This flavorful veggie chickpea burger is a delightful alternative to the meat burgers to go meatless! I can bet you won’t miss your meat in this occasion!
I was planning to make a veg burger since ages but my dear meat-lover hub was dismissing it each time. He was confident that meatless burger can’t be good enough to even give it a try. I realized that I can’t get him on the same page on this; at least not before he tries it on his own.
One fine evening while making the dinner, I prepared the patty mixture and kept it ready for the next day. I had to make it look good so that he at least agrees to photograph my creation even after knowing that it is a ‘VEG’ burger!
Photography is totally his department and I have to woo him somehow to click some tempting snaps even though he was under huge misconception about all veggie burgers! It was an exciting challenge to turn him around and I was totally on it!
Once the shoot was over, he asked me if he should give this a try, which obviously was a redundant question, but I knew where he was coming from. But finally I won and was able to bring him on the same page that veggie burgers can also be super tasty!
I had only planned to make 4 burgers which is why I had 4 burger buns at hand. No, the 2 extra patties didn’t go waste. My meat-lover hub ate one full burger and 2 more burger patties! Whoa! What better testimony could you get and that too from a not-so-veg-lover!
All’s well that ends well!
In my last post of cabbage fritters, I stressed about the usefulness of food processor. This is another recipe which proves how helpful this wonder gadget can be in kitchen! All prep works for these burgers are done in a single bowl of the processor. You don’t even need to wash it in between since there is no meat involved.
For my chicken burger or meatballs too, I never buy minced chicken as I do not like the pre-minced texture. I always mince them in my Braun food processor using the chopping blade in just few seconds. So if you are still thinking of getting one but yet to make up your mind, I definitely give a thumbs up for this super-helpful kitchen gadget.
With that let me take you to the recipe. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
- Boiled/canned chickpeas – 400 gms
- Onion – 1, medium
- Red bell pepper – 1, medium
- Panko breadcrumbs – 1 cup
- Taco Seasoning – 3 tbsp
- Fresh cilantro – ½ cup, chopped
- Zucchini – 1, medium, grated
- Egg – 1
- Tomato – 1, large, sliced
- Lettuce leaves – handful
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Olive oil for shallow frying
- Burger buns
- Mayonnaise as desired (About 1 tbsp for each burger)
- Chili Powder – 1 tbsp
- Garlic powder – 1 tsp
- Granulated powder – 1 tsp
- Paprika – 1 tsp
- Ground Cumin – 1 tsp
- Oregano – ½ tsp
- Ground Coriander – ½ tsp
- Cornflour/Corn Starch – ½ tsp
- Ground Black Pepper – ¼ tsp
- Peel the onion and deseed the bell pepper. Add both the onion and bell pepper into a food processor and pulse until they are all finely chopped.
- Heat a small skillet with a couple teaspoons of olive oil. Tip in the chopped pepper and onion mixture and cook it for just about 5 minutes on medium heat until soft but not all browned. Turn the heat off and set aside.
- Now add the chickpeas into the same bowl of the food processor and pulse them until coarsely ground but do not turn them into smooth paste. Take it out and place in a large bowl.
- Use the fine shredding blade to shred the zucchini. Then wrap the shredded zucchini in a kitchen towel and squeeze out as much water as possible. This step is crucial to ensure that your burger patty mixture do not become too watery.
- Finally chop the fresh coriander in the processor and add them to the same bowl as the chickpeas.
- Mix all the ingredients listed under taco seasoning in a small bowl and keep it ready to be mixed with patty mixture.
- To the bowl with the chickpeas, add the sautéed onion and pepper mixture, zucchini, egg, taco seasoning, breadcrumbs and salt. Using your hand (which is by far the best mixing tool according to me!) mix everything well. You may need to add more breadcrumbs if the mixture doesn’t feel dry enough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour or longer. You can even refrigerate it overnight.
- Heat couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet on medium high heat.
- Using a ½ cup measuring cup, scoop out the patty mixture and form them into patties using wet hands. This amount of mixture will make 6 equal sized patties.
- Gently place them in the skillet and cook them for about 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until deeply golden brown. You have to cook them in batches and you will need to add oil before placing a patty on the skillet.
- Place the cooked patties on an absorbent kitchen towel and let them cool before serving.
- When you are ready to assemble the burger, cut the buns horizontally into 2 pieces. You may or may not toast the buns in some butter with the cut side down until golden brown.
- Place the bottom half of the bun on a cutting board, spread about half a tablespoon of mayo on it and then put a chickpea burger patty on top of it. Next top it up with 2 slices of tomatoes, few pieces of lettuce leaves. Then spread another half tablespoon of mayo on the cut side of the top half of the burger bun and place onto the assembled burger. You can fix everything with a satay stick.
- Serve the burgers with wafers and enjoy!
Liked the recipe? Let us know!