These Glasgow Indian restaurant style spiced onions (or ‘spicy onions’) are a true Scottish takeaway classic. Fresh, tangy and lightly spiced, they’re the perfect match for crispy poppadoms and the essential start to any curry night.
If you grew up eating Indian food in Scotland, you’ll know exactly what these are. Red, zesty and slightly sweet, these Scottish takeaway style spiced onions appear on every Indian restaurant table from Glasgow to Edinburgh. This homemade version uses a simple blend of ketchup, mango chutney, mint sauce and spices to recreate that iconic flavour.
Love Scottish Indian restaurant style recipes?
You can find more in my cookbook The Indian Takeaway Secret.
Ingredients For Scottish Spiced Onions
The tangy red sauce that coats spicy onions is made with ketchup, mango chutney, mint sauce and a few simple spices. Beetroot powder gives the classic bright red colour you’ll recognise from Scottish Indian restaurants, and the mixture tastes even better once chilled.
Below is everything you’ll need to make authentic bright red Scottish spiced onions at home:
- Onions
- Ketchup
- Mint Sauce
- Mango Chutney
- Cumin Powder
- Garam Masala
- Red Chilli Powder
- Dried Coriander Leaf
- Salt
- Beetroot Powder
- Water
How To Make Scottish Spiced Onions
This is a very easy Indian takeaway starter dish to make, with the ingredients simply being combined in a bowl. If you have time, preparing a few hours ahead of time helps the flavours develop.
Follow the whole recipe below – it takes just a few minutes to put together. If you prefer a milder onion without as much sharpness, you can put chopped onion in a colander and rinse briefly with fresh cold water. This is a useful tip to make the onion flavour a little milder and works for any salad dish.
Step 1: Mix Spiced Onion Ingredients
In a large bowl, add onion, ketchup, mint sauce, mango chutney, cumin, garam masala, chilli powder, coriander leaf, salt and beetroot powder mixed with water. Mix well, set aside for 5 minutes and then mix well once more – this makes sure all of the ingredients are thoroughly combined for a balanced flavour.
Step 2: Chill & Serve
Transfer the spicy onions to a food safe dish, cover and set aside in the fridge for 1-2 hours. Mix once more before serving to make sure everything is nicely combined.
Serve Indian restaurant style spiced onions with crispy poppadoms, or with your favourite Indian curries. I like them best with South Indian Garlic Chilli Chicken Curry.
Scottish Spiced Onions Recipe Tips
Milder Flavour
If you prefer an even milder flavour, soak chopped onion in cold water for 10 minutes, rinse and drain before use. This works any time raw onion is called for in salad recipes.
Bright Red Spicy Onions
Takeaway kitchens often use food colouring or beetroot powder to add an attractive red colour to various dishes, including red spicy onions and chicken tikka. I like beetroot powder for natural colour and a touch of sweetness. You can use neither food colouring or beetroot powder and the colour will be a little muted, but the flavour of the spiced onions will still be good.
Make Ahead
Takeaway style spiced onions benefit from some time in the fridge, which makes them ideal to prepare ahead of time. You can make them a few hours ahead of time or even the day before and they’ll keep well in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Spice Levels
For a hotter batch of Glasgow style spiced onions, use extra hot chilli powder.
I hope you try this Indian restaurant style spiced onions recipe. If you do, let me know in the comments how it went!
Spiced Onions (Indian Restaurant Style)
Ingredients
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons tomato ketchup
- 1 teaspoon mint sauce
- 1 teaspoon mango chutney
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1/4 teaspoon garam masala
- pinch chilli powder or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon dried coriander leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon beetroot powder, mixed with 1 tablespoon water
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add 1 large onion (chopped), 3 tablespoons tomato ketchup, 1 teaspoon mint sauce, 1 teaspoon mango chutney, 1/4 teaspoon cumin powder, 1/4 teaspoon garam masala, pinch chilli powder, 1/2 teaspoon dried coriander leaves, 1/2 teaspoon beetroot powder, mixed with 1 tablespoon water and 1/4 teaspoon sea salt. Mix well, let stand for 5 minutes and mix well again.
- Cover spiced onions and set aside in the fridge for 1-2 hours. Mix once more before serving with freshly fried poppadoms.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Got some questions about making Scottish spiced onions at home? Here’s the answers to some that come up most often:
Scottish Spiced Onions Recipe FAQ
How do Indian restaurants make spiced onions bright red?
Takeaway kitchens often use food colouring or beetroot powder to add an attractive red colour to various dishes, including red spicy onions and chicken tikka. I like beetroot powder for natural colour and a touch of sweetness – it doesn’t taste like beetroot!
What else can I do with spiced onions?
The chefs at New Serena in Dunfermline combine spiced onions with cooked doner meat and mozzarella cheese to make a delicious calzone. They’re also very tasty served alongside pizza, in wraps and salads or baked potato.
How long can I keep spiced onions in the fridge?
Spiced onions taste best fresh, but will keep well in a sealed food safe container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
The internet is a godsend; this recipe was surprisingly simple and straightforward- I anticipated something far more complicated. The taste of the finished product transported me (figuratively) back to the 1980’s and my many, many trips to Cafe India at Anderson in Glasgow. I was never disappointed with the complimentary spiced onions on offer at that time – nor the recipe (for the same) on this site. Thank you for having me able to crate a taste sensation that took me back to happy times spent in Glasgow.
Thank you so much for this Kevan, I’m so glad this recipe was what you were looking for! Very happy to hear that you enjoyed it, thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!