them.
• Near the end of cooking time, flip the bhajis and bake the underside for a couple of minutes to crisp it up.

It's a great recipe if you want a bit of a treat, but a healthy treat.

🌯 How to serve vegetable bhajis

Here are a few ideas on how to serve vegetable bhajis.

1. Warm with mango chutney as a dip - as you can see, my son enjoys eating them this way. He gives them 9/10 which is high praise from him indeed. You could serve it with any of your favourite sauces.
2. Warm and crisp with homemade chipotle ketchup (it's seriously lush!)
3. Warm with creamy raita - to make the raita, mix grated cucumber with vegan greek yoghurt, fresh mint and a pinch of salt.
4. On a wrap with salad - check out this onion bhaji wrap recipe.
5. On a sandwich - check out this onion bhaji sandwich with curried slaw.
6. Hot with dahl (or my roasted vegetable balti) - It's a delicious side dish served with dahl, rice and mango chutney (yes I am a big fan of mango chutney), try this coconut and spinach dahl or tomato dahl.

🥪 Lunch box snack

These spicy veg and onion bhajis are great cold in lunchboxes too.

Pack them with some crunchy veg (cucumber slices, carrot sticks, red pepper strips) and a dip.

Alternatively, serve them with a full salad and dressing. Check out my easy small-batch salad dressings.

They are perfect in adult and kids lunch boxes.

🍲 Storing vegetable bhajis

These crunchy veg and red onion bhajis are fabulous when they are hot and crisp, but you can store them for later and serve them cold or reheat them.

Once cool, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.

To reheat pop them back in the air fryer for a couple of minutes on either side at a lower temperature.

You just want to warm them through and not brown them further.

🌡️ Can you freeze bhajis?

Yes, you can freeze onion bhajis and vegetable bhajis.

Once cool, freeze them in a freezer bag or tub for 3-4 months.

Leave them in the fridge overnight to defrost them, then reheat in the air fryer before serving.

👩🏻‍🍳 More Indian recipes

Here are a few more easy Indian-style recipes for you to try next.

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👩🏻‍🍳 How to make Air Fryer Vegetable Bhajis

These step-by-step photos will show you how to make these quick and easy festive sandwiches.

Step 1

• Add finely sliced red onions to a large bowl or mixing bowl.
• Then add grated carrot and parsnip with the spices and baking powder.

Step 2

• Give the vegetables a good mix.
• Then add the gram flour and mix it in well.
• Add the oil and water to the dry ingredients and mix again until the mixture is well coated in a layer of batter, it's not a thick batter, but it should be well coated.

Step 3

• Grease the tray or dish you are using in the air fryer or air fryer basket with a little oil so the bhaji won't stick.
• Preheat the air fryer for 2 minutes.
• With clean hands pull together dollops of the mixture (about the size of a golf ball or a little larger) and place in the dish, leaving room between each bhaji.
• Bake until crisp, then turn over each bhaji and allow the underside to crisp up.
• Keep baking your bhajis in batches until you have used all the mixture.
• Serve and enjoy!