Vegetable patty/cutlets burger

There is a vast misconception among very many foreigners that all Indians are vegetarians. They are surprised to see us eat meat. I have had to answer many queries regarding this when I lived in Germany.

Anyway, even though we do have vegetarians and non-veggies,in India, we, ultimately, have the most number of vegetarian dishes than any other country in the world. I am sure, that is a fact.

I have an interesting tale that I want to share. Katrin, my German friend, had a male friend( who I will be referring to here as "HE") who accompanied her to India on a job transfer. It was a long term project of 2 years. German's are voracious pork eaters. Most of you would have heard of the famous German "WURST" and "WIENERS".

"HE" happened to stuff himself with all the pork, sausages and meat he could before he left Germany, and tom-tom-ed around that he was doing that because he was going to India. And because it was a country of vegetarians, he would not be able to eat meat for 2 long years. He doubted his survival in a country of vegetarians and was vexed at the thought of tasteless bland vegetarian food.

They landed in India and guess the surprise in store for him. Not one surprise, but two.
One, that there were meat eaters in India and secondly, "HE" was surprised at the variety of vegetarian foods available. " HE" absolutely, fell head over heels in love with India and Indian food. And here is a surprise for all of us............. "HE" returned to Germany, after his 2-year project, converted into a pure vegetarian since. " HE has learnt to play with spices and learned alot about Indian cuisine. He is as happy as ever.

So, the possibilities with vegetables are endless and here is one more item to prove that.

Ingredients:

• Boiled vegetables - 6 cups ( I've used 4 large potatoes, 3 large carrots, 15 green beans, 1-1/2 cup of peas, 1/2 cup chopped beetroot. You can use a few fresh baby spinach leaves too)
• Chopped Onions - 1/2 cup
• Chopped ginger and garlic- 4 tspns
• Chopped green chillis - to taste
• Garam masala- 2 tspns
• Coriander leaves (chopped)- 1 cup
• Turmeric - 1/8 tspn
• Salt- to taste
• Bread crumbs - 1/2 cup( plus an additional 2 cups for coating the cutlets before pan searing)
• Oil - scant 10 tbspns ( or more if shallow frying)
• Buns- as required
• Onion rings, tomato rings, fresh baby spinach leaves nad cheese slice-for assembling

Directions:

• In a pan, saute ginger, garlic and green chillis in 4 tbspns of oil over a low flame.
• Add onions and saute till translucent
• Add garam masala, turmeric, salt and saute for a couple of mins.
• Add the boiled vegetables and and mash lightly.
• Once the veggies and the spices are mixed well turn off the stove and add half a cup of bread crumbs to the mixture. Mix well and let the mixture cool.
• Once cooled, shape the veggie mixture into patties coating the patties with bread crumbs and pan sear them on a with a few drops of oil on each side. (If you prefer shallow frying the patties/cutlets you will need more oil)

Assembly:

• I like a double burger. So, this is how I assemble my burger. Cut buns into halves. Place one half on a platter, top it with a veggie patty, a ring of onion, a ring of tomato, a few leaves of fresh baby spinach, cheese, another patty and top it with the other half of the bun.
• I usually opt for whole wheat buns, but the white buns made it picture perfect :)
• Bon appetit
  

Note:
Here is another secret. Since, I hate ketchup, I use guacamole in my burgers instead. Believe me, it tastes scrumptious. Click here for a Guacamole recipe .
Luv 'n' luc'
Smitha