Recipe Indian-Style Kidney Beans Burger

Everyone in my family loves burgers. We make them for special weekend dinners because they are time-consuming, require so many components and, of course, a bit of planning. Mostly on weekends, we have plenty of time to plan, shop for the ingredients and make elaborate dinners and lunches. However, it is not always so. The weekend comes, and everyone wants something special, but sometimes, there isn’t much time!

Recently, on a Friday evening, when I wanted to make something fun yet something that would require me to spend less time in the kitchen ( It’s summer, and it’s pretty hot in June in Germany!), I made Rajma Cutlets ( Kidney Beans Cutlets) and sandwiched them between slices of bread smeared with chutneys to make an Indian-style burger.

I had some tamarind chutney and mint chutney in the fridge, which I had made a few days back when making Dahi Puri, and I had onions, coriander, green chillies and a few basic spices at home. I made a quick trip to the supermarket and picked canned kidney beans, some fresh cream, fresh lettuce and bread buns, and I had everything to make this quick and easy Friday special dinner!

Let me take you through some of the ingredients that I used for this recipe:

Kidney Beans: I used canned kidney beans since I wanted to make something quick. You can use the dried ones too. And, if you use them, then the way to do it is to wash and soak them overnight. The next day, cook them in a pressure cooker until soft.

Salads: I used only lettuce and onions. You can add any salad that’s readily available to you. Choose cucumber, tomato, julienned beetroot, etc.; the choices are plenty.

Chutneys: I was able to make these burgers quickly because I had chutneys in the fridge already. If you also cook a lot of Indian food at home, you could consider making these chutneys in advance and keeping them in the fridge. The mint chutney, when kept in the fridge, stays good for a week. And the tamarind chutney stays good for a month. Readily available chutneys help make many dishes quickly, Eg, Chana Chaat, Dahi Puri, Dahi Bhalle, Bhelpuri etc.

Bread: You can choose any bread, but white bread goes best. Don’t choose, say, Rye bread or cornbread. Their taste won’t go well with the spices in the cutlet and the chutneys. Plain white sandwich bread will do; any burger bun will do. I am sharing a picture of the bread I normally use. I get it from REWE. The flavour of good; it is relatively lower in sugar ( compared to other breads in the same category. It has a nutri score of A) and is easy to prep. All you need to do is, bake them for about 10 minutes in a preheated oven, and they are ready to eat.

If you wish to learn more about Nutri Score and other considerations while buying food products in German Supermarkets, read my article about 10 things you should check before you buy products in German Supermarkets.

Now, let us start with the recipe:

Note: This recipe is 10 Burgers.

Recipe Indian Style Kidney Beans Burger:

Ingredients to make Kidney Beans Cutlets:

• 2 Cans of Cooked Kidney Beans ( each with a net weight of 255 gm)
• 1 Capsicum; finely chopped
• 1 Carrot; grated
• 1 Cup Bread Crumbs
• Salt; to taste
• ½ tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder
• ½ tsp Cumin Powder
• ½ tsp Chaat Masala/Panu Puri Masala
• 2-3 Green Chillies; finely chopped
• 3 tbsp Chopped Coriander Leaves
• Oil for frying ( 1 used one teaspoon of oil for all 10 cutlets)

Ingredients for Mint Coriander Chutney:

• 1 Handful of Fresh Coriander Leaves
• 2 Handfuls of Mint Leaves
• 1 Lemon ; juice extracted
• 2-3 Green Chillies
• ½ tsp Salt
• 1 tbsp Sugar
• ⅓ tsp Black salt
• Fresh Cream ( quantity explained in the recipe)
• Water, if needed

Ingredients for Tamarind Chutney:

• ½ Cup Tamarind pulp
• 1½ Cups Jaggery
• 1 tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder
• ½ tsp Salt
• Water

Additionally, you need the following:

• 10 Burger Buns or any white bread of your choice
• 1 Big Onion; cut into thin rings
• ¼ Lettuce

Method to make Indian-Style Kidney Beans Burgers: 

Method to make Kidney Beans Cutlets:

• Transfer the cooked beans to a strainer. After all the water is separated, transfer the beans to a mixing bowl.
  
