Black Bean Burger

It was my birthday and I had also secured my admission in B School or was it my first job? I don't remember... 

It was something to celebrate about. My mother was with me and we went to MacDonalds, in Bandra, they had just opened that branch. Mumbai had been introduced to this chain very recently and it was very crowded, but we wanted to taste the 'famous burger'.

For the first time that I tasted the Veggie burger, I liked it. It was different. Different from the 'masala' cutlets that were used in local fast food joints. 

To my mind, however, a burger patty was made up of potato and some veggies. It was only later, that I was introduced to variations.

Pinterest is a great resource for recipes. I was interested in a recipe which was my kind of vegetarian, which meant without egg. 

 I found this recipe and modified it to suit our taste.This made 6 patties.

To make the patties:

1 cup Black beans soaked in plenty of water (left overnight). 

Cook the black beans. I used my Electric Pressure Cooker (beans setting)

Drain the liquid after the beans are cooked and mash the beans using a fork or potato masher. 

Black Beans mashed

1 Boiled Potato, mashed 

approx. 3/4 cup Corn (I used frozen)

2 slices of bread crumbled, alternatively, soak the bread in water and squeeze the liquid out and use

1/2 Onion, finely chopped

4 fat cloves of Garlic

3-4 squirts of Tomato Ketchup ( I eyeballed this)

3-4 tbsp Soy Sauce ( I eyeballed this)

4 Tbsp Sriracha Sauce ( Reduce it if you cannot tolerate the heat)

Salt to taste (be careful, the ketchup and sauces contain salt, taste and add)

2 heaped tsp. Roasted Cumin seed powder

A small fistful Cilantro with tender stalks, finely chopped

1/2 tsp Black Pepper powder

1/2 tsp. Cayenne powder

Oil

Onion slices

Tomato slices

Lettuce leaves (I skipped these)

Cheese Slices

Sauce of your choice for the buns ( I used 1000 Island, other choices are: Ranch, Mayo,Sriracha, any sauce of your preference)

Burger buns

Heat a small fry pan and add 2 T oil. Once the oil is hot, add the chopped Onions and saute till they turn brown at the edges. Add the chopped garlic and cook till, both the onion and garlic are well cooked. Cool.

Thaw the Corn. I used the microwave.

In a mixing bowl, add the mashed beans, the onion and garlic, mashed potato, corn and all the spices and condiments. Add the bread crumbs and mix the whole thing well. Taste and check the flavors.

Adjust if needed.

At this point, I placed the mixture in the fridge.

While the mixture cools, slice the onion and tomato into rings. 

To make the burgers, heat a griddle. place a patty on the griddle and drizzle some oil around the sides and cook on both sides till golden brown.

Butter the burger buns on the inner side and toast till golden brown (on one side only).

To assemble and serve, smear the sauce of your choice on the bottom bun. Place the patty on the bun, top with a cheese slice, onion rings, tomato slices, lettuce leaves and place the bun on top.

Notes:

Adjust the spices to your taste in the burger mix. I like mine well seasoned ( a tad spicy, in fact) and make sure I can taste the patty through the bread, cheese, tomato etc.

These Patties freeze well.

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