Welcome To Swahili Food
Crispy onions are crucial to a good biriyani but they are also perfect for other things like blue cheese steak sauce, scrambled eggs, sandwiches, prawn curry. I can go on…
I like to make a big batch of these and freeze to be used when I need them in a dish because kids, husband. Get my drift? Yup.
I have a confession to make. I could never really get this particular thing right until recently. My cutting technique wasn’t ideal so I never achieved what I was trying to and almost always ended up with half burnt, half uncooked, sorry excuses for onions.
The trick I came to realise is to cut the onions into rings and consistency is key. Try to keep the slices the same size because that helps ensure that the slices cook to the same doneness at the same time.
The next crucial thing is the oil. The oil has to be hot enough so that the onion rings sizzle when they touch the oil. Just as I’ve mentioned in my book you can test whether oil is ready for frying by dipping a wooden skewer (mwiko) in it. If bubbles form around the skewer you are good to go.
Another thing, don’t wait for them to look crispy. Take them out of the hot oil as soon as they’ve turned a deep golden brown colour. Why? Because they crisp up once you take them out of the hot oil. Lay them on kitchen paper to blot.
I hope these few but very crucial tips help you achieve great, fried, golden, crisp onions.
Welcome to the site and feel free to share or post a comment.
