It's hard to be prepared for summer in Washington, no matter how long you've waited for it through the cold, dark days of winter. The days can be so humid and sticky, I am almost reminded of being back in Bombay-- almost.
Opie -- looking rather puppy-like in his summer haircut -- sits around the house, eyes glazed over, tongue hanging out, panting furiously. Our home is not centrally air-conditioned and in past summers Opie would make his way to the basement and lie all day -- and sometimes all night -- on the cool, concrete floor. But he's nearly 13 now and the arthritis has made tackling the steep basement stairs a harder job than it ever was before. So Desi has been carrying him up to our bedroom and turning on the window air-conditioner unit and the fan full-blast so he can cool down. At night, when he sleeps, sprawled over half the bed while Desi and I squeeze into the other half, I have no doubt that he's dreaming of fields of pure, white snow.
But summer is not without its rewards. There are all those fresh fruits and vegetables. The fact that it doesn't take a day and a half for your bread to rise. And, for a bean-lover, there's the magic of sprouts.
You know about my sprout obsession which kicks into high gear every summer. While sprouting is a great idea at any time of the year, the heat does the job much faster.
If you're a novice to sprouting, there's no better time to start than the summer. And although you can buy all kinds of fancy equipment to sprout, there's really no need for anything other than a colander, a kitchen towel, and a bowl to get the perfect sprouts. All you need to do is soak your beans or lentils overnight or for up to eight hours in enough water to cover them by at least three inches. Drain the beans in a colander, give them a thorough wash, and let them sit in the colander, covered with a kitchen towel, until little white shoots appear. Simple. You do have to rinse them a couple of times a day-- once in the morning and again in the evening -- which is easy enough to do in a colander. Then put them right back in their resting place, covered, and you should have perfect sprouts to cook with in a day or two.
There are a number of health benefits to sprouting:
- Sprouting increases the B-vitamin content of the bean-- astronomically.
- When a bean sprouts, it creates all kinds of good-for-you enzymes.
- Sprouting makes nutrients in the bean more bio-available, so they are better absorbed by your body.
- Sprouts contain even more fiber than the unsprouted bean does.
- Sprouts are a good source of essential fatty acids.
- The quality of the bean's protein improves when it sprouts, improving its nutritional value.
Plus, it doesn't cost anything to sprout, so why wouldn't you do it? If you're still not sure, start with sprouting mung beans which are the easiest to sprout.
And when you do, the first thing you'll want to try with them are these Sprouted Mung Bean Burgers.
These burgers spin off from a traditional Indian recipe, moong dal tikkis, and need no exotic or hard-to-acquire Indian ingredients to prepare. Even the turmeric is optional. But they are so flavorsome, you will be in love with them right from the moment they send their fragrance wafting through the house as they sizzle in the pan.
Jay gave it an enthusiastic thumbs up, so this recipe is kid-friendly as well.
This burger is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, thanks to the potatoes. and it can freeze beautifully, separated by wax paper. But if you're looking for a burger to grill, you might want to try my Chana Masala burger or one of these many other grillable veggie burger recipes I've posted in the past which tend to be more hefty and chewy. I served these on all-whole-wheat burger buns. Slather them with the green chutney recipe below or with this easy mint chutney.
Heaven.
More vegan veggie burger recipes:
- Vegan Tandoori Naan Burger
- Chickpea Quinoa Burger
- Chana Masala Burger
- Vegan Black Bean Burger
- Curried Jackfruit Burger
- Quinoa and Bean Burger
More recipes with sprouts
Sprouted Mung Bean Burgers
Ingredients
For the burgers:
- 1 cup dried mung beans
- 2 medium potatoes (peeled, cooked, and mashed well)
- 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
- 2 green chillies like serrano (very finely minced)
- 1 small onion (finely minced)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric (optional-- I just like the color, but you can leave it out)
- 2 tablespoon cilantro (coriander leaves, minced)
- 2 tablespoon mint leaves (finely minced)
- Salt to taste
For the Chutney:
- ¼ cup cilantro
- ¼ cup mint leaves
- 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
- Juice of ½ lemon
- ½ cup grated coconut
- 1 green chilli, like serrano or jalapeno, chopped
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Make the burger:
- Soak your mung beans overnight or for up to eight hours in enough water to cover them by at least three inches. Drain the beans in a colander, give them a thorough wash, and let them sit in the colander, covered with a kitchen towel, until little white shoots appear. It should take no more than a full day in summer. If they haven't sprouted yet, rinse them a couple of times a day-- once in the morning and again in the evening -- cover again, and wait.
- Once the beans have sprouted, cook the sprouts with just enough water to cover them, for 30 minutes. You want the beans to be al dente and not too mushy. Pulse the beans in a food processor or mash them to break them into smaller pieces, but leave some whole for texture)
- In a large bowl, mix the mung beans with all of the other ingredients. The mixture should hold together when you form a patty.
- Form 10 burger patties, patting them out on your palm and shaping the edges with your fingers.
- Heat a non-stick or cast-iron griddle. Spray or brush on some oil. Cook the burgers over medium-high heat until golden-brown. Flip over and cook the other side.
- Serve hot or cold. These are delicious on a whole-wheat bun, but they are just as good bunless, with some chutney.
- Make the chutney:
- Place all of the chutney ingredients in a food processor or blender, and process until smooth. Add just enough water to keep the blades moving, or more if you like your chutney thin.
