Rajma Burger patty- a meatless burger patty made from red kidney beans that is a hearty vegetarian alternative to regular meat burgers.
When I was in the US we used to get these frozen meatless burger patties- specifically black bean burger patties. It was a quick breakfast option and we loved it as a meatless burger option. While the frozen patties were convenient, of course homemade is better and you know the ingredients that go in the burger. I learnt how to make the black bean burgers at home, and did a recipe post also about it too.
While you get canned black beans in India, they are not so easily available everywhere. Rajma or red kidney beans, on the other hand, are almost in every Indian’s pantry. So I thought to adapt the black bean burger recipe from the blog to make rajma burgers or red kidney bean burger patties.
I had tried making rajma burgers when I was working on a video for Better Butter. The video had a meatless burger made from leftover rajma. While the rajma patty from that recipe was really good, it was dependent on the fact that you had leftover rajma. And I wanted a recipe that made a hearty yet delicious Rajma burger from scratch.
Cooking Rajma/ Red Kidney Beans
Make sure you buy freshly packed beans. The older the beans the tougher they get to cook, and you may not achieve the right texture with them no matter how long you cook.
Rajma should be cooked properly. Undercooking or not cooking them at the right temperature can lead to food poisoning. Read this article for more information.
The following are the steps to ensure while cooking rajma:
- Rinse and soak the rajma or kidney beans in enough water overnight or for 8-9 hours.
- Next day, discard the water and rinse the beans again in fresh water.
- In a pressure cooker, take rajma, salt and 4 cups water, or enough to cover beans by up to 2 inches.
- Pressure cook on high flame until 5 whistles.
- Then lower the flame to minimum, let it cook for another 15 minutes and shut the flame off after that. Check for doneness once the pressure drops. If not done, pressure cook for another whistle or two.
- If cooking in a sauce pan or pot, you will need to cook the kidney beans covered for 45minutes to 1 hour. It might take longer.
How to Shape & Cook the Rajma Burgers
While you can go as big or as small as you want with these burgers, the ideal size I have learnt comes by using 1/3 cup of mixture per patty. This size makes them perfect to evenly cook, and since these rajma burgers are quite wholesome any bigger makes the burgers quite a massive meal.
You can bake, grill or cook the burgers in a pan with a little oil.
To bake: After shaping the patties, place the rajma burgers on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Preheat oven at 375°F (190°C). Brush the top with a little oil, if you want. Bake for 10 minutes on each side, 20 minutes in total.
To grill: Place the patties on a greased aluminum foil and grill 8 minutes on each side on medium-high heat.
To make ahead: You can make the burgers ahead of time and freeze. Stack them between parchment paper in a freezer container or zip lock bag. When ready to cook, thaw the patties in the refrigerator and cook according to instructions. You can skip thawing and cook from frozen for an extra couple minutes too. You could also freeze the patties cooked in a similar fashion and reheat them after thawing, or straight from the freezer.
Eggless, Vegan and Gluten Free option
The recipe for these rajma burgers is adapted from the black bean burgers recipe on the blog. I made them eggless this time, and also made the rajma/red kidney beans from scratch instead of using canned ones.
- Use gluten free bread for a gluten free patty option.
- Omit the cheese for a vegan burger option
Variations
You can get as creative as you want with these patties. Anything you could think of with meat burgers, you can do with bean burgers too. These meatless burgers would work well with a mexican variation. Add some corn, and some chipotle peppers. Use cheddar cheese or pepper jack instead of the parmesan or goat cheese. This meatless burger recipe is a base for other creative variations, and I would love for you to explore other options too.
Instead of the bread crumbs, you can use cheese crackers as well.
You could make these rajma burger patties as is, and the flavor variations can come from the toppings and the sauces you use too.
Building your Meatless Burger
For the bun, while you can use store bought buns (brioche buns would be lovely for making your burger), if you plan a few hours ahead, you can make your own burger buns at home. It will take about 2-3 hours for the dough to knead and rise, and about 15-20 minutes for them to bake in the oven. I use this whole wheat bun recipe. These pav buns too make soft burger buns. I like to have slightly toasted buns. Butter the cut buns slightly and grill or cook them for a minute or so.
Sauce both top and bottom bun for more flavor and juiciness. For the base, blend ketchup mayo and mustard so that you get a bit in every bite but feel free to experiment with the sauces. BBQ sauce will go well, so will a chipotle mayo made from mayo, ranch dressing and chipotle peppers.
For the veggies, get creative: avocado, caramelized onions, gherkins, roasted peppers, sautéed mushrooms, jalapenos or just plain onion and tomatoes with lettuce. While not a veggie, you could also add bacon for non vegetarians.
For the cheese slice you could use pepper jack, mozzarella, cheddar cheese or even herbed goat cheese. To get a nice melted cheese on your burger, as soon as you cook your burgers and get them off the pan, place your cheese on top of your rajma burger patty. The residual heat should melt the cheese.
If you have vegetarians or vegans you would like to serve burgers to, these rajma burger patties are a pretty good option. These meatless burgers can be made smaller and you could serve these as an appetizer rajma tikkis. Avoid the bread coating after shaping the patties for the tikkis. For the tikkis, do add the boiled potato for better binding, and use less of the bread crumbs.
