Bean and Grilled Veggie Sliders with Coriander Cashew Sauce

I finally got around to making these Bean Burgers.

I'm a big fan of Burgers and a bigger fan of Bean Burgers. If I see a Bean Burger on the menu, you can be sure I'm ordering it. Regular Bean Burgers are usually just mashed beans shaped into a patty and fried. They are mushy and generally low on spice. So when I set out to make my Bean Burgers, I knew I wanted to add another element to it, another flavor, something that would make my Bean Burger tastier and juicier. TA-DA! Grilled Veggies.

Grilled veggies are the best, aren't the? Low on calories, high on health, super high on taste, and absolutely vibrant to look at. This burger was a marriage of two of my favorite things.

So let me tell you what's about to go down:

• A crispy golden SHALLOW FRIED patty made from beans, grilled vegetables, garlic, sauteed onions and cabbage, red chilli powder and oat flour. 
• A creamy VEGAN sauce made by blending cashews with garlic, coriander, lime and salt. Juicy creamy green goddess goodness.
• Tomato and Onion slices, just to UP the fresh quotient and to add crunch without any effort at all.
• Multi grain buns. 

Now tell me that isn't healthy!!

Just because it is healthy, does not mean it is losing out on taste or texture. The Bean Patty is everything it should be. It has beans that are hearty and filling. The grilled veggies are coarsely blended with the bean mixture and add a bite to the otherwise plain burger. With each bite you get a different mix of grilled vegetables, so you'll never be bored. I grilled my veggies with very little olive oil in the oven. I used a mix of colored capsicums or peppers and zucchini. The sauteed onions add a much needed sweetness. And the cabbage.. well, I had the cabbage, so I tossed it in. It adds to the texture, but can totally be skipped. Garlic, chilli and salt are a given, so no discussion there. Oat flour - I know this just upped the health factor, but that's not why it is there. The entire patty is made of only wet ingredients, there is nothing else to soak up the juices. Juiciness is needed, but excess of it will make the patty very soft and fragile. The oat flour was added to soak in the excess liquid and give enough strength to the patty, so I could shape it and fry it. This can be replaced with bread crumbs.

Next comes the coriander cashew sauce. Simplest sauce ever!! Soak cashews in hot water for 15-20 minutes. Then drain and blend with chopped coriander and garlic. Squeeze some lime juice, add some salt and pepper. Done!!  There is literally no cooking involved here.

I made sliders instead of burgers, just coz they are so much fun to eat. You can make regular burgers with the same recipe, just adjust the quantities.

If you liked this, you may also like:

• Beetroot and Cauliflower Burger - Burger made from beetroots and cauliflower served with an eggless mayo.
• Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich - Sandwich inspired by the Panera Bread sandwich of the same name.
• Breakfast Bruschetta Duo - Two bruschettas, one topped with avocado and olives and other with tomato and onions.
• Grilled Paneer Sandwich - Sandwich made with rye bread and grilled marinated paneer along with a home-made tartar sauce and lettuce.

Bean and Grilled Veggie Burger with Coriander Cashew Sauce

Bean and Grilled Veggie Burger with Coriander Cashew Sauce is a vegan burger with a patty made from grilled vegetables and red kidney beans and has a sauce made from coriander and cashews.

Recipe Type:  Snacks
Cuisine:            International
Prep Time:     1 hour
Cook time:     30 minutes
Yield:                8

Ingredients:

Bean and Grilled Veggie Patty

3/4 cup Red Kidney Beans, cooked
1/2 cup Mixed Vegetables, chopped (Red Capsicum, Yellow Capsicum, Green Capsicum, Zucchini)
2 Onions
1/4 cup Cabbage, sliced (Optional)
2 tsp Garlic minced
1-2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1/2 cup Oat meal
2 tsp Olive Oil
4-5 Tbsp Oil
Salt to taste

Coriander Cashew Sauce

18-20 Cashews
1 handful Coriander leaves
1-2 Garlic cloves
1 tsp Lime Juice
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

To assemble the Bean Burger

8 Multigrain Slider Buns
1 large Tomato
1 Onion

Method:

Bean and Grilled Veggie Patty

To grill the vegetables, lay the chopped vegetables onto a baking sheet and drizzle the olive oil on them. Sprinkle salt, mix well. Grill for 15-20 minutes until slightly charred.
Heat 3 tsp of Oil in a shallow pan and add slices onions. Saute until the onions have browned slightly. Remove and keep aside.
In the same pan, add 1 tsp of Oil and saute the cabbage, (if you are using it) until it wilts slightly.
Grind the oatmeal to powder.
In a food processor or a mixer, add the beans, grilled veggies, garlic, sauteed onions and cabbage, read chilli powder, oat flour and salt. Pulse until the mixture sticks together but it still coarse.
Form 8 patties and keep aside.
Heat the remaining Oil in a small pan and add the patties one by one carefully. Do not crowd the pan and I suggest frying them in batches.
Flip the patty when one side browns. Cook until both the sides are brown and crispy.

