Healthy Indian Style Hamburgers with Caramelized Onions and Zucchini served with Sweet Potato Fries

Once in a while I come up with a fabulous meal- it is tasty, healthy and very good looking. This is one of them. One of my favorite things to eat is a good hamburger- especially at our local pub. Since watching Food Inc, I have been off hamburgers especially at restaurants.

So, I decided to make turkey burgers but with a twist. I love ground turkey for a lot of things but when I have a regular turkey burger I always compare it to a beef burger and it just doesn’t stand up to it’s competitor. To avoid the comparison I decided to use my seekh kebab mix. It is extremely flavorful loaded with aromatics- perfect for a juicy burger. Now, what about the toppings? I didn’t want to use mayo since it is loaded with calories. I had cilantro chutney in the fridge that I normally serve with seekh kebabs- perfect. I also thought of the delicious tomato chutney from Trader Joes- that would pair up really well with the cilantro chutney. I needed to incorporate vegetables in this meal and so I decided to caramelize onions and saute up some zucchini and use them as toppings for the healthy burgers. Of course, I bought the soft whole-wheat hamburger buns from Trader Joes and while I was there, I also picked up sweet potatoes. They are super healthy and I wanted to incorporate them into the meal as well- I cut them up into wedges and made oven fries- they were delicious- especially paired with garlic powder and smoked paprika. The sweetness in this orange vegetable was wonderful with the savory garlic powder and smoky paprika.

Overall it was a fabulous meal- I did an article about this healthy, delicious meal on the New York Times, The Local.

Try the healthy Indian style hamburgers with the veggies and sweet potatoes next time you want to eat a hamburger.

• 1 pound of seekh kebab mix, divided into 7 to 8 patties
• 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil

Heat a grill pan and add one tablespoon oil. Add 4 patties at a time and cook till golden brown on both sides. Cook about 4 minutes on each side. Keep warm.

• ½ cup cilantro chutney
• ½ cup tomato chutney (Trader Joes)
• 7 to 8 whole-wheat hamburger buns

• 3 medium zucchinis, sliced
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• Salt
• 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil

Heat a non-stick frying pan with one tablespoon oil. Brown the zucchini slices on both side till golden brown- sprinkle salt. Keep aside and add the remaining oil and add the sliced onions. Saute on a low heat till the onions are soft and sprinkle salt. Mix the cooked zucchini and onion and keep aside.

To assemble the hamburgers, spread the cilantro and tomato chutney on either sides of a bun. Place a patty on one side and top with zucchini and onion. Serve with sweet potato fries.

Sweet Potato Fries

• 4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½ inch thick fries
• 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place the fries on an aluminum foil lined cookie sheet. Drizzle the olive oil, salt, garlic powder and paprika. Mix well with your fingers and bake for about 45 minutes or till the fries are soft on the inside and crunchy and golden brown on the outside.