Today I’m re posting an old recipe from my blog that is one of my favourites and so perfect for the summer. I’m feeling more confident with my food photography after a year of blogging and relentless practising and I would love to refresh some of my old recipes that I love.
I make these Red Lentil Burgers with Cucumber Raita quite often, because my son loves them and they are fairly quick to make. They are fantastic eaten with a salad, as a burger, in a sandwich or on their own for a quick healthy snack. I make them with red lentils as they don’t need any soaking and only take 10 minutes to cook. I use oats to thicken the mixture and Indian style spices – ginger, turmeric and coriander for flavour. They are vegan and gluten-free, just make sure you use gluten-free oats if necessary.
Cook the red lentils until soft, they will get mushy, but don’t worry. Drain them really well and leave to cool down completely. Fry the onions, garlic, ginger and turmeric and then simply mix everything together in a large bowl. If the mix feels too wet you can add little bit more oats, but don’t worry too much as they will dry out in the oven quite a bit. I used to turn these over half way through the baking, but now have realized that it’s not necessary as they bake evenly on both sides. They are wonderful served with some refreshing cucumber and coriander raita to compliment the spices in burgers. Enjoy:) x
- Burgers:
- 250g red lentils (1½ cups)
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 small piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 small piece of turmeric, peeled and finely chopped
- 1tsp turmeric powder
- 100g oats (1 cup)
- 1 carrot, coarsely grated
- handful of fresh coriander, chopped
- salt & pepper
- Cucumber raita:
- ½ cucumber, coarsely grated
- 2tbsp chopped fresh coriander
- 125g coconut yoghurt (1/2 cup)
- salt & pepper
- To make the burgers thoroughly wash the lentils, cover with plenty of water, bring to a boil and simmer for about 10min. Drain well and leave to cool down.
- In a pan fry chopped onions for about 5 minutes with a little oil until just translucent, add garlic, ginger and turmeric and fry for another 3 min. Set aside.
- In a large bowl mix together lentils, onion mix, oats, grated carrot, chopped coriander, salt and pepper. Check for seasoning.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan)
- Line baking sheet with some baking paper.
- With your hands make about 12 balls, place on a baking sheet and flatten with your hand.
- Bake for about 35-40 minutes until golden brown.
- To make the cucumber raita mix all of the ingredients in a small bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Enjoy!
Teresa says
September 1, 2015 at 12:43 pmThanks Hana! :-) I was really happy to return from my hols to this delicious and very healthy burger recipe! After two weeks of rather too much french cheese and baguette this is just perfect!! I might add a little chilli too… :-) YUM. Can’t wait to try this recipe! Txxx
Hana says
September 1, 2015 at 3:10 pmLooking forward to see if you like it! xxx
Teresa says
September 18, 2015 at 11:22 pmH – I’m returning to rate this recipe – 5 stars of course :-) Soooo good!! I made these burgers tonight and tried them with a little green harissa, which gave them a real kick…YUM! The cucumber raita was perfect on the side too – I loved the fresh coriander. I will definitely make these again :-) Txx
Hana says
September 20, 2015 at 1:55 pmThank you Teresa for the fantastic comment, so pleased that you’ve enjoyed these! xx
Michelle @ The Last Food Blog says
May 28, 2016 at 7:03 pmThese look so good Hana, I’ve never used oats in a veggie burger I’ll have to give that a go :)
Hana says
May 29, 2016 at 7:07 pmThank you so much Michelle! I find that oats taste great in the burgers and make a great binder. Do try it. Hx
Sasha | Eat Love Eat says
May 30, 2016 at 5:24 pmThese look like the perfect simple healthy dinner :) oats are a good binder I’ve used them before and I love red lentils! x
Hana says
May 30, 2016 at 7:10 pmThank you Sasha! They really are great for easy simple healthy dinners:) x
nicole says
June 1, 2016 at 6:54 amhi there.
can you possibly cook the burgers in a pan instead of using an oven?
:)
Hana says
June 1, 2016 at 8:52 amHi Nicole, yes, you should be able to fry them too. Try with one and if they stick, coat them with a little bit of gluten-free flour. Hope they come out well:)
Hannah Kopecky says
June 8, 2017 at 1:12 amHi! Are the ingredients supposed to be blended before cooking? They are in oven, but look grainy?
Hana says
June 8, 2017 at 7:52 pmHi Hannah, no, just mixed together. All of the ingredients should stick together well. Hope you like them :)
Clare says
December 22, 2017 at 3:41 pmHi Hana,we want to make these now ready for Christmas lunch. Can we assemble burgers today then freeze and defrost and cook on the day? Thx, Clare
Hana says
December 22, 2017 at 5:12 pmHi Clare, I’ve never tried that, I usually freeze them cooked and they are perfect defrosted after that. If you want to freeze them raw I would make round balls and freeze them like that. Then defrost them, flatten them and cook. You can also fry them if you like. Merry Christmas! Hx
Clare says
December 22, 2017 at 6:47 pmThanks Hana,that is really helpful!