Indian Styled Spicy Vegan Sweet Potato, Oats and Chickpeas Burger Recipe | Simple Vegan Burger Recipe

Learn how to make Spicy Vegan Sweet Potato, Oats and Chickpeas Burger ~ Indian styled spicy vegan sweet potato, oats and chickpeas burger flavoured with Indian spices

It’s mid-morning here, in a middle of the week. I am at home, alone, surrounded by the pin drop silence broken by the ticking of the small clock on the table. Tick-tock, tick-tock… The scene today can’t be much different to the one exactly a week ago! Our home was anything but silent, with one energetic 5 year old raising the ruckus and me willingly joining him. He is back in school, after a week-long half term vacation and I miss him terribly. ~sigh~

The silence is unbearable… Making me want to scream! Instead, I decide to focus that energy into writing this post. I always write from my heart; memories of my childhood, stories of my life, my failures and frustrations, joy and success and even my ramblings and rants which may not make much sense to most of you! Writing brings me joy, calms my mind and mostly, helped me in building bonds with like-minded people, even with a complete stranger.

I miss LD, my own little chirpy bird that he’s become in the last couple of months. He talks, non-stop. Always asking me gazillions questions; sometimes that makes sense and sometimes they don’t. He likes to talk, in fact, he HAS to talk! He can’t help it. There are so many things to learn, discover, and understand in this round world! He wants to know them all, even when most things make no sense. He believes I have answers to every question under the sky! I don’t. He thinks I am the smartest mom on the planet! I am not. But I try. I try very hard to answer to his every question and marvel at the child’s imaginations and inquisitive mind.

I miss LD, my own little busy bee. Always up to something, running around my legs and tripping me! He thinks he is my biggest little helper and helping me with daily chores. Well, he is not! Especially when he runs the mixer grinder without the lid, wipes the spilled water on the bathroom floor with my bath towel, climbs the kitchen countertop to get the cookie jar and smashes it to thousand tiny pieces, vacuums the play dough stuck on the carpet and jams the vacuum cleaner! But I can’t help but smile and count my blessings when he massages my forehead with his tiny soft hands when I tell him I have headache after another pranks, or kisses me softly when I try to catch a quick nap after a tiring long day.

I miss LD and our time spent together; colouring, painting, reading and watching re-runs of Peppa Pig and Home Alone 1, 2 and 3. I miss our long walks in the nearby woodlands, jumping in every single puddle and splashing the muddy water. I miss our time together, just lying down and day dreaming.

I miss LD and our little stints in kitchen, his eagerness to help me with cooking. Sitting on the kitchen counter top, at safe distance, eyes as big as saucers following my every move as I chop, grind, knead, and stir food. “What are you doing, Amma?” was the question I kept getting once in every one minute. To make him quiet, I would give him some chores like chopping some vegetables with a butter knife or a blunt knife or rolling out the chapatti dough and watch him sit cross legged and tip of his tongue peeping from corner of his mouth as he concentrates on finishing the task on hand. Sometimes the vegetable would roll off from the chopping board and sometimes it would fall on the floor, making him frustrated or angry. Sometimes the water from tomato would squirt on his face, making him giggle and laugh. The best part was watching him happy and proud looking at his handy work. Oh, how he would smile, a happy smile! And how I would puff up with pride, just like a toad! :) Who would have thought that this simple task would bring out rainbow of emotions in us?!

