Crispy Fried Onions Recipe | Perfect Birista Recipe

Crispy fried onions also known as birista is a simple recipe detailing on how to deep fry the onions and use in the making of a variety of dishes like biryanis and qormas.

Perfect Birista

Few days before, I've shared the recipe of Dhuwan Dahi Gosht, that recipe used crisp fried onions. So, today I'm sharing the recipe of birista which you can make in bulk and use as and when required.



Hyderabadi biryani and haleems are incomplete without the crisp fried onions. Birista is used in layering the biryani as well as garnishing on the top. You can store these crisp fried onions and use in recipes, it really speeds up the cooking process. I usually make birista with 1 kilograms of onions and store in an airtight glass jar in the fridge and use it in all my gravies and biryanis over the week.

These crispy fried onions can be used in so many ways, below I've listed some of them:

• You can use these premade crisp fried onions in layering and garnishing your biryanis
• You can also use a generous amount of birista to go along with your servings of haleems.
• These crisp fried onions are also used in making veg or non veg qormas and gravies.
• you can also sprinkle birista over ghee rice, zeera rice or any flavored or plain rice. It makes a simple rice flavorful.
• Add these crisp fried onions in making shaami kababs, mutton or chicken cutlets and patties.

I would also like to know in what other recipes do you use birista? Do let me know in the comment below...

Perfect Birista

Perfect Birista Recipe

Author: Razina | Cuisine: Indian | Recipe Type: Basic

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 30 minutes | Yield: 4 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 kilogram of onions
• 2 cups of oil for deep frying

Directions for making perfect birista recipe:

1. Slice the onions very fine.

2. Heat oil in a kadhai/wok and add all the onions. Fry them for about 8-10 minutes on high flame, stir in between.

3. Now reduce the flame to medium low and continue cooking. The onions will first turn pink and then will start changing to light brown in colour. At this stage you need to keep an eye on them as they brown really fast and may get burnt.

4. Once they turn golden, switch off the flame and the onions will continue to sizzle in the hot oil.

5. Now remove the browned onions and place it in a large seive first to drain the oil. Slightly tap the sieve and swirl the fried onions. This is a very important step, do not skip this.

6. Next spread the fried onions on an absorbent paper to cool and become crisp. It will take around 5-10 minutes.

7. Once crisp use in your recipes or store it in an airtight container and freeze for future use.

Notes:

• The oil quantity should be enough to completely submerge the onions when added to it.
• The oil used in frying the onions can be reused in your regular cooking.
• 1 medium onion will give around 1 tablespoon of birista, so use accordingly in your recipes.