Last week’s stretch of sunny weather inspired me to move some of my cooking outdoors. Among the items I grilled on my barbecue were Indian-style chicken burgers.
To make them, I mixed lean ground chicken with such things as curry powder, ginger, garlic and chopped cashews, and added binders — an egg and some breadcrumbs. The ground-chicken mixture was then formed into patties.
Before grilling the patties, I readied the other items I would put in my burger buns to enhance the taste of the curry-spiced chicken, including an easy mango chutney-flavoured mayonnaise and a tangy slaw with bits of apple.
If desired, you could make the chicken patties, chutney-flavoured mayonnaise and slaw a few hours in advance and keep them covered and refrigerated until ready to cook the patties. If you do make the patties in advance, set them in a single layer on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet to ensure they don’t stick together.
To cook the patties, I grilled them on my barbecue over medium-high heat until they were entirely cooked through. The temperature in the centre of each patty should reach 165 F (74 C) when tested with an instant-read meat thermometer.
If you don’t have a barbecue, you could cook the patties on an indoor grill. And, if you don’t have one of those, you could cook them in a skillet on the stovetop. See the Eric’s options part of the recipe for details on that.
As noted, I used ground chicken in the patties, but other types of ground meat, such as turkey or lamb, will also work.
If desired, you could also stuff some other things in the burger buns, such as thinly sliced cucumber, Indian-style lime pickle and/or other item you think would work well with the curry-spiced chicken patties.
Curry-spiced Chicken Burgers with Cashews and Chutney Mayo
Chicken patties flavoured with curry powder and rich with cashews are grilled and then stuffed in buns with mango chutney-flavoured mayonnaise and a tangy slaw.
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: eight minutes
Makes: four servings
For the mayo
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbsp mango chutney (see Note 1)
2 tsp lime juice
For the slaw
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 tsp rice vinegar or cider vinegar
2 tsp honey
1 1/2 cups thinly shredded green cabbage
1/3 cup red apple, cut into tiny cubes
1/3 cup grated carrot
1 tsp finely chopped ginger
1 small green onion, very thinly sliced
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the burgers
1/4 cup unsalted cashews
500 grams lean ground chicken (see Note 2)
1 Tbsp mild or medium curry powder
1 large garlic clove, minced
2 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger
3/4 tsp salt
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 cup dried bread crumbs
• vegetable oil, for the grill
4 hamburger buns, split and warmed (see Note 3)
To make chutney mayo, combine ingredients in a small bowl, and then cover and refrigerate until needed. To make the slaw, combine its ingredients in a medium bowl, and then cover and refrigerate until needed.
To make burger patties, place the cashews on a cutting board, fairly, finely chop them, and then set in a mixing bowl. Add the ground chicken, curry powder, garlic, ginger, salt, egg and bread crumbs and mix well to combine.
Moisten your hands very lightly with cold water. Divide and form chicken mixture into four, 3/4-inch thick patties.
Preheat your barbecue or indoor grill to medium-high. Oil the bars of your grill. Grill the patties four minutes per side, or until entirely cooked through and the temperature reaches 165 F (74 C) in the centre of each patty when tested with an instant-read meat thermometer.
Spread each bottom bun generously with the chutney mayo. Set a burger patty on each bottom. Top each patty with some of the slaw, set on top buns and serve.
Note 1: Mango chutney is sold in the Asian foods aisle of grocery stores. I used Sharwood’s brand.
Note 2: Lean ground chicken is sold in the meat department of many grocery stores. The ground chicken I used came Island Farmhouse Poultry. To find a list of stores selling their Vancouver Island-raised chicken products, go to farmhousepoultry.ca.
Note 3: You can warm the buns by setting them, cut-side-down, on the grill a minute or so while the burger patties are cooking.
Eric’s options: If you don’t have a barbecue or indoor grill, you could also pan-sear the patties. To do so, place 2 Tbsp vegetable oil in a large, non-stick skillet set over medium, medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the patties and cook four minutes per side, or until entirely cooked through.
Eric Akis is the author of eight cookbooks. His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.
