Easy Leftover Curry Burgers (made from Pumpkin Fenugreek Curry)

The other day my Mom admitted that Rob’s opinion is biased. And she doesn’t trust it.

I like to use Rob as my barometer. How would a regular person enjoy my meal?

I think my Mom meant that Rob always likes my food, which, uh, is completely far from the truth. While Rob will eat most anything and has a very open mind (he skipped out on the rotten shark in Iceland, though), he still has his food preferences. Some meals I make are not his style, so I may not even share the meal with him. But when something tastes really good, or includes a lot of his favourite ingredients, I want to know what he thinks.

This was a curry that I tracked down fresh fenugreek. Toor dal (split pigeon peas) was simmered with pumpkin along with a multitude of spices: cilantro, mint, coriander, cardamom, paprika, ginger, garlic, chili flakes and sambhar masala. To keep it vegan, I simply omitted the chicken from the original recipe.

This was a case, though, where the curry was only ok. I thought it was ok but not great. Too many flavours became a muddled dish. Rob liked it more than me, though. He likes curry more than me, although since we weren’t completely smitten with it, we decided to try out Curry Burgers. Super simple: mix together leftover curry with leftover rice and chickpea flour. Bake. Easy, peasy. Since we usually serve our curries with rice, this was a fun way to jazz up the leftovers.

I don’t know why but the burgers tasted better than the original curry. We ditched the standard ketchup and mustard for Indian chutneys.. with a side salad of pickled beets and spinach and just ditched the buns altogether. 🙂

Easy Leftover Curry Burgers
Adapted from Post Punk Kitchen

2 cups cold leftover curry (I used this pumpkin fenugreek curry without the chicken; beany curries work best)
1 cup cooked cold rice (we used short grain brown rice)
1 cup chickpea flour, plus a little extra (we added maybe another 1/3 cup)

Extra curry powder to taste (did not need it for this curry)
Salt, to taste
Cooking spray

Sides- Tamarind chutney, sriracha, etc

1. In a food processor fitted with its S-blade, add cooked rice and pulse 5 or 6 times. Add the cooked curry and pulse until chunky. Do not blend until it is smooth, you still want some small chunks.

2. Remove mixture and place in a large bowl. Stir in the chickpea flour and add any additional flavourings (curry powder, salt, etc, as needed depending on your curry). Using your hands, mix until the mixture comes together. Add additional chickpea flour if the batter is too loose. It should be mushy, not stiff and not soupy. Transfer to the fridge and chill for at least an hour.

3. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with a silpat or equivalent. Wipe with a touch of oil.

4. Form the mixture into 6 patties and place on the silpat-lined baking sheet. Wipe with a touch of oil, if desired. Bake for 20 minutes, flip and bake an additional 8-10 minutes. The burgers should be firm to touch. Serve with your choice of chutneys and flatbread.

Makes 6 burgers.