SuperJunkFood to the Rescue 

Onion Ring Wada Pav

Well it’s supposed to rain again. And soon I leave for a loooong trip to Italy where I’ll probably load up on some delicious, mouthwatering though essentially non spicy food. Which is the reason I’ve been pulling out all the stops and making some spicy desi food for myself, all week long! Oh and getting back to the rains, I don’t want to be rude and not make pakodas (fritters) because my desi rain Gods might get offended!

“Wada pav in the rain” is great and all (E. coli not withstanding), but tell me one good reason why I should be working on a wada pav blogpost when there are about 3 million already out there? (Statistics make me feel like I’m in control. Even if they aren’t really accurate. Move on.) So I’m giving it a makeover. More like transforming the good old batata wada into the American junk food hero, the almighty Onion ring.  Ready for some superjunkfood action? 

For the batter:

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup garbanzo bean flour (besan) 
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour (maida)
• 1/8 cup cornstarch 
• 1 tsp paprika 
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder 
• A pinch of asafoetida
• Salt to taste 
• 1-2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro 
• 1 pinch ajwain seeds
• 1/2 tsp aniseeds 
• 1 pinch baking soda
• Water (about 1/2 cup but it does depend more on the flour you use and the altitude you’re at. So I recommend slowly adding spoonfuls till you reach the required consistency.) 

Preparation 

1. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl, adding the water gradually till you get a thick sticky putty-like consistency. Check out the pictures. 

For the onion wada pav :

Ingredients 

• Prepared batter 
• Onions sliced & separated into thick 1/2″ rings.
• Oil to fry
• Pav / slider buns 
• Mint & cilantro chutney to serve with (buy from your local Indian grocery or google the recipe)
• Fried green chili pepper for garnish (optional)
• Red chili & garlic powder for garnish (optional) 

Preparation 

1. Heat oil in a frying pan.
2. Dip the individual rings in the batter, coating it generously, and fry them in the hot oil, turning them over once in the middle. 
3. Drain and place on a kitchen towel once it turns golden brown. 
4. Spread some chutney on the Pav. Sprinkle with the chili-garlic powder. Place a couple onion rings in between.
5. Garnish with the chili pepper and serve hot! Best when served with some ice cold beer!