Beetroot burgers have long been a favourite of mine ever since I visited this small cafe in Prague that did the absolute meatiest, meatless vegan burger made of – you guessed it, beetroots. I’ve been making several versions of this burger over the years. It usually depended on whatever ingredients I had on hand, but I’ve finally penned this one down for you! I’ve paired the beetroot up with black beans, millet, mint and walnuts for the ultimate healthy yet incredibly tasty beet patty that you’ll love, perhaps even more than bears and Battlestar Galactica!
*Part of my work with Wonderchef involves testing their products and developing recipes for their online blog. While I receive the products free of cost, I am not obligated to review them in a positive light on my website. All opinions expressed are my own.
I’ll be honest, when I first got the Sanjeev Kapoor Tandoor Ultima I did wonder if it was perhaps too similar to a standard sandwich press. Happily, I’ve been proven wrong several times over the past few months! From tikkas to sandwiches, everything I’ve made in it has turned out wonderful. So it was time for the ultimate test – a veggie burger. The problem with veggie burgers is that they don’t often hold together very well. While I was testing this recipe I made a dozen different changes, testing the patties on the stovetop and most of them kept falling apart. I figured that if it won’t hold on the pan, there’s no chance it’ll hold in the tandoor right? When I had almost given up when I tested the last of my 5th batch on the tandoor and it was perfect! The weight of the top grill really helped secure the patty in place and I managed to do all of that with barely any oil! That’s thanks to the high quality non-stick coating Wonderchef uses. All the fun of a tandoor without any of the cleanup! To prolong the life of the coating and the appliance you should only use wooden or silicone utensils.
A completely optional step is to bake your own burger buns! I wasn’t impressed with the squished burger buns that I found in my local market so I decided to bake some brioche buns for this recipe. If you’ve got a stand mixer like I do then it’s the easiest thing ever. If not, then skip arm day at the gym and you’ll be fine! Stay tuned for my brioche bun recipe!
Toppings, Fillings and More
I’ve gone for a Mediterranean theme with these beetroot burgers and paired it with lettuce, hummus and red onions. It was such a fantastic combination that I didn’t even miss the cheese! Can you imagine? A burger without cheese! However, I will say that feta and goat’s cheese are great with beetroot. Instead of adding them on top of the burger, incorporate it into the patty mix for maximum flavour. Feel free to add, subtract or replace any ingredients while assembling your burger. Sometimes, when the mixture is too dry, I like to add some egg, little bit at a time to bind everything together. You could also use breadcrumbs if you like. As for toppings, perhaps avocados and tomatoes are more your style? How about some caramelised onions and cheese? Just remember that there’s no wrong burger topping! Pick what you like and enjoy!
Beetroot Burgers
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Grated Beetroot (1 large Beetroot)
- ½ Tbsp Vegetable Oil
- ¼ Cup Mint Leaves (packed)
- ½ Cup Black Beans
- ½ Cup Cooked Millets
- ½ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Pepper
- ½ tsp Cumin
- 4 Burger Buns
- 8 Tbsp Hummus
- 8 Lettuce Leaves
Instructions
- Wash and grate the beetroot.
- Place a pan on medium heat and add the oil to it.
- Once hot, add the grated beetroot and cook down till most of the water evaporates and the beetroot is cooked. This should take about 3-4 minutes.* Set aside.
- Once the beetroot has cooled down add it to a large bowl along with the mint, black beans, cooked millet salt, pepper and cumin and mix well.
- Let the mixture sit in the fridge for about 1 hour.
- Divide the mixture into four and shape into patties.
- Turn your tandoor on and allow it to heat up.
- Lightly brush the tandoor with some oil and place two patties onto it.
- Cook for 7-10 minutes until the patties are done.
- Repeat with the other two patties.
- Assemble the burgers with the hummus, lettuce, red onions, burger buns and beetroot patties.
- Serve with fries and enjoy!
