Indian Veggie TIkka Burgers

Alright. Confession. This is one of my most favourite things to eat on the planet! Well, who am I kidding?! This is my go to meal almost every 3rd night in the week. Only because its so easy to make or maybe because its so delicious, or hey maybe because its healthy.. who knows! I just love it and thats that. 

I'm talking about vegetarian burgers. I remember my mom making these when me and my brother were growing up. It was her sneaky way to make us eat the vegetables we so adamantly refused to eat otherwise. Afterall, whats not to love. Bread- yum, butter- yumm, veggie tikkas- yummmy, the crunchiness, the flavours.. yum yumm yumm.... go ahead, give it a go and tell me if I'm wrong! 

Serves: 4

Complexity: ***

Time taken: 30 mins 

You'll need

2 boiled potatoes, peeled and coarsely mashed.
1 cup green peas
1 cup corn kernels
1 cup finely diced carrots
2 green chilies (1 if you are feeling less adventurous) finely chopped
1" pc ginger grated 
Handful of fresh coriander leaves
1 tsp red chili powder/ paprika
1 tsp dry mango powder
1 tsp dry coriander powder
1 tsp roasted cumin powder
salt to taste
oil
2-3 tbsp plain flour
green chutney (recipe here) 
1 tomato, thinly sliced (optional)
lettuce leaves (optional)
1 onion, finely sliced (optional)
2 tbsp butter
4 burger buns (wheat or regular, your choice) 
pinch of love

Method

Get your veggies together in a biggish bowl.

First in go the potatoes

Then the corn kernels (boiled)

The carrots

The peas (boiled)

The green chilies (switch the order, the veggies won't mind, I promise!) 

Next add in the spices

Starting with grated ginger

In goes the red chili powder

The dry mango powder

The dry coriander powder (I like to dry roast it before adding it to the mix, just brings out the flavour)

The dry roasted cumin powder (dry roast 1 tsp cumin in a pan till it turns brown. Grind it coarsely with a mortar n pestle)

Also, imagine a picture taken while I added salt. 

Wash a bunch of coriander leaves and chop them coarsely. Use the stems as well. 

Don't forget to add your pinch of love! 

Now with your clean hands, mix it all together. Get in and give them all a good squish with your fingers till the spices are evenly distributed. I have done this with spoons as well, but doing it with my own fingers always gives me better results. 

Now that the veggies are all mashed up together, take about a golf ball sized chunk and shape it round. Flatten it up and your veggie tikka is ready to be cooked. It should roughly be the diameter of your burger bun or about 3". 

Dredge it in plain flour so it holds together when you cook it. This also gives a crunchy crust to the Tikka. 

Heat a skillet on medium heat. Add about 1 tsp oil to it. Let it heat up for a couple minutes. Place the tikka carefully in the skillet. 

You should hear a sizzle when you do that. Let it cook on each side for about 2-3 minutes or till golden brown on each side. 

Your tikkas are ready to be served up in the burgers. You can ofcourse omit the bread and just have these tikkas as appetizers with various dips and chutneys. 

For assembling the burger, take the burger bun, cut it horizontally in the middle. Apply butter to each side and place on a griddle/ skillet till it gets golden. You could also toast it if you like to add a little crunch to your burgers. 

Spread about 1 tbsp of green mint chutney on the burger slice. 

Place your lettuce leaves and tomato slices on it. 

Now place your Veggie Tikka. 

(Top it up with cheese slice if you want, I omitted this...what was I thinking?!!) 

Pile on the thinly sliced onion and cover it with the other half of the bun. 

Deliciousness piled up in front of you! I love having this with ketchup.... Indulge! :)