Coriander Cashew Sauce

Soak the cashews in hot water for 15-20 minutes.
Blend to a smooth paste along with the coriander, garlic and a little bit of water.
Squeeze in the lemon juice and add salt and pepper. Mix well.
To assemble the burger, heat the burger buns and spread the cashew sauce on the lower bun.

To assemble the Bean Burger

Place the patty on the lower bun and top it up with sliced tomato and onions.
Add a big dollop of the cashew sauce and place the upper bun.
Serve hot.

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Wedding Anniversary Gajar ka Halwa

5 years of love, 5 years of disagreements.

5 years of understanding, 5 years of why-can’t-you-understand-me moments.

5 years in happiness and sadness. 5 years of ups and downs.

5 years of sharing work, 5 years of fighting over the TV remote.

5 years of buying new stuff, 5 years of we-really-need-to-get-rid-of-stuff.

5 years since we tied the knot. Sunday, the 16th was our 5th Wedding Anniversary. Somehow, being as different as chalk and cheese we’ve made it work. 

10 years ago, I saw him across the room and wanted to get to know him. I did get to know him a few months later. We became friends, very good friends. Friends who fell in love eventually.

Raj is probably the nicest guy around. A man who hurts not even a mosquito (literally!!), much to my annoyance. A man with immense patience - he can entertain toddlers for hours and teach technology to senior citizens. But totally loses it when someone cuts in front of his car breaking traffic rules. A man who sings well but has two left feet when it comes to dancing (he may as well be fighting Kung Fu with me). Totally low maintenance guy, whom I love very much, no matter how much he annoys me at times.

Today morning as I was waiting for the bus, I was trying to think of the things we have in common and while we are more different than similar, we do have quite a lot of stuff in common…

• Travel – We both love to travel, we’ve always loved to see new places and take long drives. We loved the snowcapped peaks of Manali just as much as the pristine waters of Phuket. We were equally mesmerized by the Taj Mahal as we were by the Sigiriya Rock in Sri Lanka.
• Desserts – Both of us have a massive sweet tooth and are always trying to curb it. But yes, desserts are our weakness, no matter how much we try.
• Movies – We may have different tastes in movies, I love rom coms and he love his action movies (typical Man.. Duh!), but give us an Animated Movie and we are willing to tolerate the headache we both get from the 3D glasses.
• Jamie Oliver and Top Gear – He’s all about cars and I’m all food, but for a change we both love watching Jamie Oliver cook things we would probably never eat and watch them test drive cars on Top Gear that we will never buy.
• Tea – Tea is what led to this marriage according to me. We bonded over cups and cups of tea and still cannot get enough of.

This Gajar ka Halway is a dedication to our 5 years of Marriage. 5 years ago, just before we got married, Raj told me he makes the most amazing Gajar ka Halwa and will one day make it for me. I’m still waiting for him to make it… I probably will be waiting for the next 5.  So instead of denying myself of the sinful pleasure, I made it myself. 

Gajar ka Halwa or Carrot Halwa is a traditional North Indian carrot pudding that is made by slow cooking grated carrots along with milk, sugar, ghee and dry fruits. It is a sweet rich dessert, fit for special occasions, like our Wedding Anniversary.

You can either grate the carrots or use a food processor to shred them. Use juicy carrots, avoid fibrous ones. The grated carrots are first lightly roasted in ghee. Then they are slow cooked in milk on low heat. Traditional recipe uses full fat milk. I used regular toned milk. Once the milk has almost evaporated, add the sugar. The sugar will melt and you will again find liquid in your halwa. I love some desserts very sweet. Adding the 1 cup of sugar will make the halwa very sweet. I suggest adding half a cup and letting it evaporate, before adding more if you prefer your desserts to be less sweet. Once all the sugar has evaporated, add the cardamom powder. I also love adding a lot of dry fruits to my desserts. I added almonds, cashew nuts and raisins after lightly frying them in ghee. 

Although I love cold Gajar ka Halwa, it tastes best when served warm. It also is great when paired with a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream.

If you liked this, you may also like:

• Chana Dal Payasam | Kadle Bele Payasa - Kheer made with lentils, coconut milk and jaggery. 
• Kaju Katli | Cashew Barfi-  Fudge made from cashew nuts. Very popular Indian sweet.
• Kashi Halwa - Halwa made from ash gourd or petha.

P.S - You know my biggest accomplishment? After 5 years, I finally got him to smile when the camera is pointed at him.

Gajar ka Halwa | Carrot Halwa

Gajar ka Halwa or Carrot Halwa is a slow cooked North Indian carrot pudding made with grated carrots, milk, sugar, ghee and dry fruits.

