Chickpea patties with warm pitta
A homemade burger recipe, suitable for vegetarians
INGREDIENTS (serves 4)
2X 400g tins of chickpeas, drained
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
Handful of fresh coriander, chopped(optional)
1 tsps ground curry powder
2 tbsps flour
4 tbsps oil
4 pitta breads
½ cucumber, sliced
2 tomatoes, sliced
Dressing:
8 tbsp of natural yoghurt
1 garlic clove, crushed
METHOD
Drain chickpeas in a colander and rinse with cold water.
Put chickpeas into a bowl and start mashing them using a potato masher or a fork.
When you see they are all broken and start to come together add the red onion, carrot, coriander(if using), curry powder, flour and a pinch of salt. Keep on mashing it until it comes together. Shape into 8 patties using your hands. The trick is to squeeze the patties hard so that they do not break down when cooking them.
Heat oil in a frying pan,add the patties and fry for 5min in each side until golden.
Dressing: mix all ingredients together, including a pinch of salt.
Serve with warm pitta bread, slices of tomato, cucumber and a drizzle of dressing
TIPS FROM THE CHEF
You could swap the spices and herbs(if using), use ground cumin instead of the curry powder and the parsley instead coriander to give it a different twist.
Use burger buns instead of pitta bread.
You can also serve them without any bread. They are lovely and filling served just with a side salad and the dressing.
Fresh herbs, although lovely, can be expensive and sometimes are sold in big amounts that will end up going to waste. Dried herbs are a great affordable substitute that will keep in your cupboard for ages.
