Sometimes I get a craving for Indian food. Sometimes I get a craving for a good veggie burger. This is the answer to both.

If you’ve read the write-up of my Loaded Veggie Quinoa Sliders, then you’ll know my feelings on the frozen veggie burger market. It’s not that great. The options are getting better, but the ingredient lists from pre-made burgers are out of hand.

For this reason, from time to time I find myself thinking about how to build a better veggie burger.

When it comes to lentils, I wish I cooked more with them, but I just don’t have enough good lentil recipes that aren’t soup. And there’s only so much green lentil soup that one can make. This was a chance to break out of that rut and try a little something different with an Indian spiced lentil burger.

I’m using two kinds of lentils here. Green lentils hold up well and give the burgers their textures. Red lentils tend to fall apart when cooked, but still add flavor and color. Onion, garlic, ginger and cumin bring the Indian spice. Finally, spinach (or any other hearty green that you prefer) gives an extra nutritional bonus.

One change I’ve made here from a traditional veggie burger mix is to use ground-up pretzels instead of bread crumbs. This is something I picked up from Carolina at The Baking Cup in her recipe for flavorful veggie burgers. I thought the pretzels gave the finished product more body and character than plain bread crumbs alone.

Overall, I think it’s a pretty easy lentil burger recipe. Grab some small burger buns to make the sandwiches. Then top each with a red cabbage and carrot salad for some added crunch and to balance the flavors.

See a video of them being prepared at: Healthy Frugal Blog Recipes – Curried Lentil Burgers