I never knew what onion rings are till I first had it in the United States. I was familiar and loved only onion pakoda (pakora) or bhaji or bhajji prepared using chickpea flour. Onion rings are one of the popular snacks in the United States. These onion rings are also served as appetizers, finger food or side dish for any occasion or gathering. If you are looking for last minute game day, Super Bowl or Football party food ideas then try this out. One of the best alternative to traditional French fries. Also, you can use them as fixings in sandwiches, burgers, hamburgers, hot dogs, etc.
Remove the papery like skin and cut the ends, i.e., stem and root of the onion. Hold onion on its side and start cutting down through one end around ¼ inch thick or of desired thickness. Separate the onions into rings. Smaller rings can be fried or store in Ziploc bags and used in any dishes or curries.
To make onion rings batter you just need flour, corn flour (also known as corn starch) and ice cold water or sparkling water or club soda. To make it extra crispy coat it with panko bread crumbs or cornflakes. This recipe is eggless and vegan. Onion rings can be served with tomato ketchup, mayonnaise or both mixed together, honey mustard sauce, ranch dressing, blue cheese dressing, tartar sauce, or any other sauce of your choice. Onion rings are one of the best accompaniment with cocktails and mocktails.
Avoid too much batter on onion rings. This will only retain moisture inside and starts getting soggy. The batter should not be too thin or too thick. If the oil used for frying is not hot enough, onion rings will absorb oil and become more soggy. It’s always best practice to fry onion rings on medium to medium-high flame.
If you ask me which onions to use for onion rings, I would say any variety white, red, or yellow onions whichever is available in your pantry. The recipe below gives perfectly crispy onion rings every single time with any variety of onion. Vidalia, Texas, Maui, or Walla Walla are few best choices as they are sweet. I have tried with red, Vidalia, and white onions most of the times and I have no complaints. All these onion varieties have given me successful results. Using panko bread crumbs (also known as Japanese-style bread crumbs) makes your onion rings extra crispy.
Make sure you prepare the batter using ice cold water or sparkling water. The batter should be cold. This helps the batter to stick to onion rings while frying. Also, make sure the oil is at right temperature for frying between 350 to 375 degree F.
For the onion rings batter ½ cup All purpose flour or Maida ⅓ cup Corn starch or Corn flour ½ teaspoon Red Chile powder or Cayenne or Paprika Salt, to taste ¾ cup Club soda, ice cold water or sparkling water, approx. Other ingredients 2 Onions chopped in circles 2 cups Japanese-style Panko bread crumbs (you can also use crushed cornflakes) Oil, for frying
Cut the onions into rings of approximately ¼ inch thickness. Separate the rings from each other. Prepare the batter : In a bowl add flour, corn starch, chili or paprika or cayenne powder, salt to taste and mix once. Add ice cold water or soda starting with ½ cup and add more only if needed. Continuously whisk so that there are no lumps and a smooth batter is formed. In a plate or shallow pan, spread the bread crumbs. Dip each onion ring in the batter so that its completely coated in the batter. Transfer this to the plate containing bread crumbs and coat each one of them using a fork. Keep this aside. At this point you can freeze the coated onion rings in Ziplock bags and fry it as and when required. Heat oil in a pan on medium flame. Oil should not be too hot or too cold. Just drop batter and check if it sizzles and comes up quickly. It means the oil is ready for frying. Depending on the size of your pan, drop one to several onion rings for frying. After a minute or two, flip and fry till the onions are crisp and golden brown on both the sides. Transfer it to paper towels to absorb any excess oil.
You can add salt directly to the batter as above or once the rings are fried you can simple sprinkle it on top. Divide the Panko breadcrumbs into two equal portions. This is because, when you dip the battered rings into the breadcrumbs mixture, it gets sticky. If you divide the breadcrumbs into two portions, you can switch to second half when the first half becomes sticky. Amount of club soda or water may vary depending on weather conditions and the brand of flours used in the recipe. The batter should be smooth and not too thin. So always add liquid little by little. You can use milk or eggs to prepare the batter. The taste and texture will vary accordingly. You can also add 1 or 2 tablespoon of instant mashed potatoes. This will give you amazing results - specifically, super crunchy rings. You can add garlic powder, pepper powder, and herbs to the batter if desired.
Onion rings taste the best when served fresh. If there are any leftovers you can store it in air tight container in refrigerator for up to 4 days. Beer fan? You can follow the same recipe as above and instead of sparkling water or club soda, add beer and prepare the batter. While adding beer exclude the foamy part in measurement.
Once you have coated onion rings with bread crumbs spray the inside of air fryer with cooking spray. Carefully place a single layer of onion rings and spray oil on top. Cook on 375 degree F for total 8 to 10 minutes flipping half way through. At this point you can transfer the first batch to baking sheet and place it in oven to keep it crisp and warm while you air fry remaining onions.
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