Last week we made burgers for lunch as LD loves veggie loaded burgers. These are not your usual simple veggie burger, but Indian Style Spicy Vegan Sweet Potato, Oats and Chickpeas Burger. Loaded with goodness of sweet potatoes, oats and protein rich chickpeas, these wholesome burgers turned out to be exceptionally good both taste but high in nutrition. The sweet potatoes pack a powerful nutritional punch and have over 400% of our daily needs for Vitamin A in a form of beta-carotene in one medium spud, as well as loads of fibre and potassium. Although they have more grams of natural sugars than regular starchy potato, they have more overall nutrients with fewer calories. A steaming bowl of fresh cooked oatmeal is the perfect way to start off your day, especially if you are trying to prevent or are currently dealing with heart disease or diabetes. So why just limit them to breakfast and not include them in other main meals of the day?! Oats, via their high fibre content, are known to help remove cholesterol from the digestive system that would otherwise end up in the bloodstream. Originally cultivated in the Mediterranean and the Middle East, chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, have spread their culinary influence all over the world. They are featured prominently in Indian, Italian, Greek, Spanish, Middle Eastern and Portuguese cuisine. Rich in both soluble and insoluble dietary fibre, chickpeas also are good source of protein for vegetarian and vegan diet.

The combination of all three makes this Indian Style Spicy Vegan Sweet Potato, Oats and Chickpeas Burger a power packed, wholesome meal and way healthier to the ones we get in supermarkets, takeaway or restaurants. The spices add the much needed ‘oomph’ factor and makes them anything but bland. The crunch from oats and melon seeds, the citrusy flavour of coriander leaves, harmonious blend of carefully balanced spices, the natural sweetness of sweet potatoes and the creaminess of chickpeas gives these patties layers of textures and flavours. I have used vegan cheese for the first time, and was pleasantly surprised how good they tasted. Serve these wholesome Indian Style Spicy Vegan Sweet Potato, Oats and Chickpeas Patties in a burger bun layered with assorted sliced vegetables or greens or use them as a filling for veggie loaded wraps with any dipping sauce of your choice. It is vegan, kid friendly, gluten free and mind mindbogglingly delicious! There is no way I am going to buy frozen burgers off supermarket shelves and I hope you feel the same after trying this recipe! So please go and try this recipe now! You can thank me later! :)

Ingredients used for Indian Styled Spicy Vegan Sweet Potato, Oats and Chickpeas Burger

Indian Styled Spicy Vegan Sweet Potato, Oats and Chickpeas Patties before cooking

Indian Styled Spicy Vegan Sweet Potato, Oats and Chickpeas Patties after cooking

Indian Styled Spicy Vegan Sweet Potato, Oats and Chickpeas Burger

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Spicy Vegan Sweet Potato, Oats and Chickpeas Burger (Indian styled spicy vegan sweet potato, oats and chickpeas burger flavoured with Indian spices)
Prep Time: 10-15 mins
Cooking Time: 35-45 mins
Recipe Level: Easy/Beginner
Spice Level: Medium
Makes: 4-5 large patties
Shelf Life: 2-3 days in refrigerator and up to a month when frozen (read notes)
Serving Suggestion: Stuffed inside a bun with sliced vegetables, (vegan) cheese and sauce of your choice (read notes)

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Ingredients:
3-4 medium Sweet Potatoes, peeled
1½ - 2 cups cooked Kabuli Chana/Garbanzo/White Chickpeas (I have used the canned chickpeas)
1½ cups + ¼ cup Oats
1 medium Onion, finely chopped
2 tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
2 tbsp + 1 tbsp Melon Seeds (Optional)
2-3 tbsp Fresh Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
Salt to taste
1 tbsp Oil

Spices Used:
¾ tsp Haldi/Turmeric Powder
1-1½ tsp Chilli Powder (Adjust as per taste)
1 heaped tbsp. Dhania/Coriander Powder
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Powder
1 tsp Amchur/Dry Mango Powder or Juice extracted from ½ Lime/Lemon
1 tsp Garam Masala (Adjust as per taste)
¼ tsp Hing/Asafoetida

Other ingredients and veggies for Burger:
1 large Onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1-2 large Tomato, thinly sliced to rounds
1 small or ½ medium Cucumber, thinly sliced to rounds
Lettuce or Baby Spinach
Mayonnaise/Sriracha/Tomato Ketchup/Salasa or any sauce of your choice
Cheese Slices (I have used vegan cheese)
Burger Buns

