Veggie Burgers

Dear Foodies,


Inspired and motivated by the posts from Nandita and Bee, I finally got things together to make my own burgers. I loved the idea of using beans as the base for the burgers and Bee's pic was the final push I needed. Being a vegetarian I hardly have any choices in any of the huge fast food chains. Wendy's is the only place I can get a veggie burger and fortunately for me I like it (I do throw away the cheese slice though !) I also have a problem with the frozen patties we get in the stores. They are so full of cheese and lately I have a bad reaction to certain kinds of mushrooms and so avoid them as much as I can, I love them and so miss them though :(( With such a narrowed down list I hardly get a chance to enjoy a burger. The only burger patty I truly loved was the Indian burger patty from Trader Joe's. It was super delicious. It had a potato base and the blend of spices was just perfect. So when I decided to make a burger I knew I had to try and replicate that flavor somehow.


I tried two different flavor combinations and liked both of them. I used a variety of flavors and tried to make them a little different from each other by using different bases. The first is a Kidney bean & Corn burger, the second is a Potato & Paneer burger. To make them low-fat and also to avoid standing by the oil pan/tava cooking them, I choose to use the oven. I also froze the finished burger patties by simply wrapping the room temperature patties in aluminum foil. They have lasted upto a month now !! I store the sliced veggies in plastic containers in the fridge and so a nice snack or lite meal is just a few minutes away :)

Kidney bean & Corn Burger

Ingredients :

• 1 can - Kidney beans/Rajma
• 1/2 cup - Potato, boiled and mashed
• 1 nos - fresh Corn on the cob or 2 cups frozen corn
• 3 nos - Green chillies
• 2 tsp - Ginger, finely chopped
• Cilantro
• Salt, Red Chilli powder, Amchur, Cumin powder and Dhania powder - As per taste
• 1/2 cup - powdered roasted Almonds
• 1/2 cup -Sesame seeds
• Oil to coat the burgers

Method:

1. Prep Work: Wash and halve a medium sized potato. Place it in a microwave safe bowl, sprinkle with water and salt, cover and cook in the microwave for about 4-5 mins until soft. Peel the skin.
   ~Thaw the frozen corn. If using fresh corn you can either broil it in the oven with some oil brushed on it or use it raw like I did. Cut the kernels off the cob and reserve.
   ~Drain and wash one can of kidney beans. Pat dry with a paper towel to get rid of the moisture.
   ~Spread a handful of Almonds on a microwave safe plate and zap for 30-45 seconds. They will turn a slight golden color. Allow to cool and rough chop them or use a spice grinder to get a coarse powder.
2. Pre-heat the oven to 400deg C
3. In a huge bowl place the kidney beans, corn & boiled potato(when slightly warm) and mash with a fork or potato masher.
4. Place the green chillies, ginger and cilantro together and mince together to get a near fine paste.
5. Add this to the burger base and continue to add salt and rest of the spices. Amchur adds the tangyness without the addition of liquid through lime. Cumin adds a smoky flavor and dhania and red chilli powder add extra heat. I used approximately 2-3 tsp of each. I kept tasting it to adjust the flavors to my liking.
6. Add the almond powder and combine well to get a dough like mixture.
7. Line a baking sheet with tin foil and brush it with oil uniformly to avoid sticking of the burgers.
8. Spread the sesame seeds on a plate, shape the burger into a patty of desired thickness and shape, dip into the seeds so they stick well and place on the baking sheet.
9. Drizzle oil(I used olive oil) to coat all the burgers and place in the oven. I cooked them for the initial 6-7 mins on 400, then 3-4 mins on 450 and then once the edges were turning crisp I changed the setting to broil and cooked for 3-4 mins. Adjust the timings as per your oven temperatures and experience.

Potato-Paneer Burger
Ingredients:

• 2 nos - medium sized Potatoes
• 1/2 cup - crumbled Paneer
• 1 Tbsp - Besan
• 5-6 nos - Pudina leaves
• 3 nos - Green chillies
• 2 tsp - Ginger, finely chopped
• Salt, Red Chilli powder, Amchur, Cumin powder and Pav Bhaji/Garam masala - As per taste
• Oil to coat the burgers

Method:

1. Prep Work:Wash and halve the potatoes. Place them in a microwave safe bowl, sprinkle with water and salt, cover and cook in the microwave for about 4-5 mins until soft.
   ~Place the pudina leaves, chillies and ginger together and mince well.
2. Pre-heat the oven to 400deg C
3. Peel and mash the potatoes when warm. Add the crumbled paneer and the pudina-chilli-ginger paste to it.
4. Add the rest of the spices and salt, starting with 1 tsp of each first and then taste and adjust the flavors as you go ahead.
5. Mash the ingredients together and add besan to get a dough like mixture.
6. Follow steps from 10 to make the rest of the burger.

To assemble the burger:

2 slices of your favorite Bread - I used whole wheat
Lettuce leaves
Sliced Cucumber & Tomatoes
Sliced red onions, soaked in balsamic vinegar
Ketchup & Mint chutney
~Spread ketchup on one of the slices of bread and mint chutney on another. Place a leaf of lettuce on one and on it the burger patty. Pile on the veggies and top with the second slice of bread. Toasting the bread is optional. Combine the sandwich with fresh fruits, juice and chips to have a perfect little meal for yourself

This was the perfect bite of burger I have had in a very long time. Since I made the patty to suit my taste the final burger was just fabulous. The Kidney bean burger had everything in the right flavors. The crunch from the corn and the texture of the beans and not to forget the nutty crunch of the almonds. I absolutely loved it. The best part is the choice of topping too...luscious cucumbers instead of pickles and the mellowed flavor of red onions instead of the white onions, fresh leaves of lettuce, juicy tomatoes....there was absolutely nothing to not love in this one. You can just not go wrong with home made burger patties. I will try them next time with roasted fresh corn.

The potato burger was my favorite of the two. It came extremely close to the Trader Joe's patty and may be even better than that :) I loved the flavors in this one with the more dominant mint here rather than the cilantro in the bean burger. I left the potatoes and paneer a little chunky and loved the tang from the amchur and pav bhaji masala. I was just waiting for meal times so I could make myself a guilt free, flavor loaded burger. Having all the veggies pre-cut and stored in boxes and pairing it with orange juice and fresh fruits made it a ultra satisfying meal :)

I strongly recommend all of you to try making your own burgers. You need no strict recipes, just a basic idea and you will be all set. And like I already mentioned, these store really well, nearly more than a month when frozen. Just pull one out, microwave for 30 secs and toast on the pan if you want it crisp. Thats is all !! So get set and GO !

As Nandita has rightly suggested in the comments, I'm going to pack a couple of burgers for Anupama's Fun in the Sun event :) These burgers can surely be made on the picnic site if you have a grill or you can make them at home and carry them in an ice box.