Spiced Lentil Burgers

Edited to say: it looks like there has been some rearranging and not everyone is on the same page with the order of MoFo themes. Apparently Autumn equinox was moved to today to fit in with the correct timing (in some parts) but I hadn’t noticed. Because I haven’t done that post yet, I’m sticking with this one.

I almost wasn’t going to post this today, as I would have liked to have given it a little more thought and come up with a great relish and homemade bread rolls and all the rest of it. But it seems silly to miss a day of MoFo just because of these shortcomings – that’s not what it’s about (and the bear was teasing me for thinking about leaving it out). It’s the month to talk about vegan food, no matter what!

Fusion challenge!

When I think of today’s topic, for some reason I always think of noodles. I was determined to think of something other than noodles, and after getting past my initial roadblock I realised that much of what I cook could be considered somewhat of a fusion, so brought it back to this classic. I used some Indian inspired spices to compliment the lentil patty, and married it with some classic western food – the humble burger, oh yeahhh.

Below is the recipe for the patties themselves, you guys can work out the rest. In mine, I added cucumber, spinach and a quick chutney I whipped up but will not include here as it was not quite right (and I didn’t take measurements anyway) It had tomatoes, mustard seeds, cumin, coriander, garlic and asofatedia. I reckon it would work well with a raita as well.

Spiced Lentil Burgers
(makes 8 patties)

1½ cups dry red lentils, rinsed and drained
3 cups water
1 small onion, diced finely
2 cloves garlic, minced
1½ cups breadcrumbs or oats pulsed a few times to resemble crumbs
½ cup flax meal
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp chili powder
¼ tsp cinnamon
Salt and pepper to taste
3 Tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup fresh coriander, roughly chopped
2-4 Tbsp water
¼ cup sesame seeds
Spray oil

Preheat oven to 200C and line a tray with baking paper.

Put lentils and 3 cups water in a pot and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and cook for approximately 15 mins, until tender. Drain and transfer to a bowl. Add remaining ingredients except water and sesame seeds and stir well to combine. The mixture should come together and be tacky, but you should still be able to pick up spoonfuls and shape with your hands. If too dry, add water 1 tablespoon at a time until the right consistency is reached. You don’t want the patties too dry or they will crack in the oven.

Spread sesame seeds on a flat plate, then take spoonfuls of mixture, roll into balls, thenn flatten into sesame seeds. Place each patty on the prepared tray and spray lightly with oil. Place in oven and bake for 30-40 mins, turning once, until lightly browned.

Eat on their own, or create into a burger with your favourite fillings.