Spicy Mushroom Burger

Spicy Mushroom Burger

Some recipes can give you a very difficult time. The mushroom patty for this burger turned out to be my bête noire and suffice to say I’ve cooked and eaten plenty of unsatisfactory mushroom burgers in the last month.  (I should add the caveat that my standards of satisfaction are unusually severe and by general standards the burgers were quite tasty).

The idea for a mushroom burger came to me many months ago when a vegetarian friend came over for dinner. My first attempt was quite successful but I didn’t pay sufficient attention to what I was doing and forgot the recipe. However, since it was rather tasty and had a delightfully intense mushroom flavour I decided it was worth recreating the recipe.

Also most of the recipes for mushroom burgers that I found either used mushroom to flavour a beef patty or were made by grilling a portobello mushroom, which is not easily available in India (or Mumbai, at least). Since I didn’t want to sacrifice the intensity of the mushroom I’ve avoided using any thickener though you could mix in a mashed potato, paneer or even mashed rajma.

INGREDIENTS
200 gm button mushroom
1 tsp butter (optional)
1 tsp garlic, minced
½ tsp ginger, grated
2 tbsp white onions, chopped
2 tbsp basil leaves, finely shredded
1 green chilli, minced
1 tsp tomato sauce
¼ tsp soy sauce
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp bread crumbs
1 tsp refined flour
Salt and pepper to taste
Oil to fry
Sliced onion, sliced tomato, lettuce leaves
2 burger buns, split into two

METHOD
Wash the mushrooms to remove any grit and mud. Finely mince the mushrooms, preferably in a food processor.
Put all the mushrooms into a large frying pan and cook on medium heat with the butter.

The finely chopped mushrooms when just added to the pan.

After about 2 minutes the mushrooms will start to leave water. Add the ginger, garlic, chillies and onions.

The mushrooms after about 2 minutes in the pan

After about 6 minutes the mixture will be almost dry, lower the heat and continue cooking for another 4 minutes. Stir occasionally

After about 6 minutes the mushrooms start to dry up

Stir in the tomato, Worcestershire and soy sauce, basil leaves and breadcrumbs. Mix well. Cook for another 2-3 minutes stirring occasionally. To test if the mixture has reached  the right consistency, remove a portion about the size of a golf ball and squeeze in you palm. If any juices flows out, continue cooking.

The mushroom mixture should be completely dry

Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool in the pan. Remove the mixture into a bowl and mix in the flour well. Divide the mixture into two equal portions.
Lightly dust your hands with some more refined flour. With your palms shape each portion into a 1¼ -inch thick patty.
Heat about a tsp of oil in a non stick pan. Fry for about a minute on each side just to crisp them up.
Remove and arrange between the two pieces of burger bun on top of lettuce, sliced onion and tomato.

Note: This is a very soft patty so don’t build up the burger too much

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Makes 2 burgers