OMG, I think I just made the best veggie burger dish ever. All the flavors paired so well together. The sweetness of the green bean sweet potato mash with the tanginess of the tomato chutney and the flavorful veggie-packed burgers. Nom nom nom!

Though it took me nearly a whole afternoon to produce this lovely dinner, a free day well spend I would say as I have more burger patties in the freezer and tomato chutney for a while too.

All in all, it isn't that much work but it took about 3 hours to make the chutney. Yes, it might be easier to buy a jar in the supermarket, but the flavors are just not comparable with homemade chutney. It's so much better and no preservatives or other yucky additives. Win-win.

I know we are all busy creatures but avoiding processed foods as much as possible is the way to a better and healthier life. Though many people have blamed saturated fats (such as coconut oil) or natural sugars to be the culprit of our modern diseases, I believe it's the manmade chemicals that are ending up in our food chain that are causing all the issues.

Ever since we started eating low-fat, sugar-free, or other processed crap (like margarine) to control diseases such as diabetes or heart issues, numbers haven't come down. In contrary, they went up.

Though I will leave this discussion for another post, food for thought right?

Let's start cooking, shall we?

CARROT CAULIFLOWER BURGER WITH GREEN BEAN MASH AND HOMEMADE CHUTNEY

INGREDIENTS

For the tomato chutney (makes about 2-3 jars of 400ml)

About 2 kg or 4 pounds tomatoes, blended
2 onions, chopped
4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
Homemade chili paste to taste
Freshly grated ginger to taste
1/2 cup raw palm sugar
1 cup apple cider vinegar
Dried oregano, sea salt, and black pepper to taste.

FYI: CLICK HERE to get my homemade chili paste recipe.

For the green bean mash (serves 2)

2.5 cups fresh green beans, chopped in smaller pieces
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
1 small sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1 small potato, peeled and chopped
1 tsp vegan mustard
Splash of unsweetened plant milk (I used toasted corn milk)
Ground nutmeg, sea salt and black pepper to taste

For the cauliflower carrot burger (makes 7-8 burger patties)

Though this recipe makes too much for 2 people, I always make a few burger patties extra to freeze for days I do not have time to cook.

2 cups carrot, blended
1 cup cauliflower, blended
1/2 cup onion, very finely chopped
2 tsp garlic ginger paste (1:1 ratio)
1.5 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds, I used a mix of white and black sesame seeds
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp chili powder
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
1 chia egg (= 1 tbsp chia seeds + 3 tbsp water)
2 tbsp peanut butter
1/2 cup rolled oats

FYI: Since I use garlic and ginger in nearly every dish, I made a ginger garlic paste the other week to make things easier in the kitchen. Simply blend equal amounts of ginger and garlic and store in a glass jar in the fridge.

DIRECTIONS

For the chutney

Blend the tomatoes until smooth mixture.
Heat cooking oil over medium heat. Saute onion for 3-4 minutes. Then add ginger, garlic and chili paste. Cook for one minute more before adding all other ingredients.
Stir well and cook on low heat for about 3 hours or until the desired consistency.
Blend again or leave it as it is. I like little chunks in mine so I didn't blend the end product.
Transfer to clean glass jars with lid and store in the fridge for up to a month or two.

For the green bean mash

Heat cooking oil over medium heat. Saute onion for 3-4 minutes. Stir in green beans, cover and cook for about 10 minutes or until the bean are soft. Blend until you got a smooth-ish puree. Set aside.
Cook sweet potato and potato in lightly salted water until soft.
Combine pureed green beans, potatoes, nut milk, nutmeg, black pepper and sea salt. Mash well.

For the burger

Blend cauliflower and carrot until rice grain-like structure.
Heat cooking oil over medium heat. Saute onion for 1-2 minutes. Add ginger garlic paste and cook for 30 seconds more before adding the blended cauliflower and carrot. Cok for 4-5 minutes. Allow to cool.
Mix chia seed with water and allow to set. Add peanut butter and mix well.
combine cooked carrot cauliflower mix, chia peanut butter egg, and all other ingredients.
Shape into burger patties. fry them in coconut oil or cook them in the oven. Up to you. I fried them in coconut oil to save some time.