No Oil or Frying Needed!

I don't like to fry things at home. Not so much for health reasons, but more because it terrifies me. All that crackling and spattering. I also don't like how the smell of frying kind of lingers long after you've eaten your meal. I remember when I was with my ex, the only way he would eat tofu was fried, and it used to cause me so much anxiety I just gave up on meals with tofu. Because of my fear of frying, I've really missed onion rings. I don't really eat at restaurants, and anyway I don't trust that restaurant onion rings are vegan, so it's been quite awhile since I've had them.
I remember a few years ago I tried a recipe for baked onion rings. They did not turn out at all. I remember I followed the recipe to a T and it was a disaster. There are a few frozen onion rings that are vegan, I know Alexia makes one, but now that I'm off the gluten those are a no no too. Gluten free living really is for the birds. Anyway, I decided to try making onion bhaji last night, which are basically an onion fritter. I think at a lot of Indian restaurants they're fried, but I found a recipe for baked bhaji and they were delicious, and very easy to make. You just saute some onions with spices, add in some garbanzo bean flour and then bake.

I drizzled mine with some green dragon sauce, and made a little dipping sauce with Just Mayo and sriracha. I used this recipe with a few changes. I used two large sweet onions, and I used curry powder instead of chili powder. I also cooked all the spices with the onions, used one tablespoon of ketchup instead of tomato puree, and used no water or olive oil. I also used about nine tablespoons of chickpea flour. I had the tiniest bit left after measuring out the five tablespoons, it seemed silly to save that tiny amount. I just put the sauteed onions in a bowl, and mixed in the flour dry. There's enough liquid in the onions that no extra water or oil is needed. Don't worry about the appearance, the flour kind of gets soaked up by the onions, and it looks nothing like a batter, but trust me the flour binds while baking. These are absolutely delicious. I will be making these again and again. The onions are sweet with a little bit of a spicy flavor, and the chickpea flour forms a very light batter that lets the onion flavor shine. It was the perfect meal with a little Romaine salad. These would be great at parties because they're good hot or room temperature. I love when I try making something new, and it's a success!

These two. Look at Afro's paw resting on Kanye's little face. I mean, could they be any cuter?  I am so lucky!