What's to Eat?? Chickpea Burger with Mint Raita

Chickpea burger with Mint Raita

Most of my friends, being carnivores, always tease and complain to me how being a vegetarian is "boring" or "bland" and how they can't seem to find any meal tasty as a meal that provides meat. So I'm always on the lookout and trying new recipes to show them and prove them wrong.
Today's recipe of the day is the scrumptious, chewy, mushy goodness of a protein-filled chickpea burger.  It's not the usual mix of a vegetarian burger but a modern uptake on it  flavored with cumin, paprika, mint, and mashed up chickpeas, topped with a cool and refreshing mint yogurt dressing. Is your mouth watering yet?
 It is good enough to satisfy even the most carnivorous burger fan!

*****NOTE:: The patties will need to be prepped several hours before or best, overnight! Also, extra chickpea mix can be stored in the freezer for a future use! :) Hello quick and simple future meals!*********

What you will need:: (this will be enough for around 6 burger patties, depending on how small or big you make the patty)

• a food processor or something like it
• 1 can chickpea-drained and rinsed
• 4-6 mini whole wheat burger buns
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 onion
• 1 tomato paste can (I try not to cook with egg, so this is a good alternative.  If you want to use eggs, replace here 1 egg, whisked)
• 1 teaspoon of parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon of cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/3 to 1/2 teaspoon cup of mint (in my opinion, the more mint you add, the better the flavor)
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs 
• 1/4 teaspoon of paprika

Start by rinsing your mint and parsley.  I got these beauties from my sister's garden!

I loosely chopped the mint and parsley here before adding it into the food processor.  Gather your ingredients and add it into the processor.

Pulse and blend a little past chunky into a semi-smooth finish like pictured below.

Add your breadcrumbs and tomato paste and mix it very well with the chickpea mix.  Cover and put in the fridge for a few hours.

Once you are ready to eat, get the mix out of the fridge and you can prepare the patties.  Grab a few pinchfuls of the mix and squeeze, smash, and mold into a patty-like figure.  You can create these as big or small as you'd like.

Now you can either grill these or bake them. It was raining outside so I decided to just bake it. I like to warm it up and get it started by putting it on a pan with a slight oil spray for about 5 minutes.  

Then I proceeded to put it on the oven, along with my side of choice, ever so delicious tater tots, at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.  Just check on them every now and then and flip it over to get the desired amount of hardness. 

And voila! top it off with a mint raita, onions, and even a tomato slice and get ready to have your mouth and stomach thank you!

Hope you enjoyed them! How did you like it? Would you choose this style over a regular burger? Also, my sister and I decided to make some Oreo truffles again! Click on the link to remember how to make it for yourself!

Homemade Oreo Truffles

ps, don't forget to =)