Shital's-Kitchen: Healthy Burger Wrap

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Healthy Burger Wrap

What's in the name? Call it veggie roll, veggie frankie, burger, they all have one important part, a veggie patty.

Mummy makes the best veggie patty ever. I have never had a patty or a cutlet elsewhere that I can say was better than my mom's. What made hers unique was the use of beet root to impart color, flavor and sweetness to these patties. When we were small, mummy always had creative ways to present simple homemade food to make it more interesting for us. Although she never had burgers, she made burgers for us using her traditional cutlet recipe. Special burger buns with sesame seeds, slice of onion, few slices of tomatoes, and cabbage leaves, would be a feast for us. Yes you heard it right, I did say Cabbage. Lettuce leaves were not much popular and not readily available then. Mummy used cabbage leaves to create fresh crunch with veggie patty. Yes, I have a reason to call this roll a burger. :) Using mummy's patty recipe and topping it with onions, tomatoes, and cabbage, like she did, I am surely naming this one as a burger wrap.

Ingredients to make cutlets:
4 cups of mixed veggies (minced or grated) beans, carrots, beetroot and peas.
3 large potatoes (boiled, peeled and mashed)
2 tbsp. ginger and green chili paste (freshly ground)
Juice of 1 large lemon
1 cup poha or rice flakes
1/2 cup sooji or fine semolina as binder
1/2 cup sooji or semolina for crust
Around 1+1/2 tbsp salt or to taste

Finely chop or grate veggies and arrange in a steamer to steam them.
Boil potatoes. Peel and mash them well.
Add steamed veggies to mashed potatoes.
Let them cool slightly before mixing.
Add green chili and ginger paste, salt, lemon juice.
Add poha and sooji. these act as a binder and absorbs moisture from the veggies keeping all the nutrients in. Mix well. Add more poha or sooji if needed to bind cutlets.
Mix well and take a taste test for salt and lemon juice. Add if needed.
Roll cutlets into the shape you desire and roll them in sooji to coat it evenly to give a beautiful crust.
Deep fry in medium hot oil till it turns golden brown and crisp.
Serve with ketchup or green chutney.
Enjoy!!

Mummy's Veggie Cutlet!

Finely chop beans. Mummy used a food processor too. We had a Singer brand food processor then, that could chop, grate, make dough, and would make cooking easy!
I too use my Cuisinart food processor to make this quick cutlet/patty.

In the same food processor, change to grating blade and grate carrots and beetroot.

Spread evenly on a sieve and steam veggies or lightly cook them in a pan with very little water.

Steam some peas too.

Add steamed veggies to boiled and mashed potatoes.

Add salt, ground green chillies, lemon juice.

Use flaked rice/poha and semilina/rawa as binding agents and to absorb excess water from the veggies.You do not want to lose the nutritive water by squeezing it away.

Mix well. Love this bright red color.

Here is the shape made by my mom. Heart shaped cutlets, mummy's favorite!! She would roll in semolina/rava and deep fry them till they turn golden and crisp.

For my burger rolls: I pan fry long cutlet with very little oil till they turn brown on both sides.

To create a delicious, healthy bread base for the patty, I used 1/2 cup wheat flour, 1/2 cup jowar flour and 1/2 cup bajra flour.

Mix and add water little at a time to form lump-less pouring batter.

Add salt and a tsp. of chilli powder.

A pinch on baking soda.

Oh, did I show you my pinch measuring spoon?

Pour on a hot griddle and make a crepe. Add few drops of oil and cook on both sides till it turns slightly golden.

Roll while it is yet hot and fresh.

Place a cooked cutlet, top with shredded cabbage, onions, tomatoes, salt pepper. Spread some tomato ketchup and mustard if you like.

Fold in the sides.

I found these cute burger cups at Target. You could create these cute cups or have your kids paint, to serve these burger wraps at their next birthday party.

How fun and creative that would be!!