2cupsdried brown/black chickpeasyield 4 and a half cup cooked, reserve ½ cup cooked for the blender
1medium eggplant[700g, 25oz]
1tablespoonsoy sauceuse Tamari for gluten-free or just use a little salt, see notes for a soyfree gluten-free soy sauce substitute
Blender mix:
1cupchopped coriandercilantro leaves
2green chilies
1teaspoonpaprika
1teaspooncumin
1tablespoonminced ginger
2tablespoonstomato puree
1tablespoonmaple syrup
1tablespoonlemon juice
10 - 12curry leaves
1cuprolled oatsuse gluten-free certified if required
1/4cupwater from the cooked chickpeas
3/4cupwater
Salt and pepper to taste
For pan fried version:
90gbuckwheat flour[3/4 cup] or as needed for coating (rice flour, other gluten-free flour, or regular all-purpose flour will work too if you do not need this to be gluten-free)
Oil for frying
Instructions
Soak the chickpeas overnight or for at least 8 hours. Then drain all the water and rinse. Place chickpeas in a deep pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium and simmer for about 30-40 minutes or until chickpeas are soft and easy to mash.
Once cooked, drain all the chickpeas but keep the water. Reduce the chickpea water to 1/4 cup and allow to cool. If using canned beans, use 1/4 cup of liquid from the can of beans.
Mash the chickpeas with a fork or use a food processor. But take care not to turn them into a paste. They should just be pulsed. Reserve about 1/2 cup to add to the blender mix.
When chickpeas are cooking, you can also cook the aubergine in another pan. Wash and cut them into strips. Place in a non-stick pan with 1 tablespoon soy sauce and 1-2 tablespoons water. Stir and mix, then cover and let cook on medium heat. Occasionally check on the aubergine and give it a stir or add a little water if required.
Once aubergine is soft and mushy, remove from heat and place in a large plate. Mash them with a fork to form a puree or pulse them in a food processor. If using a fork, you may remove the skin from the puree as they may later cause the burgers to break if they are too large.
In a large mixing bowl, add the mashed chickpeas, add the eggplant puree. Mix well.
In a blender, place all the blender mix ingredients and blend until smooth.
Next add the mixture from the blender to the chickpea-eggplant mixture and mix well. You may taste the mixture at this point to adjust the salt. Add pepper to your taste if desired.
Now let this mixture sit on the counter for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, take a 1/2 cup measurement and scoop out the mixture.
For the baked version:
Preheat the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius).
Place a scoop of the mixture into the palm of one hand and shape lightly into a ball, then flatten lightly. Place onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper. You may shape or flatten the patties further on the tray. The burgers will become just slightly smaller after baking and cooling.
Bake for 15 minutes on one side. Then turn the burgers onto the other side and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before serving.
For the fried version:
Get a bowl with about 3/4 cup of buckwheat flour. Form a ball in your hands then dip it into the flour to coat it. If you are not frying it immediately, place it on a plate and repeat for the rest of the mixture. Just before frying, flatten the balls and shape into patties. Dip into more flour if needed.
Heat a skillet on medium-high. The oil needs to be hot. Place the patties into the skillet. I like to fry only 2 at a time so that I can turn them over easily. Once the burger has a crispy shell on one side, turn onto the other side. You may flatten it a little further with a spatula at this stage. Allow to cook until the other side is crispy. It will take about 12 - 15 minutes for the burgers to be cooked. Remove from the oil and drain on some absorbent paper. Allow to cool a little before serving.
Video
Notes
These burgers freeze well either cooked or uncooked. To freeze them uncooked, form the patties. If you are going to fry them later on, then coat them already with the flour before freezing and flatten. Then, place in a container and layer with grease proof or parchment paper or some cut plastic bag strips. Each patty should be separated with a piece of the paper or plastic. Take care so that the patties don't get distorted. You can fry them directly from frozen, no need to defrost. For baking, do the same, just bake from frozen.To freeze them once cooked is easier as they are less likely to be distorted but they still need to be separated with grease proof/parchment paper or plastic. Then just reheat in a dry pan or in the oven.Soy Sauce Substitute - Homemade soy-free gluten-free alternative to soy sauceLink to original recipe - Brown Chickpea and Eggplant Veggie Burger - https://veganlovlie.com/my-best-veggie-burger-does-not-fall/