Chickpea and Zucchini Tikkis/Burgers
This flavorful version of chickpea tikkis or burger patties uses chickpeas as a base and is infused with lots of other vegetables and spices. These tikkis are so flavorful enjoyed with inside a pita pocket with pickled onions and salad, herbs and some delicious sauces of your choice.
The best thing about these patties is they hold their shape, are not mushy because we do not crush the chickpeas into paste. Rather leave chickpeas in their shape and only mash some of them. I loved them the first time I made them, and we tried them second time, and we loved them as they are. they are delicious and flavorful. I have spiced them with well known Indian spices and also ras el hanout. I know, some of you might not know about it or do not have it in your pantry. This is one spice mix; I would highly recommend you buy. It is easily sold at whole foods or some specialty store or even can be found online. If you do not want to add it, then go ahead and use a little bit more of red chili powder and garam masala.
Veggie burgers or tikkis can be seriously satisfying, and I dislike it when people try to use it to substitute meat patties. These vegan chickpea tikkis are full of good ingredients and is not try to mimic anything about meat burgers. They’re crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. It’s so difficult to find a good veggies burger.
What’s in these chickpea Tikkis or burgers?
Here’s what’s in these vegetarian/vegan chickpea burgers
- Mashed chickpeas: you’ll use a potato masher or fork to mash them by hand
- Onion, bell pepper, peas, corn, zucchini, potato,carrot and red onion: chop these down so they integrate well; you can chop them finely using a knife, food processor.
- A little bit of breadcrumbs
- Spices – Big flavor comes from ras el hanout, red chili powder, cumin, coriander powder, and garam masala.
Make ahead and heating instructions
These chickpea tikkis/burgers can be made ahead and cooked just before serving. I would not recommend cooking them prior and freezing them. You could meal prep them on a weekend, form patties and then refrigerate them, take them out and cook them just before serving. Or if you decide to fully cook them ahead
- Store in the refrigerator 2-3 days. When you reheat them, place them in a 375 oven and reheat until heated through (about 10 minutes or so).
- I would not recommend freezing them.
Chickpea and Zucchini Tikkis
Ingredients
- ¼ cup onions
- 1 green chili chopped
- ¼ cup bell peppers
- ¼ cup carrots grated
- 1 small sized zucchini grated
- ¼ cup corn kernels
- ¼ cup green peas
- 1 potato boiled
- 1 cup chickpeas boiled
- 2 tbsp plus 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
- 2 tbsp tomato paste or ketchup
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour for slurry optional
- 2 tbsp Oil plus for frying
Spice blend
- 1/8 tsp turmeric powder
- ¼ tsp red chili powder
- ¼ tsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp Ras el hanout spice blend
- ¼ tsp cumin powder
- ¼ tsp coriander powder
- Salt to taste
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro or any other herbs
- ½ tsp lime juice
Extras for serving
- Pita bread or naan
- Pickled onions
- Tomatoes, lettuce, cilantro
- Sauces – Tzatziki, Skhug, cilantro chutney etc
Instructions
- Heat some oil in a pan on medium. Add finely chopped onions, green chili, bell pepper, grated carrots, grated zucchini and cook it till everything is slightly cooked. Add in the peas, corn and boiled mashed potato. Mix well.
- Add the chickpeas and slightly mash some of them with the back of a spatula or fork. Do not mash all of them completely. Some whole chickpeas will give it a nice texture.
- Add the spices one by one and season it with salt. Add the tomato paste or ketchup whatever you are using. Mix well. Remove it and leave it aside.
- Once this mixture cools down, add in breadcrumbs and herbs of your choice, lime juice.
- Mix well and divide the mixture into 6 patties. You can make them into smaller and get more patties out of it.
- On medium heat, warm up some oil in a pan to grill these patties.
- Make a slurry of all purpose flour with 2 tbsp water. It should not be too thick or too liquidy. Dip the patties into them carefully and then dip them into breadcrumbs so that they stick to them. Make sure you coat evenly.
- Place them carefully in the pan and grill them on both sides until they are crispy and golden in color. Make sure the heat is not too high, breadcrumb will burn quickly.
- Remove them and then serve them with some grilled pita bread or naan, pickled onions, tomato lettuce salad, and some sauces of your choice.
