#SpicyChat Tribute to Fusion Cuisine: The Best Ever ‘Vegetarian’ Burger!

My recent trip to Miami validated my beliefs about well spiced dishes particularly when the heat is balanced. I came home refreshed, inspired, and in awe of the brilliant culinary aspirations that Miami Chefs have to offer. I was particularly impressed with the world of fusion cuisines and how the Chefs were combining various cuisines for their signature creations.  Therefore, this weekend’s #SpicyChat Edition is a tribute to Fusion Cuisine.

With summer around the corner, food sites are buzzing about the Burger, America’s quintessential comfort food.  There truly is nothing like a burger; it is the ultimate comfort food, yet so hard to find a decently juicy and perfectly cooked burger. That said, what about the vegetarians? Now the reason I mention vegetarian here is that my mom and my entire maternal clan are mainly vegetarian. It was the easiest thing to do in summer: slap on some meat on the grill, add some corn to the mix, and voilà we had our dinner ready in minutes, but what about my mother?

My mom has been visiting us religiously every summer since we first moved to America more than a decade ago.  Now my mom is a relatively easy person to please especially in the culinary arena but two things she hasn’t developed a taste is for Soybeans and mushrooms. Most vegetarian burgers in some shape or form add both soybean or mushrooms, which was the main reason I started experimenting with vegetarian burgers. After numerous trial and errors, I managed to create a vegetarian burger which the omnivores in my family were glad to devour too.

For this #spicychat edition I am sharing two of my family’s comfort food:

Indian Spiced Potato Burger with Mint Chutney

Black Beans & Wild Rice  Burger with Pineapple Chutney

Black Beans & Wild Rice Burger with Indian Spiced Pineapple Chutney

 

The Black Bean and Wild Rice Burger embraces Indian, Latin, and South-East Asian Cuisine, countries ingenious to a rich heritage of bold spices and flavors. Jalapeno, Garam Masala, and Star Anise encrusted in a crispy exterior of panko truly is deserving of the perfect #spicychat burger. Complimenting the spicy patty is an Indian pineapple relish.

 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup wild rice, cooked
• 2 cups, black beans, cooked
• 2 jalapenos, diced
• 1 medium red onion, diced
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 2 Hungarian wax pepper, diced
• 1 tsp ginger, grated
• Panko crumbs
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 tsp garam masala (all spice powder)
• 1 tsp roasted cumin powder
• 2 whole star anise
• 1 tsp dry mango powder (optional)
• 1 tsp red chili powder or cayenne pepper
• 1 lime, juiced
• salt and pepper to taste

To Serve:

• Brioche buns
• Indian Pineapple Chutney (Recipe)

Directions:

1. Saute onion, ginger, all the peppers, and star anise till softened, approximately ten minutes. Remove the star anise before proceeding.
2. Cook wild rice as per package instructions. Once cool, add to the onion and peppers mixture.
3. Mash one cup of black beans to a smooth purée and add to the onion and pepper mixture. Add rest of the cooked beans too.
4. Check for seasonings, add cilantro, lime juice, and make burger sized patties. Roll the patties covering all sides with panko crumbs.
5. Grill or fry the patties until golden brown and seared.
6. To serve: toast the buns with butter, set the patties on top, and top with a generous dollop of pineapple chutney. Serve warm.

 

Indian Spiced Potato Burger with Mint Chutney

 

Aloo Tikki is the quintessential potato dish most popular as street food in Northern India. Every city has their own version of it adding cottage cheese, green peppers, and even lentils with the potato. Here I have taken my family’s traditional recipe incorporating it with my version of a vegetarian American styled burger. I serve it with Tomato Ketchup and Mint Chutney – sweet and savory in each bite.

 

 

Ingredients:

• 4 medium-sized Yukon gold potatoes, boiled
• 1 big onion, diced
• 1 cup cilantro, chopped
• 4 Indian or 2 Thai green chili, diced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp red chili or cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp dry mango powder
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1 lime, juiced

To Serve:

• Brioche Buns
• Red onion, sliced
• Beefsteak or heirloom tomato, sliced
• Ketchup and Mint chutney

Directions:

1. Boil the potatoes and mash them once cooled.
2. Add chopped onions, cilantro, chilies, all spices, bread crumbs, and lime juice to the potatoes and mix well. Make burger size patties and set aside.
3. Deep fry or shallow fry until golden brown on both sides.
4. To serve: toast the buns with butter, add patty, top with red onion and tomato slices, smear mint chutney and ketchup to taste. Serve warm.

 

Joining us this #SpicyChat Edition is The Martini Diva. She is pairing Beer Margaritas as ‘Best of both the worlds’ for our spicy vegetarian Burgers.

Not only are these vegetarian burgers worth drooling over, they are a ‘healthy’ alternative to greasy protein meaty dishes. The black beans and wild rice burger is rich in both protein and good carbohydrates. With bold savory and sweet flavors tantalizing your palate, I reckon you would wolf down these wonderfully spiced burgers even before realizing that indeed they were vegetarian.

If you fancy spices, follow us on Twitter under the hashtag #SpicyChat to bring some spice in your life. Our Twitter #SpicyChat Series is every Thursday at 8 PM EDT. Join us to bring some spice in your lives!

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