These were alright. They weren't bad. They just weren't amazing either.

The lentils cooked much faster than suggested by the recipe. I gave them five minutes less than called for. But possibly I should have taken them off the heat even sooner. By the time I was trying to "drain" them, they had absorbed pretty much all of the water and were barely holding together. Which made for a very wet burger mix. I ended up having to add an extra 1/4 c. of panko just to get something workable.

Having done that, they did make perfectly reasonable patties. And they were reasonably filling. I just felt that they were a little bland. I think next time I'd cook the lentils in vegetable stock rather than salted water, swap out half of the cumin for dhania-jeera masala, and maybe add a little ras el hanout or 7 baharat.

It would probably also have helped if I had noticed that the sauce called for lemon juice and lemon zest. (I seem to be having some sort of strange lemon juice blindness lately. I missed where it was called for in the poached quince recipe as well!)

I also feel like a little chile, either in the patties or the sauce, would be a welcome addition. I might consider adding a pinch of aleppo pepper flakes to the patties next time. Hopefully that would help round out the flavours a bit.

Red Lentil Burgers with Yogurt Sauce

Adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

Burgers

• 1 c. skinned split brown lentils (red lentils/Egyptian lentils/masoor dal)
• 3 c. vegetable stock
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, grated
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds, ground
• 1 tsp. dhania-jeera masala
• 1 tsp. 7 baharat
• 1/4 tsp. aleppo pepper flakes
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1/2 c. panko breadcrumbs (preferably whole wheat)
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 large egg
• 170g salad greens
• 8 small buns (optional)
• 3 Tbsp. pomegranate molasses (optional)

Sauce

• 1 lemon
• 3/4 c. plain Greek yogurt
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground

Directions

1. Rinse the lentils and place in a small pot with the stock.
2. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Skim any foam that forms.
3. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until lentils are tender (10-15 minutes).
4. Drain lentils very well and set aside.
5. Meanwhile, heat oil over medium heat.
6. Add onion, carrot, and garlic and cook until softened (~5 minutes).
7. Add cumin, masala, 7 baharat, pepper flakes, salt, and pepper and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
8. Transfer vegetable mixture to bowl with lentils.
9. Add panko and cilantro and mix well.
10. Once mixture has cooled enough not to cook egg, add egg and mix well.
11. Shape into 8 small patties and chill for 30 minutes.
12. Meanwhile, juice and zest the lemon.
13. Combine the yogurt, cilantro, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and lemon zest and mix well. Set aside.
14. Heat a bit more oil over medium heat.
15. Add three or four patties to the pan and cook, flipping as needed, until nicely browned on both sides and cooked through.
16. Burgers may be served on a bed of salad greens or on buns.
17. If serving on buns, split the buns and spread both sides with some of the sauce. Add some greens and a patty to each bun. Drizzle with a little pomegranate molasses (if desired).
18. If serving on greens, add a large handful of greens to each plate, top with a patty (or two), top each patty with a large dollop of sauce, and drizzle with pomegranate molasses (if desired).