Crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside, this is a delicious vegetarian twist to the classic hamburger: Quinoa Veggie Burger! This recipe has instant pot and stove pot variations for cooking the quinoa and uses potatoes and peas with onions and Indian spices for a tasty burger patty.
Prep the ingredients. Slice onion, peel and cube potatoes, grate or finely chop ginger. Rinse the quinoa in a mesh sieve, it removes the bitter coating on the quinoa beads. Turn the Instant Pot on Sauté. When it's hot, add oil and cumin seeds. When cumin seeds start sizzling, add grated ginger, onions, green chili and cubed potatoes. Saute for 1 minute.
Add all dry spices, frozen peas, quinoa and water. Stir well. Close lid. Set valve to 'Sealing' mode. Cook on MANUAL (High) for 2 minutes. Wait for 10 minutes of natural pressure release (NPR 10), and then manually release all pressure. Open lid and fluff the quinoa with a fork. Add chopped cilantro and lime juice.
Cool the mixture for 5-10 minutes. You can even make this a day-ahead. Using a fork, mash all the potatoes and add the shredded cheese. Mix everything together. Wet your palms with water, this prevents the patties from sticking to your hands. Using an ice-cream scoop, measure out a scoop and form it into a patty, using your hands. Lightly roll the patty in your choice of coating. Shake off the excess coating. Form all patties and keep aside.
Heat a non-stick skillet on medium-high heat. Add 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. (It doesn't take a lot of oil to get these crisp). Add patties such that the pan is not over-crowded. You may have to do this in a couple of batches. Flip them after 2 minutes or after they golden brown on one side, add a few more table spoon of oil if needed. Crisp them on the other side and you're done.
Stovetop Method for Quinoa
In a sauce pan, follow step 1 & 2, but don’t add peas yet. Add ½ cup quinoa with 1 cup water. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes. Add peas, cover and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it sit for 5 minutes in the pan. Garnish with cilantro and lime. Serve warm. Adjust the cooking time based on the package directions for your brand. Follow the remaining instructions as-is.
Pro-tip for binding burger patties
If you're adding more than one freshly grated vegetable, you may want to add 1 tbsp. of cornflour or 1 egg, so that the patties bind easily.
Notes
Note: The nutrition facts below are my estimates. If you are following any diet plan, I recommend cross-checking with your preferred nutrition calculator.