INDIAN INSPIRED VEGAN RED KIDNEY BEAN AND VEGGIE PATTY BURGER
It is summer, and it is grilling season, the season when it’s really too hot to cook and you are indeed looking for easy peasy summer meals that do not require much time in the kitchen. I love a good veggie burger and am always on the quest for a good burger.
When I came to the United States, there were no veggie burgers! I literally had burgers without the patty, just with lettuce, mayo, tomatoes and onions. It was pretty sad and pathetic, that I literally ate bread and some leaves at any local places. This was in the year 2000. Ofcourse as time went by, you could see veggie burgers popping up at grocery stores which had a ton of preservatives, or in restaurants. But it was always this horrible soya patty which I dislike.
Fast forward a few more years, and people started becoming health conscious and good veggie burgers with real vegetables in it, started popping up in restaurants. There was the Counter Burger which I loved, and then there is Roam Artisan Burger in the city that I am a huge fan of.
Trader Joe’s started carrying a good Masala Veggie Burger and they have a couple other good veggie burger options too. Over the years it has become easier for vegetarians to exist in this country!
However, I had started making veggie burgers at home, especially during the American holidays, so that us vegetarians would have a substantial meal to eat! Here is my take on a seasonal veggie burger that my family loves and I make variations of it with different vegetables, or beans in it.
INDIAN INSPIRED VEGAN RED KIDNEY BEAN AND VEGGIE PATTY INGREDIENTS:
My kids love a good veggie burger, with Indian inspired ingredients. They want a good flavored patty that they can eat as is as well if they want to!
Here are the ingredients of my veggie burger:
Vegetables: Leek, Onion, Mushrooms, Beet. I have gone seasonal with this patty and have all the vegetables that are available at our farmer’s market in the summer.
Can of beans: I went with red beans here but you can substitute it with beans of your choice.
Spices: I add all the Indian spices like red chilli powder, ground turmeric, cumin, coriander, garam masala and fresh garlic too. Always garlic in burgers because of that beautiful flavor that it imparts to the patty.
Cilantro: You always require some herbs in a good veggie patty and my go to choice is always cilantro!
Avocado Oil: I have used avocado oil here, but you can use any other neutral oil. Avocado oil is healthy for you so I have used it here.
Panko bread crumbs: Panko bread crumbs is used here to bind the dough, and give it texture.
Walnuts: Walnuts are added here to give texture as well and a wonderful crunch.
TEXTURE OF THE VEGAN PATTY:
It is very important to keep the texture of the patty sort of coarse with the way you mash the beans. You do not want to mash it all the way, else the patty is really mushy and has a weird texture in the mouth as well. I like the texture to be coarse so you can bite into the patty.
GRILLING THE PATTY:
I usually cook the patty on a non-stick pan, with oil. I do not grill it because the patty is fragile and can easily break. There is no egg in the dough so you have to handle it quite delicately.
STORING THE PATTY:
You can cook the patty completely, place it with parchment paper in an air tight container, and store it in the fridge for upto 2 to 3 days.
You can store the uncooked patty in the same way because there is no raw egg in the patty.
You can also store the uncooked or cooked patty in the same way, in an air tight container, in the freezer for upto a month. Defrost it in the fridge, or you can cook it straight off from the freezer onto a hot oiled pan. It will take a bit longer for the patty to get cooked.
I found these really cool parchment paper sheets, just for patties, and to store them in the fridge/freezer section.
VEGAN GREEN GODDESS DRESSING:
This green goddess dressing is really super simple. It is as easy as putting everything in a blender, and blending it until smooth. You can store it in the fridge for upto a week.
Ingredients include:
Vegan mayonnaise: Vegan mayo is easily available in any grocery store now a days. It has a long shelf life as well.
Garlic: I have used fresh green garlic because I simply love the flavor of green garlic, but you can use garlic cloves as well.
Avocado and cilantro: Avocado makes the dressing a beautiful green, along with the cilantro. Cilantro makes the sauce bright with it’s herbiness!
Salt and pepper: Always required for a good well seasoned sauce.
