Years and years ago, a friend introduced me, figuratively speaking that is, to Donna Hay. My friend gifted me one of Donna’s gorgeous cookbooks, New Food Fast that was published in 1999! What was so different about this book for the time, was that it was oversized, paperback and had short recipes with no headnotes at all. The book was also filled with beautifully styled photographs which were also relatively new to the pages of many cookbooks.
If you aren’t familiar with Donna Hay, she is a huge personality in Australia (where said friend once lived) and has been a food stylist, best selling cookbook author, magazine publisher and so much more for over three decades. She produces the most soothing, quick cooking videos on Instagram and she makes everything look easy and delicious.
New, Fast, Food to be honest was not a book I cooked out of very often. And yet, I found myself drawn to the shelf it occupied, taking it down on occasion to pour through its pages which evoked a sense of clean and calm. Donna’s photos aren’t filled with extra accessories that tax the mind, just the beautiful food she has created. If you check out her website, you will get a sense of what I mean.
Donna has made the migration to Instagram quite smoothly and I so enjoy watching her create recipes on her feeds, either at Donny Hay or Donna Hay Magazines. When I recently saw her make her butter chicken burgers with no audio, just some jazzy music as a backdrop, set in her immaculate white kitchen with her Donna Hay branded measuring cup, I said to myself, that’s what’s for dinner.
The hardest part, which didn’t actually prove to be that hard after all, was locating the key ingredient for the recipe, Butter Chicken Paste…
Have you ever had butter chicken at your favorite Indian restaurant or made it at home? I have not but we both adore Indian food so I figured this would be a flavor profile we would enjoy. I found the ingredient in two supermarkets actually and it was located with other “instant sauces” for Indian food if that is helpful for your search. The paste is enclosed in a foil packet, and when you open it, the smell is intoxicating in a good way. For my Armenian friends, it smells exactly like basturma (our highly seasoned cured beef). It’s filled with a host of spices, most of which are unnamed with the exception of garlic, ginger and paprika. You can bet there is some chili powder and cumin, but it also contains other more exotic ingredients like melon seeds and dried fenugreek leaves.
The burger recipe is pretty simple to put together but I will forewarn you that it calls for 1 1/3 pounds ground chicken to make 4 patties. As we’ve discussed in past recipes, this is a pain when ground poultry is predictably sold in 1 pound increments. What you can do is either store the remaining ground chicken for another time or cook it off with some seasonings to throw into a salad later in the week. OR, you could modify this recipe and use the entire 2 pounds to yield 6 burgers. I say this because there is a decent kick to the burgers so if you might like to try the recipe with a lower heat level first, you could use up to the 2 pounds of ground chicken. I will leave that to you. What’s interesting is that the recipe on the back of the box calls to use the entire contents of the package to flavor 1 pound of boneless chicken pieces, however it is diluted with butter and 1 2/3 cups water. Might be fun to try!
So, we mix together homemade breadcrumbs, cilantro, onion and the butter chicken paste until they are really well combined. The homemade breadcrumbs are important because they will result in a lighter burger but in a pinch you could use panko and maybe a bit less of it. After you have this mixed, add the chicken and stir until it’s combined well. Form into 4 burgers and cook in a cast iron pan with just a little olive oil…
While the burgers are cooking, make your Minted Yogurt. The cooling element of the yogurt is really important to this dish as it counteracts the spice in the burger and adds a tart, herby finish. Simply combine yogurt, fresh mint and some lemon juice.
Donna suggests serving the burgers with some sliced cucumbers (another cooling element) and some mango chutney. We didn’t have any chutney so we skipped it but you could always substitute apricot jam. You can serve them alone, on a bun or with some Naan bread like shown here…
I made the recipe a second time, using only 1 pound of chicken and half the paste package to test my hypothesis that using either less paste or more chicken would still result in a flavorful, yet less spiced burger and it worked just fine. I also wanted to see if the recipe could work as meatballs for a summer appetizer so I formed the balls and baked them in the oven. I think they would look and possibly taste better if I cooked them in a pan with some oil. Or even better, maybe I will just form them into mini burgers (smaller than sliders – more like a mini crabcake) because I think they will be easy to eat and definitely look less anemic after cooking in a pan!
I hope you give this recipe a try. I am eager to make them again for a quick dinner or make another attempt at an appetizer sized burger. Don’t forget the minted yogurt!
Next week, I’m mixing up a cocktail for Cinco de Mayo. Until then…
One Year Ago: Peanut Satay Noodle Soup
Two Years Ago: Pomegranate, Chicken and Farro Salad
Three Years Ago: Cod Stew with Chorizo, Leeks and Potatoes
Four Years Ago: Friday, April 24, 2020 (Quarantine Post)
Five Years Ago: Blackberry and Brie Pizzette
Six Years Ago: Mexican Street Corn Salad (Cinco de Mayo is next weekend!)
Seven Years Ago: Sweet Potato Nests and Eggs
Eight Years Ago: Orange Sesame Chicken
Nine Years Ago: Armenian Rice Pilaf
TEN Years Ago: Kale Caesar Salad
This recipe is from Donna Hay and has been edited. The butter chicken paste in the ingredient list is a concentrated mixture of spices, resulting in burgers that are full of flavor and pack a bit of heat. if your palate prefers, you could either cut back the amount of butter paste, or use up to 2 pounds of ground chicken, adjusting the other ingredients accordingly and making 6 burgers. All for shortcuts, I do prefer using fresh breadcrumbs here as they are less dense resulting in a lighter burger. In a pinch, you can use panko but I would suggest cutting back on the quantity just a bit. And if you don't have mango chutney (we didn't), you could use a little apricot jam. Just don't skip the yogurt as the cooling element is a nice contrast with the spicy burger!
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 pounds ground chicken
- 1 cup fresh sourdough breadcrumbs
- 1 package Butter Chicken Paste
- 1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro leaves
- 1 onion, finely chopped or grated
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil for cooking
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 Tablespoons finely chopped mint leaves
- 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- Warm Naan bread or burger buns, cucumber ribbons, extra mint leaves, mango chutney
Instructions
- To make the patties, place the breadcrumbs, butter chicken paste, chopped cilantro and onion in a large mixing bowl. Mix the ingredients really well. You will want the chicken paste to be evenly distributed among the other ingredients.
- Add the ground chicken to the bowl and mix well, being careful not to over mix as that will create dense burgers.
- Divide the mixture into 4 patties.
- Heat a large non-stick frying pan or a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the tablespoon of olive oil and the patties. Cook for 4-5 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Remove from the pan.
- While the burgers are cooking, make the minted yogurt by whisking together all the ingredients along with just a pinch of salt. This makes a bit more than you will need but will keep for a bit in the fridge.
- Assemble the burgers as you wish with all the serving ingredients. You can also serve them on a bed of greens.
- Enjoy!
