Burger gobbling!

Here’s how –

1) Buy burger buns made of wheat flour rather than those made from refined flour. Though rare, they are available in big stores where organic foods are sold.

2) Add as many slices of raw vegetables as possible – cucumber, tomato, onion, lettuce, carrot, capsicum, beetroot, radish etc.. You could add shredded cabbage as it is or mixed with mayonnaise if you are using it.

3) Instead of deep frying the cutlets that go into the making of burgers, you shallow fry or cook them in a non-stick pan.

4) Pack in as much nutrition as you possibly can, in these cutlets. And for variety, here are a few recipes to inspire you –
 
1. VEGETABLE CUTLETS
Ingredients       
3 big, boiled potatoes
3 slices of bread
1 cup grated carrot
1 cup grated beetroot
½ cup finely cut beans
¼ cup finely cut capsicum
1 finely cut onion
3-4 finely chopped green chilies
1 teaspoon garam masala powder
3 tablespoons oil
Salt to taste
 
Method

In a thick bottom vessel, sauté all the vegetables and chilies in 2 tablespoons oil, on sim flame for 8-10 minutes. Keep it aside to cool. In a big plate, grate the boiled potatoes (this helps in mashing completely) and bread (to get fresh crumbs). Mix in the cooked vegetables, salt, ½ tablespoon of oil, garam masala and knead. Dabbing a little oil on your hands, make round shaped cutlets. Keep them in the fridge till you cook to make the burgers.  
 
2. MINCE-MEAT CUTLETS

Ingredients      
3 big boiled potatoes
3 slices of bread
¼ kg mince-meat
3-4 finely cut green chilies
2 teaspoons garam masala powder
3 tablespoons oil
a few coriander leaves
a few mint leaves; salt to taste
 
Method

Pressure cook the minced meat for 15-20minutes in 3 cups water. Heat till completely dry. Add salt, chilies  and garam masala. Keep aside to cool. In a big plate, grate the boiled potatoes and bread slices. Mix in the mince meat, coriander, mint and a little oil and knead. Make round shaped cutlets.
 
3. SOYA CUTLETS

Same as above: Only substitute mince-meat with same quantity of soya granules.
 
4. FISH CUTLETS:

Ingredients   
¼ kg Seer fish
 3 boiled potaotoes
3 slices of bread
2-3 teaspoons of chili powder
2-3 tablespoons oil; salt to taste
 
Method

Steam the fish for 10 minutes.
This could be done in
an Idli cooker or by keeping the fish in a steel colander and placing this over boiling water on the gas, for 10 minutes. When the fish is cool, mash it in a big plate. Grate or mash the potatoes and bread slices too. Mix in the salt, chili powder and a little oil and knead till smooth. Make round shaped cutlets.
 
5. PANEER STUFFED CUTLETS

Ingredients       
3 boiled potatoes
3 slices of bread
200 gm fresh paneer
1 big onion finely cut
1 small capsicum finely cut
3-4 green chilies finely chopped
2-3 tablespoons of oil; salt to taste

Method

Grate boiled potatoes and bread slices in a big plate. Add salt and a little oil and knead till smooth. In another plate, grate the paneer. Add the onion, capsicum, green chilies, and a little salt.

This is the stuffing. Grease palms with a little oil and flatten out a small portion of the potato-bread paste that you have. Take a lemon sized ball of the paneer stuffing and place it in the middle of this flat paste. Enclose it with the potato-bread paste to form a ball. Gently flatten this to form the shape of a cutlet – taking care not to let any of the stuffing peep out from the sides.
 
6. CRUNCHY CUTLET

Ingreients
3 boiled cutlets
3 slices of bread
¾ cup shredded cabbage
¾ cup cornflakes
½ cup finely cut capsicum
1 tablespoon cornflour
3 teaspoons pepper
2 tablespoons oil
salt to taste
 
Method

Grate the boiled potatoes and bread slices in a big plate.Add the rest of the ingredients and knead. Make round shaped cutlets.

All these cutlets can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.

To make them crispier, roll them in bread crumbs or dip them in beaten egg while cooking them.

These cutlets can be eaten as snacks by themselves too, in which case you can experiment with shapes – heart-shaped (with the help of small cake moulds), triangular, square, oval etc..