Mung Beet Cutlets - nourishing finger food

Low carb diets have been popular for a while now. Ranging from the controversial Atkins to the still in vogue South Beach Diet, they promote rapid weight loss. There are several other factions who also promote whole grains, and 'whole grains' have become such a buzz word that even a box full of chocos or other colorful cereal says it contains 'whole grains' in the box. It is hard to follow any plan that restricts food groups, be it certain fruits, or vegetables or staples like pasta or rice. However, I have found that low carb diets do show you results in the initial week or so. Its the sustained low carb journey where I have failed so far. In their defense, its only the first one or two weeks where these diets are very restrictive. You are allowed to gradually add the carbs or grains back in very limited quantities, and these may vary from person to person. As some saint has said, total abstinence is much easier than controlled moderation. I have seen that I do quite well, though I struggle, in the first 8-10 days, but re-introducing limited quantities of carbs is where I have always gone downhill.

The low carb diet is extremely easy to follow if you are a meat eater and like meat. The word 'meat' here includes any kind like poultry, fish etc. What could be easier than just grilling a few marinated chicken breasts and freezing them to eat with steamed veggies at will? Or just popping a salmon steak sprinkled with lemon juice, olive oil and some Mrs. Dash under the broiler for 10 minutes or just scrambling some eggs? Although I certainly do not miss eating all that stuff, I do sometimes miss the ease with which meals could be put together, or procured and also the high protein content they provided. What they also provided along with the protein is another story :). Another possible drawback of not eating bread or pasta or rotis etc. is that you miss the chewy texture or the feeling of actually sinking your teeth into something. I like my tofu and TVP and soy products as much as the other person, but it sometimes gets tiring eating just that for every meal. Boca and Morningstar are not prolific in the city of Pune. The vegetarian person is then left with lentils and pulses and beans that although highly nutritious in every way, also pack equivalent amount of carbs. Summer is not a season when you can merrily slurp dal or lentil based soups all the time, and something different seemed the need of the hour.


The Mung bean is my chosen one out of all the different dals in my pantry. The Mung bean is relatively less unknown in the western world compared to other indian dals courtesy the 'bean sprouts' found in most grocery stores. The Mung bean is easily available in different forms - the yellow mung dal, the whole green mung beans and the green split mung dal or chilka dal. Ayurveda has also put the mung bean on a pedestal. Mung beans 'light the intestinal fire' and give a boost to your metabolism. They are also easy on digestion and hence the mung khichadi or mung water/soup is mostly given to convalescents for its recuperative powers. The mung bean, in fact, seemed the answer to my prayers, offering me all this goodness and so I came up with this recipe while looking for something different that also fulfilled all my criteria regarding nutrition, taste, texture etc.etc.


This recipe uses sprouted beans (not the white sprouts you get in the store), fresh beetroot and tons of fresh mint. The beetroot, although sweet and sugary is loaded with folates, manganese, potassium, fiber, vitamin c etc. and is a powerhouse of nutrients. I recommend only fresh grated beets for this recipe. You can use boiled whole green mung beans too instead of sprouted beans. The mint and beetroot form a very pleasing color of fuschia and green. The mint lends a freshness to the recipe and gives out a minty aroma as the cutlets cook. The ingredients and method are as follows:

Ingredients -

2 cups boiled sprouted mung beans
1 cup grated fresh beetroot
1 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
2-3 cloves garlic fresh grated
1-2 Tbsp besan or chickpea flour
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp chat masala
dash of hot sauce
salt to taste
oil or non-stick spray as needed

Method -
1) Drain and mash the boiled mung beans. Add all ingredients such as the beetroot, mint leaves and all spices.
2) Lightly brown the onion in a pan using cooking spray just enough to extract all the moistness from the onion
3) Add the onion to the mixture. Mash and mix everything together with a spoon.
4) Add enough besan/flour a little at a time until the mixture looks like soft dough and small patties etc. can be formed.
5) Form small flat patties or form a ball in your palm and roll it sideways to form oblong sausage like links. You can also use some small moulds you may have to form fancy shapes like heart shaped etc.
6) Place on a baking sheet and bake in a 300 degree F oven until evenly browned - turn once or twice as needed. You can also grill them in a non stick pan using minimum oil or spray.
7) Serve hot with tomato ketchup.

Soya Vegetable Burger with Garlic Cilantro Schmear

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.

I hope you like this recipe for the soya vegetable burger.

Ingredients -

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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 -

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1 red onion thinly sliced

1 cucumber thinly sliced

1 tomato thinly sliced

pickles or jalapeno optional

1 tsp chat masala

For the Schmear -

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1 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro or dhania

1 cup greek yogurt

1 tsp grated garlic

1 tsp black pepper

salt to taste

Method -

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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.