Curry Spiced Lentil Rice Veggie Burger

Veggie burgers are one of my favorite things ever. 

I just love the endless possibilities for flavor combinations and their versatility.  You can eat them with a bun, with out a bun, hot, cold, crumbled on salad, stuffed in a tortilla, smothered in ketchup, or crumbled over rice/quinoa/polenta, etc.  The best part is doubling the recipe takes hardly any extra time and then you have a stocked fridge for quick meals and lunches.  Or, you can freeze the leftovers. 

I could go on but let’s just get to it.

curry spiced lentil rice veggie burgers // edible perspective

I commonly find myself in flavor ruts. 

Well, not really ruts, but maybe “flavor overuse.”  The most typical overused flavors in my kitchen are Italian + Mexican seasonings.  I always feel like Asian + Indian flavors are a bit harder to nail, so when I do cook with them I like to keep things very simple.

curry spiced lentil rice veggie burgers // edible perspective

A year or so ago I discovered garam masala and fell in love.  A little goes a long way with its warm but potent flavor profile.  This spice mix can vary but typically includes things like coriander, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, and cardamom.  It can be quite spicy depending on the brand. 

Mixing garam masala with curry is a definite favorite combination of mine and it works well to season the rice and hearty lentils in this veggie burger.

curry spiced lentil rice veggie burgers // edible perspective

I highly recommend adding roasted red pepper + goat cheese on top.

curry spiced lentil rice veggie burgers // edible perspective

And sandwiching it in between homemade, no-rise flat bread.

curry spiced lentil rice veggie burgers // edible perspective

Print this!

Curry Spiced Lentil Rice Veggie Burger

gluten-free, vegan // yields ~8 medium patties

• 1 cup green or black lentils, cooked
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons short grain brown rice, cooked
• 1 large clove garlic, peeled
• 3/4 cup chopped yellow onion
• scant 1/2 cup chopped carrots
• 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt + pepper
• 1/4-1/2 cup partially ground gluten-free rolled oats
• 3 tablespoons sunflower seeds
• oil for cooking

toppings: roasted red pepper, goat cheese, cashew cream sauce, avocado, etc.

1. Place the garlic clove in your food processor and turn on for a few seconds until minced.
2. Add the onion, carrots, and pepper, then pulse about 10-15 times until everything is diced close to uniform in size.  Scrape the sides of the bowl 1-2 times.  Do not puree.  Refer to photo 1.
3. Rinse, drain, and pat the lentils dry with a kitchen towel.  Do not skip or burgers may fall apart.
4. Add the lentils, brown rice, tahini, and spices to the bowl of the food processor.
5. Pulse about 15-20 times until everything is ground to about the size of a grain of rice.  Scrape the sides of the bowl 1-2 times and pulse again if needed.  Refer to photo 1.
6. Empty the mixture into a large bowl and mix in 1/4 cup ground oats and sunflower seeds.
7. Add more oats, if needed, until a patty is easily formed.  You want a fairly moist mixture but not watery or dry.  I used 1/3 cup ground oats.
8. Heat a large pan over medium heat with a thin coating of oil.
9. Form a ball then gently press into a patty [about 3-4-inch diameter and 1/4-1/2"-inchthick] helping form/compress the outside edges by cupping your hand around the burger. 
10. Place in the hot pan and cook for 4-6 minutes per side until golden brown.  Carefully flip with a large metal spatula and cook the other side until golden brown.  Do not overcrowd the pan or burgers will be hard to flip.
11. Let cool slightly then serve with whatever toppings you choose.

notes/substitutions:  Unsalted sunflower seed butter or almond butter can be subbed for the tahini.  Partially ground oats can easily be made by grinding rolled oats about halfway to flour.  This can be done in a food processor, blender, or coffee grinder.

curry spiced lentil rice veggie burgers // edible perspective

This was the day I was also working on the flat bread and naan recipes.

curry spiced lentil rice veggie burgers // edible perspective

Slightly chaotic.

curry spiced lentil rice veggie burgers // edible perspective

Hugely messy.

curry spiced lentil rice veggie burgers // edible perspective

Completely worth it.

Hope you had a lovely weekend with a little relaxation thrown in!

Ashley

Carrot Cake with Orange Maple Cashew Cream Frosting

Please excuse the 37 photos in this post.

This cake was acting mighty fine, so I just couldn’t help myself.

Do you see the nice downward curve in the middle of the cooling rack?

This cake has quite a bit of heft to it.

It’s incredibly dense, but not in a heavy-like-a-brick kind of way way.  It nearly melts in your mouth.  You could eat it all on its own without even a lick of frosting.  But why would you want to do a thing like that? 

One question I am asked time + time again is about the differences between almond flour and almond meal.

Almond FLOUR ---> Ground from blanched, skinless almonds – This produces a lighter + softer texture in comparison to almond meal, making it more ideal for baking cakes + cupcakes.

Almond MEAL ---> Ground from raw almonds (unsalted/unroasted) – This produces a slightly heavier texture and darker color, due to the skins being ground in the flour as well.  It’s a bit mealier, hence the name, almond meal.However, once baked it doesn’t result in a grainy texture.

Both almond meal and almond flour add an abundance of moisture to whatever you’re baking.  I’ve found that it is an incredible addition to almost all gluten-free baked goods.  Almond flour/meal is one of the reasons I find my baked goods don’t need starches or gums to improve their texture.

