519. Blooming Onion

Onion rings used to be all the rage once upon a time.

Now, they have been replaced by all sorts of variants of themselves.
The concept is still the same: breaded fried onion, it's just that people have gotten more creative with their food.
The blooming onion is a favorite appetizer at the Outback restaurant. The onion is repetitively cut all around to yield "petals" like a flower. The idea is to cut almost to the end, but not all the way through, to keep the whole thing intact. I used large onions, but I have seen larger onions, and I do believe people have even tried this with medium and small onions.

Ingredients:

2 large onions
2 cups flour
2 Tbsp paprika
1 tsp chilli
2 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp pepper
2 eggs
1 cup milk
oil for frying

Method:

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, paprika, chili, salt, garlic powder, oregano, and pepper.
In another bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk.
Cut off the top of the onion, keeping the root end intact, and remove the skin.
Cut an "X" pattern into the the onion, being careful not to cut all the way through the onion. Leave 1/2" of the base of the onion in tact. Continue cutting "X" patterns into the onion by turning the onion 90 degrees, then cut another "X" shape. Keep doing this until you cut at least 10-14 times across the onion. Remember to leave the bottom of the onion intact, otherwise the flower will be destroyed. After cutting the "X" patterns into the top of the onion cut out or pull out the center of the onion.
Put the onion in a bowl of ice and water and spread out the "petals."
Drain from the water, then coat in flour mixture, then egg mixture, the flour mixture again, making sure to get in all the nooks and crannies.
Deep fry in hot oil until crisp and brown.
Drain on absorbent paper and serve with dipping sauces.

صحة و عافية