Kanda bhajiya

Step 1: Separate the 3 onions slices into strands, toss with 1 tsp salt and leave for 5 minutes until they turn limp and wet.

Step 2: Add 3 green chillies, 3 tbsp fresh coriander, ½ tsp ajwain (carom seeds), 1 tsp red chilli powder, ¼ tsp ground turmeric and ¼ tsp gluten-free asafoetida (hing) and squeeze everything together with your hand.

Step 3: Pour 3 ¼ cups sunflower or groundnut oil into a heavy kadai or deep pan, no more than a third of its depth, and heat over medium heat to 175–350°F on a thermometer. No thermometer? Drop in a pinch of the mix: it should sink a little, then rise to the top at once with lively bubbles. Stay at the stove the whole time the oil is hot and keep the handle turned inwards.

Step 4: Sprinkle 3 ½ oz besan (gram flour) and 2 tbsp rice flour over the onions and mix with your fingers until every strand is coated in a sticky film. Add 2 tbsp water only by the teaspoon if dry flour remains. Stir in 1 tbsp of the hot oil.

Step 5: Drop small, loose clusters into the oil with your fingertips, 6–8 at a time, without pressing them together. The oil should fizz loudly.

Step 6: Fry, turning once, until deep golden and the sizzling turns quieter and finer, a sign the moisture has cooked out. Lift onto kitchen paper.

Step 7: Let the oil come back up to temperature between batches and fry the rest. Serve straight away with fried green chillies and chutney.