Method:
Prepare the ingredients:

1. Peel the sweet potatoes and boil them in enough water on stove top or in microwave for 10-15 minutes until they are well cooked. Drain all the water and mash the sweet potatoes well. Keep it aside until needed.
2. If using dry garbanzo or chickpeas, soak ¾ -1 cup of dry chickpeas overnight and next day pressure cook them with enough water for 3 whistles. Once the pressure is released, open the pressure cooker and drain all the water. Mash the cooked chickpeas roughly and keep them aside until needed. I have used the canned chickpeas here.
3. Take ¼ cup oats and 1 tbsp melon seeds (if using) in a plate and mix them well. Keep it aside.

Proceed to make patties:

1. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan and add finely chopped onions. Sauté the onions until they turn golden brown, about 3 mins, on medium flame.
2. Next add ginger-garlic paste and fry them on medium flame until the raw smell disappears, about 2 minutes.
3. Add hing, turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder and cumin powder and fry them for half a minute.
4. Mix in mashed sweet potato and chickpeas and mix them well. Cook them by stirring continuously for 2-3 minutes.
5. Next add amchur powder, garam masala and salt to taste and give them a good stir. Tip in oats, melon seeds and finely chopped coriander leaves and mix them well. Turn off the gas and remove the pan from stove top to cool them to room temperature.

Shape and cook the patties:

1. Divide the mixture into 4-5 parts. Take a mixture and roll them into balls, roughly little smaller than the tennis ball size. Press them down and shape them into roughly 2cm thick round patties. If you find the patties too sticky and soft and difficult to shape, add ¼ - ½ cups of oats or place the mixture in a refrigerator for 30-60 minutes before shaping them into patties.
2. Place each patty, one by one, on a plate with oats and melon seeds mixture and press them down on both sides so that the oats and melon seeds are coated well on the surface.
3. Place the burger on a tray and cover it with a cling wrap. Place this tray in refrigerator for 15-30 mins to firm up.
4. Heat a tawa or griddle or grill or frying pan on medium to low flame. Once hot, add cooking spray or a tbsp. of oil and place the patties and cook them for around 8-10 minutes or until golden and cooked through, turning halfway.
5. If cooking in the oven, preheat the oven at 180 deg C. Brush both sides of the patties with cooking oil and place them on oven tray lined with lightly greased parchment paper or aluminium foil.
6. Cook the patties for 15-20 minutes, flipping halfway, until they are cooked through.

Assembling the Burger:

1. Toast the cut sides of buns on a pan if you like before you start to assemble the burger. Squeeze a large dollop of ketchup or any sauce of your choice onto the base of each bun.
2. You can place the patties first and then layer over a cheese slice, couple of slices of onions, tomato, a lettuce leaf or baby spinach leaves and finally the burger tops or anyway you prefer.
3. Serve these delicious Indian Style Spicy Vegan Sweet Potato, Oats and Chickpeas Burger with a crisp, green salad or potato/sweet potato chips on the side and enjoy!

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Sia’s Notes:

• Please make sure that you drain all the water from cooked sweet potatoes and chickpeas before mashing them or else the excess moisture will make it difficult to shape the burger.
• If you find the patties too sticky and soft and difficult to shape, add ¼ - ½ cups of oats or place the mixture in a refrigerator for 30-60 minutes before shaping them into patties. 
• Adjust the amount of spices used if cooking for kids or people with low spice tolerance. 
• The patties can be frozen for up to a month in a zip lock bags or air tight containers. Cool the patties to room temperature after they are pan fried and place them in a single layer in a zip lock bag or an air tight container before popping them in the freezer. When needed, cook them in a pre-heated oven at 200 deg C for 15-20 minutes, flipping half way.
• You can serve these Indian Styled Spicy Vegan Sweet Potato, Oats and Chickpeas Patties in a burger bun layered with assorted sliced vegetables or greens or use them as a filling for veggie loaded wraps with any dipping sauce of your choice.