Fried Onions Recipe (Crispy Onions /Birista)
Updated: December 4, 2022, By Swasthi
Make Crispy Fried Onions at home with my 3 ingredient recipe. Also known as birista, these are thin onion slices deep fried to perfection until golden, fragrant and crisp. Fried onions are great to use in all your Biryanis, Pulao and Korma dishes. A few tablespoons of these fried onions in your curry paste, is going to impart a magical flavor. Plus you can also garnish your soups, salads and pilafs with amazing birista. For a healthier option you can also air fry but you won’t get the same flavor and texture.
Fried Onions (Birista)
Biryani without crisp fried onions is incomplete and it sure lacks the flavor. You may have noticed that a lot of time goes into making fried onions every time you make a biryani or korma.
Making these ahead is a one-time task but they will last very long in your freezer without getting rancid or the flavors being diminished.
Having a pack of these birista ready in your freezer makes you want to make biryani and kormas more often.
I know you may think of using the store bought crispy onions. But most of the times they smell rancid or if they don’t they are fried in vegetable fat like Vanaspati or even other kinds of fat which are not healthy.
A lot of times I start my biryani from scratch and that includes frying the onions as well. I love to use ghee if I am making a small batch of biryani just enough for the day. Other times I prefer to use oil.
Fried onions can be made with just 2 ingredients – onions and oil. But I prefer to use the third ingredient corn starch which gives them an amazing extra crisp texture without altering their flavor.
I learnt this trick many many years ago from the popular Hyderabadi Chef Sanjay Thumma. A little sprinkle of corn starch gives great results. However if you want to avoid it, you may leave out. They will still turn out good.
You can use beresta to make
Veg biryani
Chicken biryani
Mutton biryani
Paneer biryani
Photo Guide
How to Make Crispy Fried Onions (Stepwise Photos)
1. Wash, peel and slice 1 large onion to thin slices.
2. Sprinkle corn flour. Toss them.
3. Fry in hot oil until golden.
4. Drain on a kitchen tissue. Cool crispy onions and store in a air tight freezer safe container or zip lock bag.
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Recipe Card
Fried Onions Recipe (Crispy Onions/Birista)
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )
- 1 onion large
- 1 teaspoon corn starch (corn flour, optional)
- ½ to ¾ cup oil (deep frying oil)
Instructions
How to Make Fried Onions
- Wash and peel onion.
- Cut onions into evenly thin slices and ensure they are almost of same thickness.
- Sprinkle corn flour on the slices and toss them.
- Heat oil in a deep pan till medium hot but not smoking hot.
- Reduce the flame to medium. Add few onion slices at one time and deep fry until crisp.
- Transfer them to an absorbent paper. Fry all the onions in batches. Cool them completely and store in a airtight jar.
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
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About Swasthi
I’m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me
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Comments
Very useful for beginners like me
Thank you Swathi. The best Fried Onion recipe out there. I just have one question. You know how onions are wet and then you add corn flour to them, the cornflour kept getting thick and stuck on the bottom of the frying pan. The onions turned out delicious and very crispy even after a few seconds of putting them out to dry.
Hi,
If the oil is not hot enough or if the quantity of oil is too little, onions can go down and get stuck. Hope this helps
usable in dal?
yes you can use to garnish dal
I am an ardent fan of yours. Love the tips and tricks. Following your recipes, the food I make, gets a lot of complements from family and friends.
Thanks
Neeta, excited to read this! Thank you so much!
Hi Swasthi,
Just wondering how many fried onion a large onion will yield? I am thinking if I can use the fried onion sold in supermarket?
Hi June,
You can use the store bought fried onions if the flavor is good. But unfortunately most brands don’t and they smell rancid. You can give a try. If you make biryani often I would suggest you spend an hour and fry a lot of them and store in a glass jar in the fridge. They will last long. 1 large onion doesn’t yield much – a little over half cup. Hope this helps.
Recipes are always exciting to make
looks so yummy! Will give it a try.
Hi, How long can I preserve the onion fry in the frige?
Sunita
it depends on what kind of oil you used for frying. If you have fried in fresh oil (first use) then they last for about 2 months in the fridge
I bought from market how long can i store
store bought fried onions go rancid faster. So I have no idea.
Hi Swasthi Excellent picture of the fried onion good tips. Thank you very much.
Welcome Jaya
where can buy corn flour…is it the same as corn meal?
Corn flour is the same as corn starch and not corn meal. Hope this helps. Thank you
they looks too crispy.. perfect with biriyani..