How To Make Crispy Onions In The Air Fryer Or Oven

Birista

Golden deep-fried onions, also known as Birista or Beresta, are used in many South Asian dishes like Biryani, pulao, curries, and soups. Birista is also crushed and added to marinades, or ground along with other aromatics and spices to make a smooth curry paste. I use these light, crispy, and less oily air-fried onions in place of the deep-fried ones to make the same amazing dishes and marinades. Blended with ginger, garlic, tomatoes, and spices, the crispy onions add depth, sweetness, and a wonderful creaminess to homemade curry pastes. Enter your email & I’ll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week! By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Minstry of Curry

More Dishes With Crispy Air-Fried Onions

Caramelized crispy onions are the perfect topping for burgers and sandwiches to take them to the next level. They’re also a delicious garnish for salads and soups! The Thanksgiving favorite, green-bean casserole often uses the canned version of crispy onions, but why not try these fresh air-fried onions instead!

The Technique

Traditionally, thinly sliced onions are deep-fried in oil until they turn golden brown with a light and crispy texture. If like me, you try to avoid deep-frying, you will love this technique of air-frying onions. Perfectly golden brown, light, and crispy air-fried onions use just a fraction of ghee. All you have to do is to stir the onions every 5 minutes so they cook evenly in the air fryer basket.

Meal Prep Recipe

This is one of my favorite meal-prep recipes, as the air-fried onions can be made ahead and then either refrigerated or frozen. I love making a variety of Instant Pot Biryani recipes for weeknight meals and these onions have become a huge time saver for me.

Avoiding Instant Pot “BURN”

In most of my Instant Pot Biryani recipes, I use the saute function to caramelize the onions. Although this technique is great for one-pot cooking, it can leave the bottom of the stainless steel pot browned leading to the “BURN” if the pot is not fully deglazed before the pressure cooking cycle. Air frying onions not only helps reduce the “BURN” error on Instant Pot but is also a great way to meal prep. You can air fry the onions a few days before and then add them to the Biryani as needed.

Ingredients

I love using yellow onions in this recipe. You can easily substitute them with your favorite variety. Also traditionally for the Biryani recipe, I like to caramelize onions in homemade ghee, but the also recipe works well with any neutral oil.

Tips To Make Crispy Onions

Here are a few tips to make perfectly golden and crispy fried onions:

How To Make Crispy Fried Onions

Thinly slice the onion using a mandolin or a sharp chefs knife evenly cut, thin slicedPlace the onions in a mixing bowl and add gheeMix well using a silicone spatulaAdd the onions to the air fryer basket and spread evenly

Air fry at 320 F 20 minutes mixing and spreading them evenly every 5 minutes.

Crispy Air-Fried Onions Make Everything Better!

I love adding air-fried onions to the marinade when making biryani. Simply crush them with the palms of your hands and add them to the marinade. They are also used as a garnish in chicken biryani, vegetable biryani, fish biryani, and chickpea biryani. Topping pulao or jeera rice with these onions also adds tons of flavor and texture! When making curry paste in recipes like Shahi Chicken Korma or Mom’s Chicken Curry simply use crispy onions in place of the raw onions to experience an unmatched depth of flavor. There is no need to cook them again, just add the golden onions to the blender along with other ingredients for a smooth and creamy masala paste.