Pav bhaji burger

After I made these I was wondering why did I not think about this earlier? Pav bhaji is a delicious and popular street food in India made with potatoes, onions and spices. It is kind of a vegetarian sloppy joe...spicy and a little sloppy. It is served with a bun called pav which is slathered with butter. I came up with the idea of making a pav bhaji burger when I was left with a bag of mini hamburger buns. I had to use them so I decided to try out making vegetarian burger using the same spices and vegetables that are used in pav bhaji. I loved how delicious they turned out to be. Usually pav bhaji is eaten with raw onion with fresh lemon wedges and green chilies  To substitute that I made a crunchy salad with onions, red cabbage and roasted corn.

Ingredients

3 potatoes (boiled and mashed)

1 medium onion (finely chopped)

1 heaped tablespoon ginger garlic paste

1 cup mixed boiled or frozen vegetables (corn, green beans, peas, carrots)

1/4 cup diced cherry tomatoes

1/2 cup finely chopped bell peppers

2 teaspoons pav bhaji masala

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon red chili powder

1 teaspoon dry mango powder (optional)

1 teaspoon black pepper powder

salt to taste

2 tablespoons oil (as required for cooking)

Corn flour (for dredging)

Method

Heat oil in a pan, add the chopped onions and saute for a few minutes. Then add the ginger and garlic paste and cook till the raw smell goes away (about 2-3 minutes). Add the pav bhaji masala, turmeric powder and chili powder. Meanwhile roughly grind the mixed boiled or frozen vegetables and add it to the pan. Mash the boiled potatoes and mix it in. Add salt according to taste and adjust seasonings. Finally add the finely chopped bell peppers and tomatoes. Sprinkle pepper and dry mango powder. 

Once the potato mix cools a little make small balls with the potatoes. Take some corn flour in a plate and dredge the potato balls in cornflour. Heat a skillet with oil and butter and shallow fry the potato balls on both sides till crispy and golden brown. Drain on a paper towel and place it in a burger bun with your favorite fixings. I made mine with some crispy fried onions seasoned with salt and pepper, spicy mango chutney and a side salad.