  
  
• Mash them using a masher.
  
  
  
• Add chopped capsicum, carrots, green chillies, coriander leaves, salt, red chilli powder, cumin powder and chaat masala/pani puri masala.
  
  
  
• Add bread crumbs and mix well with a spoon.
  
  
  
• Then mix well with your hand and knead it like a dough.
  
  
  
• Now take portions of this mixture. Round and flatten them like a cutlet.
  
  
  
• This way, make all the cutlets.
  
  
  
• Heat a nonstick pan. Brush oil on its surface. Place the cutlets on the pan and fry them on medium heat.
  
  
  
• Since nothing in the cutlet mixture requires ‘cooking’, your purpose is only to brown the cutlet and make it crispy. On medium heat, continue frying the cutlets, flip them, brush oil on the surface and fry them on the other side.
  
  
  
• Once all the cutlets are done, you can serve them as is with any chutney or sandwich them in a burger.
  
  

Method for making Tamarind Chutney:

1. Soak the tamarind pulp in warm water for about 10 mins. Then squeeze out its juice and add the juice to the saucepan. Discard the seeds. Put the remaining ingredients to the tamarind juice in the saucepan and cook them on low to medium heat. If you use tamarind paste, add it to the saucepan.
2. Turn off when it thickens ( approximately after 20 minutes). Let it cool. After cooking, the chutney will thicken further.
3. Transfer to a clean and dry jar.
   
   

Method to make Mint Chutney:

• Combine all the ingredients and Grind everything together. Add water to loosen it a bit.
• Transfer to a clean and dry jar and keep in the fridge till further use.
  
  
• This chutney may be more in quantity than what you need for this recipe. For making the chutney mix required for this recipe, mix equal amounts of this chutney and fresh cream in a small bowl. E.g., take three tablespoons of this chutney and mix it with three tablespoons of fresh cream.
  
  

Preparing the bread:

• Cut the buns from the middle. Toast them.
  
  

Assembling the burger:

• Then take one bun, and apply mint chutney. Place a few pieces of lettuce and some onions.
  
  
  
• Place the cutlet on top.
  
  
  
• Now apply tamarind chutney on the other bun.
  
  
  
• Close the bun and serve.
  
  

About Ingredient sourcing in Germany:

You can get some of the ingredients needed for this recipe from a local supermarket and others from any Indian shop near you. For Indian ingredients, you can also check the online store of Spicelands. They are a big store in Frankfurt, delivering all across Germany.

Alternatively, you can even buy these ingredients from amazon.de. Links for some of the ingredients are given below:

Kidney beans: https://amzn.to/3qYi0RJ
Bread Crumbs: https://amzn.to/3D3KjRz
Oil: https://amzn.to/3XevNzk
Tamarind: https://amzn.to/3qK5SDw
Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder: https://amzn.to/3PlQjfD
Black Salt: https://amzn.to/3p6MPTI
Jaggery: https://amzn.to/46g1mNE
Cumin Powder: https://amzn.to/3NfYVSu
Chaat Masala: https://amzn.to/3NMKRRZ

Equipment needed for the recipe:

Mixer:
Option 1 Bosch:https://amzn.to/3LzMbGF (Perfect for Indian cooking, with great reviews)
Option 2: Preethi:https://amzn.to/3n9XCLH ( I use this. It is perfect for Indian cooking, but priced higher than Bosch)
Mixing Bowl:https://amzn.to/3V8ZPU
Dosa Pan: https://amzn.to/41rC8Im
Cutting Board: https://amzn.to/3n9IXjM
Knife Set (includes a bread knife): https://amzn.to/3Lg64Bj

Here is the recipe in printable format:

Please note that this article contains affiliate links. If you buy using these links, I receive a small commission. This has no effect on the price for you.

Check out other recipes from my kitchen here.

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