Nutrition
Starchild
what can i substitute for potatoes cause i cant eat nightshade; tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, and peppers are night shade
Vaishali
Use sweet potatoes, I am pretty sure they are not a nightshade vegetable.
Letycia Taylor
These look great. Are they freezable?
Vaishali
Yes, absolutely, you can freeze them for up to three months. Flash freeze first or separate with parchment or wax paper before freezing.
Louise
Hi! I tried this recipe and it was delicious! Thanks, it's even tastier than the last burger I ate at a vegan restaurant 🙂
Vaishali
Awesome!
le
I substituted sweet potato for the potato and, while delicious, these would not stay together as burgers at all. fyi to anyone going for that...
Vaishali
Sweet potatoes are much softer than potatoes and do not have the necessary starch for burgers made with it to hold as well. If you used sweet potatoes, you should have added some flour, like chickpea.
Nancy
These look great. Are they freezable?
Tina
Wondering if cauliflower could be an alternative for the potatoes? Potatoes are my diet Kryptonite and will lay ruin too my vast accomplishments rather quickly. Lol
TIA, Tina
Vaishali
Hi Tina, cauliflower would be too grainy or watery to hold the beans together. Can you use sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed? Another alternative is lima beans--cook them until really soft, then mash them up as in this following recipe. You don't need to season them, just add them instead of the potatoes. https://holycowvegan.net/mashed-lima-bean-potatoes-onion-gravy/
Melanie Schwall
Wow! These were amazing! Spicy? Yes. We love spicy. So easy to make for lunch!! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Vaishali
So happy you loved them!
Lisa
These are so good. I have made them twice and they turned out just like the picture. I left out the Serrano peppers the second time so everyone would be happy, but I personally like them spicy.
Vaishali
Awesome! So happy you loved the burgers. We like them spicy too! 🙂
Ella
Can you use sprouted mung beans fresh or do they have to be cooked?
Vaishali
Fresh beans won't hold together as well.
Nina
Great recipe! I made a few tweaks - used sweet potato because I didn't have white potatoes at home, no mint but doubled cilantro, and added 1/4 cup of chickpea flour. I had trouble keeping the burgers together when I tried to cook them on the stovetop, so I ended up baking them at 400 for 45 minutes, flipping after 30 minutes and they came out perfect! Thanks for sharing such a wonderful recipe for sprouted mung beans!
Vaishali
Awesome, good idea to add chickpea flour with the sweet potatoes.
Ramona
Can you please give amounts for the mashed potatoes and minced onions? I have a lot of small new potatoes, and big onions, so the end quantity of these in cups would be helpful.
Thanks, Ramona
Brandy
This is a great recipe!
Nihou
Thanks so much for the mung burger recipe. The children and my husband loved them. I substituted potatoes for sweet potatoes and it was great! Bless you.
Tati
Amazing recipe!! i have prepared these burgers like 4 times already and I love them. Greetings from the Republic of Panama 🙂
Onumpteenthboil@gmail.com
AQUAFABA! There is a a group,on Facebook and they are all very helpful too.
And, I do hope your dog got through surgery safely.
We still grieve for best friend of many years but were informed by astonished vet hat he was about 17 or 18 but like you, just knew he was the one,
Anonymous
Hi vaishali I am new comer to your blog and tried ur sprout burger receipe it came very nice .Thanks for sharing such a healthy receipe. Will try all ur receipe 1/1
pallavyk
Those burgers look great. I like sprouting too. I have made moong sprout stuffed tikkis in the past.
I must start making patties, I love burgers and you have a great collection of recipes 🙂
Pavani
Yummy looking burgers Vaishali. Love the idea of using sprouted moong beans -- will definitely try this one out soon. Enjoy your summer!!
Vaishali Honawar
Thanks, Pavani, and have a great summer too!
Priti
The burgers look delicious! I love sprouting beans but often wonder if their nutritional content is reduced by cooking, steaming, boiling like we traditionally do for usals and curries. What do you think?
Talking about beans, did you read about whipped chickpea liquid (aquafaba) being a great replacement for 'egg whites' to be used in desserts? I instantly thought of you when I read about it.
Vaishali Honawar
Hi Priti, never heard of the chickpea liquid-- sounds like a great find and I'll be looking for it on my next trip to the grocery store. I would imagine Whole Foods would stock it?
About cooking sprouts, yes, I do hear that some enzymes are destroyed while cooking, but then again my digestive system wouldn't be too happy with raw sprouts, so I guess it's a compromise to make. 🙂
Priti
I meant Chickpea broth that one gets after cooking chickpeas or the liquid in canned chickpeas. It is called aquafaba. It is revolutionalizing vegan baking. Once whipped the liquid turns light and fluffy and behaves exactly like egg whites so can be used to make meringues, macarons, pies, buttercream, in cakes and other bakes. Just google it to know more, I am so excited to know about this amazing find that I just had to share it with you.
Vaishali Honawar
Oh, wow, that's even better. Gotta research and try it. I love free. 🙂
wawa
looks amazing.
Do we add raw onions though or cook them first?
Vaishali
wawa, I used the onions raw, but if you prefer a more caramelized taste you can certainly saute them first.
Dawn Hamilton
Can I use peeled mung beans? Obviously they aren't going to sprout. I'm trying to use what I have on hand.
Vaishali
Yes that's fine!