Veggie Burger - Ready in 45 minutes

I am not kidding, just to keep myself honest, I actually put the timer and counted down as I went through the exercise of making these delicious home made burger buns for the 'I have lost count' th time I am making them since I discovered this no-fail recipe. What is there to not like when you can have a 'made from scratch, 100% whole wheat, just like the Burger Joint bread' and feel completely safe knowing the ingredients that went in? Just for the fun of it, I also made my chick peas patties to go with the burgers and with a little bit of planning and multi tasking, had both the burger buns and patties ready to be eaten in under an hour. Go ahead and try it out yourself, and don't forget to time it so you can vouch for that 45 minute burger buns next time :-)

Here is a confession: I don't eat burgers outside home, first it was the hesitation of it not being vegetarian and then it was the fact that the veggie patty tasted so tasteless, I would rather eat something else. We discovered Subway quite early when we came to US, it being one of the joints I could easily go in and ask for a vegetarian sub and could see the ingredients that went into making my sandwich - such a relief :-). Infact, one of my down town office buildings had a cafeteria in the ground floor and Subway was one of the vendors there. The guys were so used to a group of us vegetarians that they would very sweetly put on new gloves before starting to assemble our orders. While this may be the norm in many places to avoid cross contamination, I really appreciated the fact that they did it every time even during the busiest of lunch hours. While I love the whole grains and Honey oats bread Subway serves, I still stick to my veggie fare and an occasional avocado but never get the veggie patty ever since I tasted a bite out of DD's sandwich once. It tasted bland and the texture didn't seem right.

Then I saw the masala veggie patties at Trader Joe's, if I haven't told you before, I love that store. DD loved the patties and it was easy to sandwich it between 2 slices of bread for her breakfast or lunch. Like always, I tried to read the ingredients, break down the taste and recreate it at home. First time I made it, it was almost like the regular Indian tikkis and DD didn't seem convinced. Though she ate it, she was like 'this is so not a burger' :-), I started experimenting and also changed the base to use chick peas. This patty is loaded with vegetables and the best part is you can throw in pretty much any vegetable you like or have on hand in addition to any combination of spices/flavorings - Indian or International. Chickpeas make the bulk of it and give it a wonderful taste.

Once the patties was sorted out, experiment with the bun recipe started. Indulge me a little bit here, since I am baking at home, I feel it necessary to find a recipe that meets all of my criteria - for health and taste. I know I can be such a sore sometimes. I kept looking for a healthy burger bun recipe that was easy to make and found a seemingly easy version here. First time I made it following the recipe to tee, used AP flour and an egg. The buns were delicious but my trained nose could smell (imaginary!) the egg. Next time, I skipped the egg completely and the buns didn't seem to mind it at all. Buoyed by the success, I went ahead and replaced AP flour with wheat flour and out popped delicious smelling buns that looked just liked the ones you get in the stores. I have reduced the amount of sugar from the original recipe since we don't like the buns to be tasting so sweet especially when I am assembling them with veggie patties.

If you haven't come across this recipe on the internet, take my word and book mark this post. This is one of the easiest (no additional gluten etc needed), no-fuss (I have made this in Summer, winter and every season in between and have always got delicious buns) recipes ever. Bonus being, there is no knead, no long rise time so you can make this at the last minute too. And what about health quotient - did you see me adding butter? I rest my case.

What do you need to make the buns?
Makes 10 medium size buns
3c whole wheat flour
1.5 Tblsp yeast
1C+1 Tblsp warm water
1/3 c oil
2 Tblsp sugar
1 Tsp salt

How do you make the buns?
0-2 mins:

• Warm water (30 seconds in microwave), Dissolve yeast in water, set aside until foamy.
• Preheat oven to 425F.

2-5 mins: 

• Add oil, sugar and salt - give it a good mix with a spoon. 
• Add flour, a cup at a time stirring until incorporated. The dough is not sticky but soft.

5-9 mins:

• Knead for 3-5 minutes until soft and pliable.
• Make 10 equal sized balls from the dough, shape them without crease lines, slightly flatten them to avoid a sharp peak on the bun.
• Prepare 2 cookie sheets by spraying a light coating of non stick spray.
• Arrange the buns on the cookie sheet keeping the balls about 3 inches apart.
• Cover with a cling wrap and let it rest for 20 minutes.

