Crispy, burger-worthy onion rings

Onion rings are that one side dish that have the ability to make pupils dilate with excitement. Crispy, deep fried batter will do that for you. So, as the holy grail of side dishes, we thought we’d add them to the gallery of things you should be able to whip up for monthly burger night. It’s definitely a side we would cancel other commitments for.

Ingredients

Prep time: 10 mins | Cook time: 10 mins | Serves: 4

Oil, to deep fry
2 onions, cut into thick rings
100g flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp Jimmy Public Nigella seeds (optional, but so delicious)
¾ cup sparkling water

Method:

1. Toss the onion rings together in a large bowl. Side note on onions: yellow onions, are the best all round onion and most readily available, but if you can get sweet onions, those will be fantastic too.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour with the baking powder, salt and those little Nigella seeds. Nigella seeds are also known as black onion seeds and taste a bit like a combination of origanum and mustard and are a flavourful addition to root veggie dishes.
4. Now you need to add enough sparkling water to make a pouring batter.
5. Heat the oil in a saucepan to about 180ºC – you can test this using a cooking thermometer. If you don’t have one, here’s a way to test it. Grab a teaspoon and dip it into the batter. Move it over to the oil pot and drip a small amount of the batter into the oil. If it starts to bubble and cook the oil is ready. If you don’t hear the oil sizzling right away, wait a few more minutes.
6. Dip the onion rings into the batter. Make sure you get a decent coating on them. Now carefully lower them into the hot oil. Fry for a few minutes until golden brown and cooked through.

7. Remove with a draining spoon and place on a piece of paper towel to absorb some excess oil. Repeat with the remaining onions until the batch is ready for those eager folks outside.

You can serve these immediately as a starter with a dip or as a side dish to your main meal. We suggest burgers. A tall glass of craft would most certainly not go amiss here.