Healthy veggie bean burgers

S is a big big fan of veggie burgers and hence it was inevitable that my experimentation in the kitchen would pave way to this one sooner than later. The idea struck me because it was the weekend. And customarily we go out as a gang and end up having dinner outside… and invariably, S seeks out a veggie burger for his meal. And so I thought it would be a fair idea to give it a try. If it failed, I always had the dinner outside to fall back on. I was pleasantly surprised that not only did I not fail, but it was the best veggie burger I’d ever had (almost as good as Chilis in the US, which is saying something) and definitely way better than what we normally get outside. (Note: Evidently I had a lot of time on my hands for I sat and fashioned the little flag on the toothpick… lol)

Mouthwatering? Enough to try at least? So, here’s how -
Ingredients
1. Burger buns (buy outside – hehe)
2. Veggies – use your imagination! I’ve used lettuce, onions – 1 small, finely chopped and 1 large, cut and broken in rings, garden mushrooms –use Portobello if you get it. I couldn’t find any and so settled for the garden variety – 2 nos, Green chillis – 2 nos, finely chopped
3. Oil – 2 tsp and salt-to-taste
4. Kidney beans – 1 can, washed very well
5. Almonds – 6, finely chopped
6. Corn flour/All-purpose flour – 2 tsp
How?
For the patty
1. Cut fine slices of the 2 mushrooms to be roasted separately. You will be left with the last bits which don’t make big-enough slices and the stalk of sorts. Chop these fine and add to the chopped onion and green chillis. Lightly fry the 3 in a spoon of oil till the onions turn translucent and lightly brown. Set aside. Roast the sliced mushrooms on the gas or bake them in the oven. (You can also fry them in negligible amount of oil and set them aside).
2. Meanwhile, put the chopped almonds in a microwaveable bowl and microwave for 3-4 minutes.
3. Drain the excess water from the washed kidney beans and add them to a large bowl. Mash them using a masher or the back of a ladle to make them semi-crushed yet not-too-pasty.
4. Once the onion-mushroom-green chillis cool down, add to the bowl along with the roasted almonds and knead well with your fingers.
5. Add salt and the corn flour to it and mix well.
6. Spread a plastic wrap on a plate. Take some of the patty mixture and shape it into a round patty of decent thickness using your hands and place on the plastic sheet. This makes it easy to remove without sticking for the frying later on. You should have something that looks like this -

7. Heat an iron skillet on medium-high for 3-4 min and cook the patty on it for 2-3 minutes on each side. Take care not to break the patty while flipping it. Alternately, if you have an oven, you can just bake it in it (be sure to brush your patty with oil on both sides).
8. Meanwhile, toast the burger buns on a toaster.
Decorate!

1. Add whatever veggies you think would be appropriate. I put a slice of lettuce, 2 rings of onion, 2 slices of mushroom on the bottom bread and then the patty and then another slice of onion.
2. Serve with chips/fries/ or good old ketchup if you wanna be all healthy.

Why is this burger healthy?
1. It’s a bean-based burger and it’s rich in protein.
2. You know how much oil you used and that’s way lesser than the deep-fryers at the stores!
3. No fries/chips… you save a tonne of calories right there!
And finally, Bon Appétit!
PS: The feather on my chef’s cap is that S absolutely loved them!
And what’s more, you can easily make a batch of patties and freeze them for later. Go burgers!