30-40 mins:

• Bake @ 425F for 8-10 minutes turning once halfway for even cooking.
• Take it out and let cool on racks for 10 minutes before slicing.

 

What do you need to make Chickpeas burger patties?
Makes 12 patties
2 cans or 3 cups cooked chickpeas
2 cups grated carrot
1 cup finely chopped green beans
1/2 cup corn, fresh or frozen
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 green chilies
1 piece ginger
1 Tsp salt
1/4 Tsp red chili powder
1/4 Tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
2 Tblsp wheat flour
2 TBlsp olive oil
1-2 Tsp oil to brush

 

How do you make Chickpeas burger patties?

• If using canned chickpeas, rinse them well before using.
• Take chickpeas, ginger, green chilies, chili powder, black pepper powder and salt to the blender and pulse them into a coarse crumble.
• Add wheat flour and olive oil and run the blender for a few seconds until it gets incorporated.
• Take the mixture out into a bowl, add all the remaining veggies, mix well and do a taste test.
• Divide into 12 portions and shape them into patties.

• Heat a plain griddle or grill pan, brush the patties with a couple drops of oil on both sides and roast them on medium heat until cooked well on both sides.
• These patties can be frozen upto a month, use wax papers to layer them and store in a box.

How do you enjoy (the most delicious) veggie burger?

• Take a bun, slice in half, start with a layer of lettuce, add a patty, top it with sliced onions, tomatoes, cucumber (anything else you fancy), some ketchup or mustard. Put the top half of the bun, press it lightly.
• Hold it in both hands, take a bite to include all the layers and chomp away.

Notes:

• Ensure you have good quality, potent yeast. Once you add it in, if you don't see it foaming on top within a couple of minutes, discard and start over.
• Addition of wheat flour in the patties makes it absorb moisture and makes the patties firm and hold shape. You can add soaked and squeezed bread slices instead.
• If using dry chickpeas, soak them in water over night, cook it in pressure cooker with 1/2 Tsp salt and a pinch of baking soda until soft but firm.

Telu avalakki oggarane - a quick snack with paper thin poha/beaten rice

How was your weekend? Good? That means you should ask me the same question as common courtsey and since you cannot ask until you see this post, I will assume you did and will give you a response -). I had a great weekend, majorly because of a visit from a dear friend. She is someone I have known for over 2 decades now and am glad we haven't lost contact. Though she has come to US a few times before, this is the first time she was able to come home and meet up with us and that was wonderful. We did some customary sight seeing and a little bit of shopping as neither of us are big shoppers and spent the rest of the 1.5 days blabbering and chatting incessantly. People, places, schools, colleges, food, family.. nothing was spared in the chats. There are very few people I open up to in this World and she is one of them. When you meet personally and have a heart to heart talk, you realize how useless Skype, Gtalk, facebook, vonage and everything else put together is. Friends are a treasure, you laugh, you smile, you cry and you share, here is to a friend that has been in my life for more than half of my life itself.

The other day I was looking at my recipe index and didn't find many poha recipes. For a South Indian, poha or beaten rice is as much a staple as rice and used extensively in breakfast and snack items. Just like many other South Indians, I use this ingredient as it is quick, delicious, filling and easily convertible into a dish. I will not overload you all with contiguous poha related posts from today :-) but have put a sticky note to self to build my poha recipes on the blog. So you will see them as they come in the future.

Telu Avalakki or paper avalakki or extra thin poha is a variety of beaten rice that needs no cooking at all. See here for a creamy, delicious thin poha with yogurt or mosaravalakki. This recipe is precious to me because it is my dad's favorite. I think it is one of the few recipes I learnt outside of my mother's repertoire and my father enjoyed the taste thoroughly. I kind of took over evening snack making from Nammamma when I was in high school, being a very picky teenager that would not be happy with many of the things made every day. Amma would be tired and one day she told me to go ahead and make something that pleased me and that is how culinary journey began(well, that is the official story and I am sticking to it). But barring the few times I was completely in charge of the kitchen when in college, I was almost 'a chef that cooked only snack items' :-). So at that age and the inexperience abound, all I could make was small eats and nothing elaborate. Spice has been my middle name and my sister tells me that I eat too much spice for my own good but it is a habit I have not been able to resist. So needless to say that most of my creations were fast foods and savory/spicy when I emerged from the kitchen.

