March 16, 2013

{Healthy Recipes} Vegan Red Bean and Oats Burger with Sweet Potato Fries


To make home-made burger patties was on my to-do-list for a really long time. Basically I wanted to have a healthy alternative for my "junk food" cravings when I tend to pick up a Mc Aloo burger from Mc Donalds near by, though its a known fact that those patties were frozen for atleast 3 months before they are microwaved and served up - as fresh to the hungry customers!

I truly believe, a burger can be healthy and tasty and a meal by itself. Its beauty lies in the fact that how fresh are the "ingredients", not just loaded with easy carbs from boiled potatoes and extra calories from melted cheese. Intentionally I avoided both those ingredients in today's recipe. Yes, there is no potato and no cheese or diary. How would have these tasted, you ask? Let me tell you that the proof is my mother who in general avoids all kinds junk food (unlike me) devoured on the burger I made for her, fresh out of the pan. :-). That for me, is an ultimate testament that these were tasty will be made again..and again..


Usage of rice bran oil is not new in our household. Since we moved to India from US, I have started to incorporate more of rice bran oil (+ olive oil) and stopped cooking with any other refined oils. I tasted it for the first when a good friend of mine made some bhajjias at home, using rice bran oil. There was not even a hint of after taste and I couldn't even spot any difference. Its high smoking point 490°F (255°C) makes it well suited for any kind of frying, roasting etc. An added advantage is also that compared to other vegetable oils, foods fried in rice bran oil tend to absorb up to 20% less fat during the cooking process. I like that!. :-)

..spill the beans...
Now, without any further ado, lets jump into today's recipe - Vegan Red Bean and Oats Burger with Sweet Potato Fries. Shall we? Below are few action shots and then comes the recipe.. Enjoy!


.....beans mashed, veggies cut.. 


..this is a cool trick to make perfect, round patties.Oil lightly insides of a cap, press the bean mixture and unmold. 

...shallow fry them on low heat until both sides are crisped up...
Sending this as an entry to Healthy Vegan Fridays and The Wellness Weekend.


{Recipe} Vegan Red Bean and Oats Burger with Sweet Potato Fries

Makes 8 to 9 medium sized patties




Ingredients:

2 cups of boiled/canned red beans (rajma beans) - Any kind of legumes work for this recipe. If using canned, thoroughly wash and rinse the beans.
1 medium green bell pepper
1/2 onion
1 tomato
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 green onions
2 small carrots
1 bunch of fresh cilantro/coriander leaves
1/2 cup of instant oats
1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 (or more) tsp chilli powder (or 1-2 tsp sriracha/hot sauce)
salt - to taste
few tbsp of rice bran oil - for shallow frying

Preparation:

1. To cook any dry beans, soak them overnight in filtered water. Then pressure cook them on HIGH heat for 10-12 minutes (or) until cooked. Let the pressure be released and drain the water. they must be fork tender.

2. In a bowl, mash the beans.

3. Cut the veggies - bell pepper, tomatoes, onion and green onions (both white and green parts) into very fine pieces. If you have a food processor, dice them all in 1 or 2 turns. Peel and shred carrots. Chop cilantro leaves.

4. Add these cut veggies to the beans and oats. Mix well and season with chilli powder (or hot sauce), cumin powder and salt. Refrigerate for atleast 30 mins for the flavors to blend. A cool trick to make perfect, round patties is to - lightly oil the insides of a bottle cap, press the bean mixture and shake a little to unmold. Since we are not adding any binding agent such as eggs or flax seed water, freeze the bean patties for atleast an hour or until ready to use. these can be easily frozen in plastic containers for many months, if you wish to make a big batch.

5. Once ready, heat few teaspoons of oil in a pan and cook each patty on low heat for 5-6 mins on each side. Carefully flip them on each side once or twice for even cooking. Drain them paper towels.

6. How to assemble the burger: Spread some eggless mayo on the bottom of a burger bun, then place the bean patty, some mayo again, spinach or lettuce leaves, onion, tomato and top with other half of bun! Tadaa!.. the ultimate red bean and oats burger is ready to be be devoured.

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...a burger is never complete without some (sweet potato) fries on the side..Isn't it?


Here is a simple recipe for Golden Sweet Potato Fries to go along with the burgers -

Ingredients:

6-7 sweet potatoes
rice brain oil - for frying
salt and red chilli flakes to sprinkle on top

{Optional sprinklers} - garlic powder, onion powder, dried/fresh herbs such as rosemary, basil, thyme, sage etc.

Preparation:

1. Wash and peel the sweet potatoes. Cut them lengthwise into thin strips. Place them in water. If you want to use them after a few hours (like I had to), cover and refrigerate the entire contents along with water.

2. Heat oil in a kadai. Once its hot, reduce the flame to LOWand add the sweet potato strips. Fry them in small batches for 5-6 minutes. Once they are light golden in color, drain onto paper towels to remove excess oil and immediately sprinkle some salt & red chilli flakes on the top. Serve.



This post is a part of Healthy & Tasty Recipe Contest with Fortune Rice Bran Health Oil & BlogAdda.com


This is Recipe 17 added to my 2013 Recipe Archive. Check out the rest of the recipes too!

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8 comments :

  1. i'm never a fan of red beans but this patties looks so wonderful and tasty...

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  2. Like the tip for making those patties. I will try and wow house guests with even sized patties ! I do use rice bran oil too. They say one should use different oils by rotation to get a healthy fix of the good unsaturated fats. So each month I buy a different oil.

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  3. very healthy patties loving this red beans idea.super siri.

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  4. Lovely burgers! I always enjoy homemade veggie burgers better than those greasy ones you get outside :)

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  5. These look super delicious Siri... I make these during the lent season and i love it.. my patties always come out in different sizes, I think i should also use the mold like you suggested:)
    ~Shema

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  6. I tried the recipe. Instead of making burgers i made little "meatballs" and put them on a wholewheat tortilla whith salad. Very good!

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  7. This recipe is so good! Instead of burgers I made small "meatballs" with the bean-oats mixture to put on a wholewheat tortilla with salad.

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  8. This burger looks so scrumptious. I just shared the link on my Facebook page i Veg 2 Differ. I am going to try to make it next week. I LOVE YOUR BLOG!!!

    ReplyDelete

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Siri

 
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