Valli Tirounavoucarassou shares an original recipe for a delicious Indian mung bean burger to share with all of your friends!
Image Credits: Valli Tirounavoucarassou
I was very enthusiastic when I found out about this assignment. The first thing I decided was to avoid using components that are already commonly used in vegan burgers such as soy, black beans, mushrooms, and red beans. I also knew I wanted to use a bean that I already had at home to save time. I prioritised having the major component as something that was healthy, sustainable, and an ingredient that is rarely used to make vegan burgers.
Finally, I had a brilliant idea: what if we made a burger out of mung beans? I already had mung beans at home as they are a staple ingredient in every Indian household in order to make a delicious dhal. In fact, one of my favourite foods that my mother used to make was mung bean dhal.
Mung beans are strong in protein, containing 14.2 grams per 200 grams, and are also high in iron, providing 16 percent of the recommended daily intake. These beans are one of the most nutritious plant-based protein sources. Phenylalanine, leucine, isoleucine, valine, lysine, arginine, and other important amino acids are abundant in mung beans. They are also high in antioxidants such phenolic acids, flavonoids, caffeic acid, and cinnamic acid, among others.
Now you know why this is a great option, let’s get started with the recipe. First and foremost, let’s look at the simple items we’ll be using.
Ingredients:
· 200g moong dhal
· 100g potato
· 50g green peas
· 200g corn starch
· 1 tsp spices (chili, pepper, chat masala, garam masala, salt)
· 50g tomato ketchup
· 5g ginger and garlic paste
· 50g oats
· 25ml oil
Step 1: Soak the dry mung beans for at least 3-4 hours in order to cook them quickly. After soaking the mung beans, pressure cook them for three whistles.
Image Credits: Valli Tirounavoucarassou
Step 2: Peel the potatoes and rinse them alongside the peas. Pressure cook the potatoes for two whistles. If you are using frozen beans, simply soak them in boiling water for 5 minutes to prepare them for cooking.
Step 3: Mash together all of the cooked ingredients and season with the spice powders to taste. I like my food spicier. I used Indian spice powders with 1 teaspoon each of the following: chili, pepper, chat masala, garam masala, and salt. For tanginess, I used ginger and garlic paste and tomato ketchup.
If you don’t have these, I recommend using cayenne pepper, dried onion and garlic powder, rosemary, or any Italian spice mix instead. You can modify the quantity of spice to your liking.
Step 4: Add corn starch or any other flour to bind the mixture into patties and make them less sticky.
Image Credits: Valli Tirounavoucarassou
Step 5: To get a crispy outer layer, form the patties into a round shape and cover them with oats. Ensure to fully cover the patty in oats as the mixture will be sticky.
Image Credits: Valli Tirounavoucarassou
Step 6: Cook the patties with oil in a pan. After the patties have been well cooked, add the vegan sandwich cheese.
Image Credits: Valli Tirounavoucarassou
Step 7: Place the patties on burger buns and top with your favourite vegan salad dressing.
Image Credits: Valli Tirounavoucarassou
Now the mung bean burger is finished, it’s time to savour your delicious and nutritious meal!
Why you should give it a try:
· If you are looking to reduce your meat consumption but still crave beef burgers, try this vegan alternative
· This dish is a great vegan meal for any day of the week
· You can include this in your weekly meal prep plan. Make these patties in large quantity and keep them in the freezer.
· Burgers are the ultimate kid-friendly food!
· This is a lovely vegan alternative meal to show off at your next house party!
Make it yourself and share the recipe to others!
Image Credits: Valli Tirounavoucarassou
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