We’ve had one of those summer weeks where it was completely unbearable to cook in the kitchen. For as much as I love to cook, the thought literally repulsed me and immediately made me break out into a sweat – not because I was afraid of being in the kitchen but because the kitchen itself was actually that sweltering. And so, I got a bit creative. One night we roasted veggies and meatballs in the pizza oven for grain bowls. Another night we took black bean “tacos” to the park. But my favorite night was the night we made these Kitchari Burgers because by that time I really felt like I had my sh*t together. I wanted something that would be easy to digest in hot weather, comprised of the simple ingredients I already had in the house, but I didn’t want to eat a warm bowl of dal. And this recipe checks all the boxes!
The burgers were extremely low lift, used up some gorgeous ingredients from our weekly summer CSA, grilled up beautifully on our flat top outside, and we had leftovers for lunch the next day. AND, my toddler even liked them! Winning at life even while cooking alive in the oven of our un-air-conditioned house!
I am a woman who deeply appreciates a great burger. But it takes a special kind of day, and a special kind of burger to turn me on. High quality beef, a proper homemade bun, a good pickle, fancy ketchup, crisp lettuce, some kind of mustard. And typically some sort of really big day – emotionally, physically, psychologically – to kick on the craving.
Not to mention that the sweltering summer heat diminishes our digestive fire, making burgers made with meat, and even more veggie burgers prepared without digestive spices, very difficult to digest and assimilate without gas, bloating or discomfort.
And yet, eating a burger is so darn convenient, ya know?
Now that this burger is in my life (our lives) there are so many ways I’m excited to use it…and eat it!
It’s a perfect make ahead meal for you preppers out there, who like to have something on hand to take for lunches or make quick dinners. But these Kitchari Burgers are also so helpful as portable, digestible meals for days when we need a snack or a quick refuel but eating a bowl of kitchari isn’t an option. After a race, a big ride, a big hike where you need a portable fuel – that sort of thing.
This is the kind of burger that I would be excited to have on hand almost any day. Yay!
There are lots of recipes for kitchari burgers out in the wild, if you start to look, but this one is mine and it’s a bit different. Many of them use leftover kitchari…which is a texture I don’t love and requires a lot of added material to actually get a burger shape. Using sushi rice is an easy way to ensure that your burgers stay together without adding egg. From there, we’ve got summer veggies, a healthy sprinkling of balanced spices that both warm and temper, and a sufficient amount of salt — something that I notice is typically devoid from many “Ayurvedic recipes,” and renders lentils almost tasteless. This little burger is anything but!
We served them with a drizzle of tahini, a few slices of avocado, and a little salad of roasted beets + fresh farm greens but you could smoosh it between a bun and I would not be upset.
I can’t wait to make the burgers this summer with fresh zucchini, or mashed peas, and I can’t wait to hear how you make them too!
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