Healthy Veg Burger

Burger requires no introduction. However, the word “burger” brings to mind words like “fatty”, “cholesterol” “junk food” etc. and not very encouraging though everybody agrees on its delicious taste.

I came across this recipe of Healthy Burger while watching Sanjeev Kapoor’s food show on TV. I tried the recipe but made two changes to the original one. Firstly, I did not soak the soya nuggets in the milk – instead soaked it in hot water (for 15 mins) as per the pack’s instruction and squeezed out the water from it completely thereafter. And ground the nuggets to a fine paste with some milk. Secondly, I added gram flour to the soya nugget paste for better binding. This way, I found that the patties were more manageable.

Anyway, the final result is here for you all to see. It tasted just delicious minus the guilt pangs!

Ingredients:

Burger buns	4
Oil	For shallow frying
For the Burger
Soya Nuggets	1 cup
Water (hot)	2 cups
Milk (boiled & cooled)	About ½ cup
Boiled mixed vegetables	1cup
Onions	1 chopped
Green chilies	1-2 chopped
Coriander leaves(chopped)	½ cup
Besan (gram flour)	4 tbsps
Salt	As per taste
For the filling
Tomato	1 large (sliced)
Onion	1 large (sliced)
Lettuce leaves	4
Mustard sauce	As per taste
Tomato ketchup	As per taste

Method:

1. Soak the nuggets in hot (boiled) water for about 15 mins Or, as per the instructions in the pack (to soften it). When cooled, squeeze out as much water as possible from the nuggets and keep them aside.
2. Grind these softened nuggets in the mixer by adding little milk at a time to form a smooth paste. 
3. To this ground paste, add the chopped onions, green chilies, mixed boiled vegetables, chopped coriander leaves, besan (gram flour) and salt. Mix well and shape into patties.
4. Fry these patties (burger) in a pan or skillet using little oil till they turn golden brown. Flip it and fry the same way on the other side too.
5. Now slice (horizontally) the burger buns and slightly warm them (on both sides) on the pan (without using oil). Remove.
6. Apply mustard sauce and tomato ketchup on half the slices. Then place the lettuce leaf, tomato slice, an onion slice, and the burger, (one on top of the other). Finally dribble some tomato ketchup on top and cover it with the other half of the bun.
7. Same procedure is to be followed for all the remaining buns too.
8. Serve immediately.

Softened nuggets ground with milk

Ingredients ready for mixing

Burger mix

Getting ready for serving

One Veg Burger ready to be served

Serves: 4

Note:

• Butter and cheese have been avoided to make it healthier. You may use butter and cheese if you are serving these for the kids.
• You can also grind the soya nuggets with water (instead of milk) to a smooth paste. 
• For vegetables, I used  green peas and corn kernels (frozen), capsicum and carrots (fresh).