Lemon Juice: again makes the sauce bright and brings it to a good consistency
Vegetable Oil: with acid, you need a bit of fat apart from the avocado to bring it all together. You can use avocado oil here as well.
HOW TO ASSEMBLE THE BURGERS or BURGER PATTY SALAD:
I love putting out the salad separately, along with the sesame buns, condiments and the vegan green goddess dressing, so that people can help themselves to whatever they want. It becomes a self-serving party. My kids actually really enjoyed the burger patty salad, and that was their choice of dinner!
This meal is light, nutritious, vegan, and very flavorful! I love the patties, and love that they have so many vegetables too.
You can always substitute any vegetable with whatever you like, you can sub the walnuts with another nut or seeds, or sub the can of red kidney beans with another kind of bean too, of your choice! This patty is versatile and we are huge fans of it!
Hope you like it as much as our family does! If you do make it, please do not forget to tag #thejamlab on Instagram and/or leave a comment on this blog post to let me know how you like it!
Hope all is well at your end! Until then ciao!
XO
Amisha
INDIAN INSPIRED VEGAN RED KIDNEY BEAN AND VEGGIE PATTY BURGER
Ingredients
- Burger Patty:
- 1 leek, cut into half lengthwise, and then sliced into ½ inch horizontal slices (150 g)
- 1 small beet (125 g)
- ½ red onion, diced into small pieces (50 g)
- 5 shitake mushrooms, diced into small pieces (50 g)
- 3 grated garlic cloves
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 2 tbsp + ¼ cup avocado oil or any neutral oil
- ¼ cup cilantro, finely chopped
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs (68 g)
- ¼ cup walnuts (20 g), finely chopped
- 1 can (15.5 oz) red kidney beans, drained and washed
- Vegan Green Goddess Dressing:
- 1 cup vegan mayonnaise (190 g)
- 1 ripe avocado
- ¼ cup cilantro
- 1 green garlic stalk or 3 garlic cloves
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- Optional fix-ins:
- Sesame buns
- Sliced tomatoes
- Sliced cucumbers
- Pickled jalapenos
- Sliced radishes
- Sliced avocados
- Cooked Corn
- Shaved Heirloom Carrots
- Arugula or your favorite salad
Instructions
- Burger Patty:
- Roast the beet: To roast the beet, wrap it in an aluminum foil, place it on a small baking sheet, and bake it in the oven(preheated at 415 degrees C) for about 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. Do not open it immediately as it will be hot and hot steam will come out. You can open it after 10 minutes, poke it with a knife to check if it has been cooked all the way through. If not, place it in the oven for another 10 minutes to bake it until soft. Let completely cool. Once cooled, remove the peel, and grate the beet. Set it aside.
- In a medium skillet, on medium to high heat, add the 2 tbsp oil. After a minute or so, once the oil is heated, add the onions and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add the grated garlic, leeks, mushrooms and saute for 5 minutes. Switch off the stove.
- In a medium bowl, add the kidney beans. Using a potato masher, mash the beans until they are coarse in texture. You do not want it completely mashed. Add the sautéed vegetables. Add the grated beets. Add all the spices, panko bread crumbs, walnuts and cilantro. Mix until just combined. Do not overmix else the mixture will become mushy.
- Divide into 6 equal patties. I recommend to weigh the entire mixture, and divide equally by 6, to get 6 equal patties. Form a disc about 3.5 inches wide, or as wide as your burger bun, if eating it in a burger bun.
- In a large skillet, on medium to high heat, add the ¼ cup oil. Once heated about a minute or so, add the patties, to cook them for 3-4 minutes on one side. Invert them and cook them for another 3-4 minutes on the other side.
- Remove them on the side.
- Vegan Green Goddess Dressing:
- Add all the ingredients to a high speed blender, and blend until it is a smooth mixture. You can taste it, and season it accordingly, if it requires more salt, add ½ tsp more salt. Remove it in a bowl and set it aside.
- To assemble:
- I place a platter of sliced vegetables, and the green goddess dressing in the bowl. I also set aside the burgers that have been grilled already. Along with the condiments. And your family or guests can assemble either a burger, or a patty salad with all the fixins.
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