There are several recipes posted for soya burgers. Everyone has a favourite way of doing this. Some use tofu, various vegetables, TVP etc. with different kinds of spices. I have tried out various different recipes before but never blogged any. This recipe was created from available ingredients and can be customized in several ways to suit your palette and anything you have on hand. This offers a quick ready to eat high protien and low carb snack. You can make the batter/filling in advance and refrigerate it. You can just grill the patties when needed. I have gone for a bunless or bread less burger here, since I am on a low-carb binge. But this can be dished up with any bun of your choice such as a seeded bun or kaiser roll or english muffin etc. 
I have adapted Heidi Swanson's (http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/vegetarian-lentil-burgers-recipe.html) method here for serving the burger. I had read it a long time ago and always wanted to try it. However, I found it tough to slit the patty laterally maybe due to my lack of finesse. So I just created small patties, and added the salad veggies or toppings in between. I have used plain white all purpose flour in addition to some potatoes as a binder. This surely adds some carb content but I used whatever I had on hand. You can add a beaten egg or two, use flax, almond flour or bread crumbs - anything that holds the patty together. These go pretty fast and one person can easily eat 2 or three of these as a sumptuous snack. These burgers have a heavy double dose of veggies, because there are vegetables in the patty and we also use them as stuffing.
Ingredients -
-------------2 cups dry soya granules or TVP( Textured vegetable Protein)
1 cup grated paneer or crumbled tofu
2 small boiled potatoes any kind
1 cup grated carrot
1/2 cup smashed green peas
1 Tbsp grated garlic
1 Tbsp cumin powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp black pepper
2-3 dashes hot sauce or pepper sauce
4-5 tsp all purpose flour
cheese slices optional
salt to taste
For the topping -
-----------------
1 red onion thinly sliced
1 cucumber thinly sliced
1 tomato thinly sliced
pickles or jalapeno optional
1 tsp chat masala
For the Schmear -
------------------
1 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro or dhania
1 cup greek yogurt
1 tsp grated garlic
1 tsp black pepper
salt to taste
Method -
---------
1) Boil water in a pan and add the TVP or soya granules. Let them soak for 5-10 mins. You can add some salt to taste if needed. Drain the granules and wring all the water out of them.
2) Crumble 1 cup of tofu or grate some fresh paneer. Add this to the granules.
3) Mash 2 boiled potatoes and add to the mixture.
4) Grate 1 cup of carrots and add half a cup of smashed peas directly into the mixture. You can also add beets or other mixed vegetables pulsed in a food processor. Sweet corn will add a different twist.
5) Add the garlic, cumin, cayenne and black pepper, hot sauce and salt.
6) Lightly mix this together with a spoon. Too much stirring will cause the mixture to loosen and become watery. Also avoid using your hands as the warmth from the hand will also create moisture.
7) Add all purpose flour or any other binder you want to use one or two spoons at a time and continue mixing lightly. Add just enough flour so that patties can be formed. Please do Not add water. There will be enough moisture to absorb any flour you add.
8)Moisten your palm with some water and form small patties of desirable size. Place these in a non stick pan and grill on each side till done. You can use non stick spray or oil as needed.
9) To create the schmear - Use 2% or fat free greek yogurt if available. If not, You can make this at home by draining some yogurt over coffee filters. You will need at least low fat yogurt to get a good creamy consistency. Alternately, you can also get 100g 'chakka' from a dairy if available.
Beat the curds and add the garlic(smashed or grated raw), salt, pepper and cilantro. Mix it together to get a dip like consistency. You can add a little bit of yogurt or milk to loosen the schmear a bit if needed. This adds a tangy garlicky kick to your burger.
10)Thinly slice onions, tomatoes, cucumbers to add to the burger. You can also use a lettuce leaf but I did not have any on hand. Pickles, jalapenos, banana peppers, fresh sliced peppers etc. can also be added.
11) To serve the burger - Place a generous dollop of the schmear on one patty. Place all sliced veggies one over the other on the other patty. Sprinkle a little chat masala if needed. You can add a cheese slice here if desired. Place the other patty on top. Garnish with some grated cheese if desired. Enjoy this delicious low carb vegetable burger without much guilt :)
This recipe can easily be made vegan by omitting any dairy and using tofu instead of paneer, and soy cheese if desired.
No comments:
Post a Comment