Most of the time, what causes a burger to fall apart is too much pressure.
The humble burger is one of the culinary world’s most versatile recipes.
Able to pair perfectly with any number of seasoning and spice mixes, you can customise it endlessly.
With this in mind, DESIblitz came up with their own South Asian take on the classic fast food, and has some handy tips for cooking the perfect burger, every time.
South Asian fusion burger (makes approximately 6 burger patties, prep time 15 minutes, cooking time 10 minutes)
Ingredients:
- 500g minced beef (or lamb/turkey, adjust to taste)
- Half a large onion, finely diced
- 1 teaspoon chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon fenugreek powder
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon tumeric
- Piece of cucumber finely diced (approx 2 inch piece)
- Pinch of mint leaves
- Two tablespoons plain natural yoghurt
- Bread roll/burger bun (to taste)
Method:
- In a large bowl, combine minced meat, diced onion and spices.
- Mix well, but take care not to mush the mince up too much.
- Add about 10ml of cooking oil, and mix again.
- Depending on how big you want the burger patties to be, divide the mixture into quarters or sixths (making it into six patties is preferable for ease of cooking).
- Mold the individual pieces into round disks, taking care not to manhandle the mixture.
- Drizzle a little bit of oil over the patties and leave to one side.
- In a pan, heat a small amount of oil over a medium heat.
- Cook the patties in the pan, flipping them every 30 seconds.
- For the raita, combine chopped mint, diced cucumber and yogurt in a bowl.
- Add a squeeze of lime juice and mix well.
- Depending on the size of the burgers, they should be cooked through in 3-5 minutes, larger patties may need more cooking time.
- Make sure that the patties are flipped every 30 seconds, to avoid burning.
- Place the patties in a bun, add a teaspoon of raita and a couple of slices of salad tomato and serve.
This recipe is alarmingly simple to make, using very few ingredients.
The absence of egg or breadcrumbs shouldn’t alarm you. A good burger patty needs neither ingredient to stay together.
The most important instruction when making burger patties is not to manhandle them. Most of the time, what causes a burger to fall apart is too much pressure.
When cooking, try to avoid touching your burgers at all. By flipping them frequently, you also avoid burning them too.
This is a mild spice mix, focusing on flavour over heat, but you can easily add sliced green chillies to amp up the spice factor.
Without heat, this burger mix has a great combination of the earth spice tones and occasional sharp spikes from the onion, all cooled off with a refreshing minty Raita.
If you wanted an even more authentic South Asian experience, there are many more condiments you could use. Lime pickle, mango chutney, you could also replace the traditional bun with naan.
This is not so much a recipe as it is a framework for culinary fans to go hog wild, using their own preferences to create something delicious.
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