Chickpea Burgers

These chickpea burgers are healthy and flavourful, and fairly easy to make. You can use them in place of the beef or chicken patties in burgers, or eat them wrapped in a tortilla. They can even be eaten plain with a squeeze of lemon juice or your favourite dip, as a snack.

Makes: 12 mini-burgers

Ingredients:

• 1 carrot, grated
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 cups dry chickpeas, soaked overnight
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tbsp coriander leaves, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 egg
• salt and pepper to taste
• olive oil

Instructions:

1. Pan-fry the carrot, onion, garlic cloves, and cumin seeds until the carrots are cooked thoroughly. Set aside.
2. In a bowl, mash the chickpeas together with the spices, salt and pepper.
3. Add in the carrot mixture and mix.
4. Add the egg and flour and mix.
5. Shape into 12 patties.
6. Pan-fry with a 1 tbsp olive oil on medium-high heat, for about 3 min on each side, or until each side is golden.

NOTE:

• These patties can be baked as well. Just make sure to grease your baking sheet with a little bit of olive oil.
• Sometimes after I form the patties, I dip them in cornflake crumbs or breadcrumbs to help them retain their shape when cooking as well as to give them a crispy exterior.
• Because I often make these for my young children, I keep the spices mild. If making this for adults, I recommend adding red chilli flakes for some extra heat.
• For variation, add 1/4 cup of cooked corn kernels to the mixture.
• Leftover burgers freeze well.