This Telu Avalakki oggarane (seasoned thin poha) is not my original creation, the idea came from a cousin who used to travel and I believe he brought it home from one of his North Karnataka travels. Then, we modified it with our choice of ingredients and made it our own. Served on a wide, fresh cut banana leaf or a turmeric leaf, this is one of the most delectable quick eats I make. Add to that, it is low calorie and involves very little stove time for getting the seasoning done. Perfect for a hot Summer day when you are tired. Eat it just like that for a snack or with a bowl of thick yogurt on the side for a full meal.

What do you need to make Telu Avalakki Oggarane? 
Makes 3 servings
2 packed cups paper thin avalakki (look for extra thin poha but not the glossy kind)
1/2 cup shredded coconut (fresh tastes best, or use frozen brought to room temperature)
1 Tblsp finely chopped onion
1 Tsp chutney pudi 
1/2 Tsp salt (adjust to taste)
2 Tblsp chopped cilantro
1 Tblsp lemon juice (half lemon)
Seasoning: 
2 Tsp oil
1/8 Tsp asafoetida
1 Tsp mustard seeds
1 Tsp urad dal/uddina bele
couple of curry leaves (optional)
2 green chilies (adjust to taste)

How do you make Telu Avalakki Oggarane? 

• Bring all ingredients listed except for the seasoning part together in a bowl and mix them well (use clean hands) squeezing a little as you mix.
• Keep aside and get the seasoning ready. 

• Heat oil in a pan, add mustard, urad dal and chopped chilies. Add Asafoetida and curry leaves once mustard starts to splutter. 
• Add the seasoning to the poha mixture, mix it in and serve it immediately. 

Notes: 

• You can add a Tblsp of crisp hurigadle or chatni dal or roasted chana dal to the mixture. 
• Onions, lemon juice  and coconut help make Avalakki soft and slightly moist. You do not need any water. 
• Chutney pudi is my personal preference, you can skip this but I urge you to try it once before you dismiss the idea. 
• Do not keep this Oggarane avalakki for long after mixing, it tends to become soggy and loses the texture. 

Pav Bhaaji - Down the memory lane along the main streets of JNagar

Let me tell you all that this is one of my family's favorite recipes, it is a win win situation for all since it simultaneously satisfies all expectations of a tasty, healthy, nutritious, filling meal as well as qualifies for a yummy chat(I raise my hand any time someone says chat). So it is an 'amma bhi khush and bacha bhi khush' (Mom happy, kid happy) situation - well, that was a really lame take on an old TV advertisement :-), I still need to hone my stand up comedian act.

If you are an Indian grown up eating Indian food or a non Indian aware of Indian food, I am sure you would have come across the name 'Pav Bhaaji' at some point and if you are lucky, you would have tasted it as well. Literally translated, it means bread (Pav) and vegetables(bhaaji), and it is really just that - vegetables cooked with masala and served with a side of bread. And there are many, many brands of pav bhaaji masalas are available in the stores every where. If you have a refrigerator filled with assorted vegetables, I recommend you try this dish especially since they all get mashed together into a pulp, blend into the masala and lose their individuality. The bhaaji of the pav-bhaaji is very forgiving within its boundaries (steer clear of radish, beetroot, okra and eggplant unless you really love these vegetables so much that you cannot eat a dish without them :-)). So all moms with picky eaters at home, this is a sure safe way to sneak in some broccoli and spinach :-)

Thumbrule for mixing vegetables in any Indian bhaaji - Use veggies that are neutral or similar in taste, color and texture so your end result is homogeneous and a single entry does not stand out. There are exceptions to this rule and I will point out on the posts where I make those exceptions.

I know I said this is a family favorite, but BH is ardent fan of this dish. While I always ordered masala poori in chat stations, he would go for pav bhaaji, it is good to differ on those counts since you can share (if the other order is better) or you can just eat what you ordered all by yourself :-)). When we lived in namma Bengaluru (flash back a decade+), we used to randomly walk the streets of Jayanagar (which is a South Bengaluru area, known for wide roads, green trees, beautiful big plots and houses) after work and had a regular stop at a Shanti Sagar joint. I have seen on my recent visits to the area that Shanti Sagar chains have lost some of their patronage due to the choices available to customers now but in my opinion, they made some of the best chats and creamy tomato soup. The prices and portions are very family friendly. While they served chats inside the restaurant, all the action was by the curbside. They usually had this chat station set up right outside the building and people that didn't want to go in and sit could always stand by the road side and have quick plates of chats.