Recipe Type:  Breakfast
Cuisine:            North Indian
Prep Time:     15 minutes
Cook time:     1 Hour 45 Minutes
Yield:                Serves 5 to 6

Ingredients:

3 cups grated Carrots (300 gms)
2 cups Milk
0.75 to 1 cup Sugar
0.5 tsp Cardamom Powder
3 Tbsp Ghee
8 to 10 Almonds
8 to 10 Cashew nuts
8 to 10 Raisins

Method:

Heat 2 Tbsp ghee in a kadhai and add the grated carrot.
On low heat, fry the carrots for 4-5 mins, stirring continuously.
Add the milk and continue to simmer on low heat until all the milk has evaporated. Stir occasionally.
This will take around 30-45 minutes. By the time the milk has evaporated, the carrots would have almost cooked.
Now add the sugar and continue to cook on low heat. The sugar will melt and the halwa will again have liquid in it. Continue to stir occasionally.
Once all the liquid has evaporated, add the cardamom powder and mix well.
Remove from heat.
Heat the remaining ghee in a small pan.
Add sliced almonds, split cashew nuts and raisins and saute until the nuts brown slightly.
Add the nuts to the Gajar ka Halwa and mix well.
Serve warm.

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Baby Corn and Capsicum Masala Recipe [Video]

Babycorn and Capsicum Masala is a vegetarian curry made by simmering sliced baby corn and diced capsicum in a restaurant style browned onion based gravy.

In a hurry? Jump to Video or Jump to Recipe

There are days when all you want to eat is something simple, down to earth and closer to the heart. Something familiar. But there are those days too when you want that restaurant style dish. If you eat out often, I'm sure you have realized that there are just a few types of gravies in Indian cooking and most places just change the vegetable added. The most common of these is that brown colored gravy. I used to always think that since it is brown, it must be made of tomatoes, but it never tasted of tomatoes. The restaurant brown gravy was always a mystery. I then found out the base, browned onions. Yes, just browned onions.

I used to love capsicum as a kid, in fact I was nicknamed "Dabbu menasinkayi" (capsicum in Kannada) by my dad, I'm sure the fact that I was a chubby kid just added to the name. But somehow I outgrew loving it. Now a days, I buy it for hubby dearest and then think of various ways to transform it so I can eat it too. One experimental evening, I decided to try the brown gravy to go with the capsicum. And this time, I nailed it... I however, deviated from the regular recipe a little, generally cashew nuts are used to add creaminess. I did not want to add too many of those (watching my fat & cholesterol intake), so I added just a few and I added a bit of boiled cauliflower. It gave the same taste and the same creaminess. Next time, I'm going to try it without any cashew nuts.

If you made this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment here or on Facebook,  tag your tweet with @oneteaspoonlife on Twitter and don't forget to tag your photo #oneteaspoonoflife on Instagram. You can also email me at onetspoflife@gmail.com I'd love to see what you are upto.

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Video Recipe

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Baby Corn and Capsicum Masala

Baby Corn and Capsicum in a restaurant style gravy

Recipe Type:  Main Course
Cuisine:          Indian
Prep Time:     20 minutes
Cook time:     45 minutes
Total time:     65 minutes
Yield:              Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 large Capsicum
10-12 Baby Corn
3 small Onions
1 tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
18-20 Cashew nuts
0.5 tsp Red Chilli powder
0.5 tsp Turmeric powder
0.25 tsp Garam Masala
2 Tbsp Fresh Cream
1 tsp Jaggery or Sugar (Optional)
6 tsp Oil
Salt to taste
Water as required

Method:

1. Heat 2 tsp of oil in a kadhai
2. Once it is hot, add chopped onions. Fry until the onions are brown. Be careful,do not burn them. I prefer cooking them on low heat.
3. Remove it onto a dry plate and allow it to cool.
4. Blend together the browned onions, soaked cashewnuts and ginger garlic paste with a little water until it is a smooth paste.
5. Heat 2 tsp of oil in a kadhai and add sliced baby corn and diced capsicum.
6. Saute until the vegetables are cooked. Remove from heat and keep aside.
7. Heat the remaining oil in a kadhai and add the onion-cashew paste.
8. Add the turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala and salt. Mix well.
9. Cook on low heat for 4-5 minutes while stirring frequently.
10. Add a little water and simmer for 4-5 minutes.
11. Now add the cream and mix well.
12. Add 2-3 tbsp of water and cook on low flame for 3-4 minutes.
13. Add the sugar or jaggery if you are using. Add water to get the desired consistency.
14. Add the capsicum and baby corn and allow it to cook for 1 min,
15. Garnish with the chopped coriander leaves.
16. Serve hot with roti or chapati

If you liked this, you may also like:

Vegetable Jalfrezi

Achari Bhindi Dahiwali

< Lauki Kofta

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