{"id":6367,"date":"2015-07-25T18:33:00","date_gmt":"2015-07-26T01:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/veganlovlie.wordpress.com\/2015\/07\/25\/my-best-veggie-burger-does-not-fall-apart-with-brown-chickpeas-eggplant-nut-free-soy-free-gluten-free"},"modified":"2022-08-31T14:12:05","modified_gmt":"2022-08-31T21:12:05","slug":"my-best-veggie-burger-does-not-fall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/veganlovlie.com\/my-best-veggie-burger-does-not-fall\/","title":{"rendered":"My Best Veggie Burger (does not fall apart) with Brown Chickpeas & Eggplant"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A tasty Brown Chickpea & Eggplant Veggie Burger<\/strong> that holds together well and doesn’t fall apart – this is my Best Veggie Burger<\/em>. This burger is nut-free, soy-free and gluten-free.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Veggie <\/picture><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Through all the trials and tribulations of attempting to come up with the best veggie burger recipe possible, or better still \u2014 the perfect one, that will leave even an omnivore coming back for more, I finally devised something that is now going to be my go-to recipe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is probably less of a challenge to add taste to a vegan burger if one is going to include some nuts, almonds or seeds. But in my case, being allergic to most of them (including flax seeds), I had to think of another way to get a burger that will have maximum taste, great texture and hold together well, i.e not crumbly or falling apart.
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Although I sometimes like a pan fried burger, I mostly enjoy my vegan burgers baked. Kevin, on the other hand, is not a great fan of the baked ones; he finds them too dry and more often than not, crumbly. So, my challenge was to find that one ideal mix that would be equally suitable for both baking and pan frying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This burger works well for both methods of cooking with a slight variation, i.e. one small extra step, for the fried version that actually makes the burger more interesting too with a crispy outer shell.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Veggie <\/picture><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Apart from being nut-free and seed-free (no flax egg), I also wanted this burger to have the option of being soy-free and gluten-free. Homemade veggie burgers are somewhat notorious for being crumbly or falling apart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To tackle this one, I started off with the same concept as the lentil loaf<\/a> that I made a while ago over the holidays. Instead of making the loaf more compact by pressing in everything tightly into the pan (like a lot of other recipes suggest), I decided to do the reverse and added a little more water instead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The consistency of the mixture is somewhat like a risotto that’s a little drier than oozy, as if it has been sitting for a little while but not so much as to have become stodgy. This produced a loaf that held together well without being mushy either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, the mixture for this veggie burger is a little on the wet side which may sound daunting to handle. But trust me, after leaving the mixture to sit for about fifteen minutes on the counter, I did not find it difficult to shape into patties. It just needs less handling and shaping in the hand but rather directly on the tray or pan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For both the baked and fried versions, a half cup measurement made good sized burgers for a regular size burger bun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the baked version, I only shaped it to a ball in my hands, then lightly flatten as I placed it on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and continue to shape it on the tray itself until it was the thickness that I wanted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the fried version, I rolled the ball into a little buckwheat flour then flatten it just before frying. Once in the frying pan and lightly crispy on one side, after flipping on the other side, you can lightly press on the burger with a spatula to flatten it further.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Veggie <\/picture><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

As for the burger base itself, I have used brown\/black chickpeas<\/a> or kala chana (I have talked about them before<\/a>) because they have a more roasted and earthy kind of flavour that give this burger a more meaty depth of flavour. But you can also use other beans like regular chickpeas or black beans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The addition of curry leaves in the herbs and spice mix, really took the taste to another level. If you’ve never used curry leaves before in your recipes, I really recommend that you do. They have an intricate flavour all their own and quite difficult to find a match for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you can’t find curry leaves close to where you live, you can purchase them online, either fresh<\/a> or dried<\/a>. The fresh one freezes well for up to a year. So you’d only need to buy it once and freeze it as soon as you obtain it. It will turn darker when frozen but that is okay, they will still be good to use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a last resort, if you really can’t get hold of curry leaves, you may replace them by a combination of two to three bay leaves and a few thai basil leaves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brown Chickpea and Eggplant Veggie Burger<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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