For me, as a new bride and still a novice in the kitchen department, it was amazing to see the guy manage that extremely wide and hot tawa (a shallow griddle) and keep mixing large volume of bhaaji constantly so it doesn't burn. He would take your order, put the butter smeared pav on the edge of the same tawa and keep turning it over until both sides got roasted brown.  Serve the pav with huge blob of the bhaaji topped with chopped onions, coriander leaves and lemon juice. For regular customers, he would add a tad bit extra butter :-). The bhaaji is served in such a large quantity, you will definitely run out of the pav before you finish it, so you could just order an 'extra pav' to wipe the palte clean. if you are a regular, he knew it before you even asked. Standing there on the road side, eating the spicy pav bhaaji with your nose and eyes watering from all the heat in the dish and around you is an unforgettable experience. Thinking back, I probably started adding on inches on my waistline right there on Jayanagar streets :-)

Before I go on to the recipe, I want to state this is not a recipe with accurate measurements, this is how we like it and make it at home and also I have not used any home made masala but stuck to my usual brand of this masala. So what you will find below is a framework for making pav bhaji but I will leave it to you to experiment and find the right mix and proportion of ingredients. What I promise to give you on this post is tips and techniques to get the right consistency of the bhaaji to enjoy with pav. 

What did I use to make Pav Bhaaji? 
This quantity served 5 people sumptuously for dinner
For Bhaaji:
To cook - 
1 cup finely chopped green beans
1 cup finely chopped cabbage
1 cup finely chopped carrots
1 cup finely chopped potatoes
1 cup frozen peas (thawed before use)
1 cup chopped broccoli (use cauliflower instead or skip this entirely)
1.5 cups water

To Fry -
1 cup finely chopped onions (I use red onions)
1 medium ripe tomato - chopped small
1/2 medium green pepper - chopped small
1 Tblsp cooking oil

Others:
1/2 stick (=4 Tblsp) butter
2 Tsp salt (adjust to taste)
1.5 Tsp pav bhaaji masala (I use Everest or MDH brands)
1/2 Tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
3/4 Tsp amchoor or dry mango powder

To assemble:
1 dozen hamburger buns (I used the whole wheat)
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro or coriander leaves
Juice from 2 medium lemons

How did I make Pav Bhaaji? 

• Take all the ingredients listed under 'To cook' into a pressure cooker and cook until the vegetables are done and very soft. Let cool, open the cooker and mash the vegetables into a pulp with a hand held potato masher (or the back of a sturdy ladle)

• Meanwhile, take the Tblsp oil in a big pan, add the chopped onions and let them sweat a little, add tomatoes and the green bell peppers and fry until they turn soft but not mushy. 

• Open the pressure cooker once the pressure has gone, mash the vegetables into a pulp , add the onion-tomato-bell pepper fry from the above step, add salt and all the dry masala powders listed under 'Others'. Let it come to a gentle boil on medium low heat. 

• Adjust spices at this time and let it cook uncovered.
• Cut the butter into small pieces (reserve about a Tsp of butter for the assembly later on) and add it to the boiling bhaaji mixture and let the flavors melt in for a couple of hours. I strongly suggest you do a slow cook process on this, use a heavy bottom pan and keep the heat on low and let the mixture boil for a couple of hours to get the street side chat smell. You can always prepare this ahead of time for parties and reheat but the initial cooking has to be slow to get the consistency and taste. 

• The bhaaji becomes darker as it cooks, water content reduces and comes into a single soft mass.

How did I serve Pav bhaaji?

• Heat a griddle, put a dash of butter on the griddle and put the hamburger bun halves on it and roast both sides until lightly browned.
• Take the hot bread onto a plate, serve it with bhaaji topped with red onions, chopped cilantro and a dash of lemon juice. 

Notes:

• Slow cook the bhaaji with the vessel uncovered. Adding butter at this stage allows the vegetables to absorb flavors well. 
• Pressure cook the vegetables to easily and quickly get them to soften.