Since this flour is ground from a nut and not a grain, it is both gluten-free and grain-free.  This also means it has nearly no binding power whatsoever.  Eggs are key when baking with this flour.  Ground flax meal can also work for binding, but takes a bit more experimentation to get it just right.

You can grind your own almond flour or meal at home in a high-speed blender or food processor. 

• grind 1 cup maximum of raw almonds or blanched almonds by pulsing the blender/processor on and off to prevent heat and moisture build up
• sift the flour and return any larger pieces back to the blender to grind again
• let the flour fully cool (it becomes warm while grinding) and then store in a sealed jar in the fridge to retain maximum freshness

While grinding your own almond flour works well in a pinch, if you want a more delicate texture I would recommend buying it.  Honeyville almond flour seems to be the most popular.  You can find almond meal at Trader Joes and Natural Grocers for about $4/pound. 

For this cake I made one layer with almond flour and one with almond meal.  In this case you could not tell the difference between the two.  I think this was due to using a combination of flours and not 100% almond meal/flour.

And now for the frosting.

Cashew cream is one of the most versatile mixtures to have on hand in the kitchen.  It can easily be turned sweet or savory and used in sauces, dips, soups, spreads, frostings, and more.  It’s a great option when you need to make a creamy recipe dairy-free or vegan. 

We are hooked on the stuff over here!

Don’t go into this expecting your typical butter cream.  This is something entirely different.

But do expect a luscious, maple sweetened, orange infused, super creamy, cashew frosting. 

I dare you to not lick clean every single object the frosting touches.

Yeah…good luck with that.

Print this!

Carrot Cake with Orange Maple Cashew Cream Frosting

gluten-free, dairy-free // yields 2, 8-inch round cakes

for the cake:

• 1 cup gluten-free oat flour
• 1 cup almond meal or almond flour
• 1/2 cup sweet rice flour
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon all-spice
• 1 1/2 cups finely grated carrots
• 4 eggs, whisked
• 2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 6 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/4 cup unrefined coconut oil, melted
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• roasted chopped walnuts or pecans, optional

1. Preheat your oven to 350*F and thoroughly grease and flour 2, 8-inch cake pans. Knock out excess flour.
2. In a large mixing bowl stir your dry ingredients together until well combined.
3. Lightly pat the grated carrots with a paper towel.
4. In another mixing bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, applesauce, maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla until thoroughly combined.
5. Whisk in the grated carrot.
6. Pour the wet mixture into the dry and stir together with a large wooden spoon until just combined. Avoid over-stirring.
7. Pour evenly into the cake pans and bake for 33-38 minutes. Test with a toothpick for doneness.
8. Let cool for 15-20 minutes, then carefully turn out onto a cooling rack and let fully cool before frosting.
9. Frost each layer, then sprinkle with roasted nuts if desired.
10. Wrap and refrigerate any leftovers.

tips/substitutions: Sucanat or pure cane sugar can be used in place of coconut sugar.  Almond meal and almond flour can be interchanged in this recipe.  Safflower, sunflower, or canola oil can be used instead of coconut oil. Be sure all of your liquid ingredients are at room temp so your melted coconut oil does not solidify when whisked into the mixture.  1-2% milk or unsweetened soymilk will also work.  Cake can be made a day ahead.  Let fully cool then wrap tightly with plastic wrap and store on your counter overnight.  If you want to make this a single layer cake, I recommend using a 9x13 pan.  Bake time will increase.  Set oven to 370*F and use 1 3/4 teaspoon baking powder if you’re around 5,000’ altitude.

for the frosting:

• 2 cups raw (unsalted) cashews
• 2 1/2 teaspoons orange zest
• 1/3 – 2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• pinch of salt

1. Soak the cashews covered in water in a bowl overnight or for at least 4 hours.  Or, cover cashews with water in a pot and bring to a boil.  Turn the heat off, cover the pot and let sit for 1 hour.  Drain and rinse the cashews with cold water.
2. Measure out 2 cups of the soaked cashews.  There will be extra, as they expand when soaked.
3. Add all ingredients to a high-speed blender, starting with 1/3 cup milk.
4. Blend until smooth, adding more milk until desired consistency is reached.  Scrape the sides of the blender as needed. 
5. Taste and add more maple syrup for added sweetness.
6. Refrigerate until fully chilled.
7. Refrigerate excess frosting in a sealed container for 3-4 days.

tips/substitutions: 1-2% milk or unsweetened soymilk would also work well for this frosting.  Honey or agave can also be subbed for the maple syrup.  I used about 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons for a very smooth and pourable frosting. It will thicken slightly as it sits.  For a thick, stiff frosting add milk slowly and scrape the sides as needed to help it smooth out.

The winners from the good beangiveaway are:

Lindsay - Okay, ready? Beans (esp. black) + craisins + baked sweet potato + kale massaged with garlic, apple cider vinegar, liquid aminos, molasses, and peanut butter, and all topped with chili powder (sounds like the chili lime would be perfect!). I'm telling you, I can't get enough of this combo!

Katie - I eat beans daily! I am a freshman in college, so a common source of protein in the dining halls that is not meat is beans. Lately, I have been heading straight for the black beans and salsa to pile on top of a bed of spinach. These chickpeas would be a welcome substitute though! I miss FLAVOR.

Congrats to you both and thanks to everyone who entered! 

Ashley