Recipe card
Birista
Birista, also known as barista or Beresta means crispy fried onions made using just two ingredients: onion and oil. It adds a nice aromatic flavor and crunch to the dishes. Biryani is complete with birista. While Birista is readily available in stores, there’s nothing quite like the taste of homemade. If you have the time, consider making it yourself. Not only does it taste delicious, but it’s also free from artificial colors and preservatives. Plus, you can store it in the freezer for up to 6 months, ready to use whenever needed. It will never taste rancid. You can also check out our popular French crispy fried onions made with buttermilk and onion rings.
Ingredients
Onions: Red onions are traditionally used. But feel free to use white or yellow onions, too. Oil: We prefer and use coconut oil for frying. You can use any neutral oil, such as sunflower, canola, or vegetable oil. Check out the recipe card for the full list of the ingredients.
Step-by-step instructions
Peel and thinly and evenly slice the onions. Heat oil in a large pan for frying on medium-high flame. Make sure you have added enough oil to cover all the onion slices. When the oil is hot, add the sliced onions. Initially, fry the onions on high flame for the first 8 minutes. This removes the moisture.
Reduce the flame to low and fry until it becomes golden brown, stirring frequently. Onions continue to cook and keep browning from the residual heat. So keep a close eye while frying onions. Transfer them to a paper towel and spread them. This will make the fried onions crispy. Once cooled, store in air-tight conatiner in the refrigerator for four days or in the freezer for up to 6 months. You do not have to thaw it.
Tips
You can coat the thinly sliced onions in corn flour or flour before frying to make them crispy. It takes seconds for onions to turn from golden brown to burnt. When you add sliced onions, the oil should be hot enough. Otherwise, the onion will absorb oil and become too soggy. Do not discard the leftover oil in which the onion is fried. This enhances the flavor of the dish. Use it to make biryani, add tempering to dal, or cook dosa.
Air fryer birista
To avoid frying, you can make the barista in an air fryer. Preheat the air fryer to 200 degrees C. Add sliced onions to the basket and spray oil. Air fry for 4 to 5 minutes. Now, reduce the temperature to 120 degrees C. Keep tossing every 5 minutes and air fry until golden browned.
More onion recipes
Did you like this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below and/or a review in the comments section. You can also stay in touch with us through social media by following us on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
