Vegetable Patties - Indian Style

Vegetable Patty - Indian Style.

I am feeling defeated today, and no matter how much I try to talk myself out of this "funky mood," the struggle remains. What can I do to make things better? Over the years, I have tried a few things and settled on cooking. Mood improvement medicine? Perhaps. It works for me because I am able to focus on one thing - cooking - instead of dwelling on the other...

You might wonder what the other is in this instance. Well, sometimes we have to face unpleasant thoughts and situations based on previous experiences or future things to come.

Someone very special in my life is going to have major surgery this Friday. As of now, I have too many unsorted feelings about it. I am starting final year in graduate school in less than two weeks and I don't know what will happen. I know, I will get through it no matter what the outcome. With that cheery thought, let's make some vegan grub, shall we? CHEERS to ALL!

My mom in the 80's. Love it! 

Vegetable Patties - Indian Style (Makes about 8 large patties)

Ingredients
1 tablespoon coconut oil, plus additional for frying (vegetable oil may be substituted)
1 medium sized onion, finely chopped (about 1 and 1/2 cups)
1 medium sized yukon gold potato, peeled and shredded (about 1 cup)
2 medium sized carrots, peeled and shredded (about 1 cup)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup frozen green peas, defrosted
1 cup red lentils
2 and 1/2 cups water or vegetable stock
1 slice gluten-free bread or bread of choice, soaked in any kind of unsweetened plant milk
1 cup chickpea flour (see note below)

Spices
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
Pinch or more of cayenne pepper (optional)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 large cinnamon stick

Directions
In efforts to make this recipe with ease, prepare the vegetables and assemble the spices ahead of time.

Prepared vegetables.

Place the prepared vegetables on one plate and assemble all the spices on another.

 Spices.

Now, in a medium sized sauce pan, heat the coconut oil over a medium heat. Since it is summer time, the coconut oil will heat up quicker (solid versus liquid consistency). Add sea salt, cumin seeds, cayenne pepper if using, turmeric, ginger, coriander seeds, garam masala and the cinnamon stick. Cook for about two minutes and stir often. Be sure not to burn the spices or you will have to start the process all over again. Add garlic and onion and cook for about 5 minutes. Add a splash of water to prevent from sticking. You may have to do this a few times. I did!

Add carrots and potato and cook for another 5 minutes or so. Now add the lentils and water. Stir well. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes until the lentils are creamy. Stir often.

Discard the cinnamon stick. Transfer the lentil mixture to a large bowl, add the defrosted green peas. Mix and set aside until ready to handle, about 20 minutes. While waiting for the lentil mixture to cool off, place the slice of bread in a shallow bowl. Cover with plant milk of choice until it softens, about 10-15 minutes. Use about less than half a cup of plant milk.

Now that the lentil mixture has cooled off, add the chickpea flour and the soaked slice of bread. Prior to adding the bread, squeeze it with one hand really well and discard the soaking plant milk liquid. Shape the patties to the size of preference and set aside. These will be moist and malleable, just the way they should be.

Preheat a large non-stick skillet over a medium heat. Add about 1 tablespoon of oil to fry each batch, about three to four patties at a time, for 5 minutes on each side. Do not crowd the skillet. While the patties are cooking, be sure not to move them around until the five minute mark has passed. The crust develops when left alone in the skillet. Serve over a favorite salad, rice or anything you like.

*Note
Chickpea flour can be difficult to find no matter where you live. You can make your own in minutes for less than $2.00 dollars a pound of dried chickpeas. If you don't have chickpea flour on hand, and have a  bag of dried chickpeas in your pantry, you can make your own. Simply place one cup (or more, depending on how much flour you need) of dried chickpeas in a high-powered blender or a food processor and blend until very smooth smooth. That's it!

Veggie Patty - Indian Style served over zucchini noodles.