Tandoori Turkey Burger

Grilling this weekend?

Mixing in the exotic flavors make this burger better than your run of the mill burger, plus, if you make the yoghurt sauce* as your condiment, then you have cut tons of fat from your dinner!  The curry powder, chili powder, cumin, garlic and garam masala make the flavors interesting, and adding minced green onions and cilantro jazz it up even more.  Do add salt to the mixture though, having the right saltiness makes the dish. The only things I put on my burger was the turkey patty, cucumbers, tomatoes and yoghurt sauce.... that's right- no mayo, no ketchup, no pickles.  I had intense and interestingly flavors and I didn't feel like I was missing anything like FAT and CALORIES!

*The yoghurt sauce also made a great dressing for a salad the next day!

Ground turkey is such an easy thing to have on hand and whip up a fast, healthy meal.  I buy those 4 packs of the ground turkey at Costco and put some in the freezer.  It's probably cheaper at the grocery store when it goes on sale, but buying the 4 pack is easy and consistently a good price.

I've been meaning to do this for the longest time, but it's just such a simple recipe I didn't think it would be that much fun.  I WAS WRONG.... if my hubby was here, he'd ask me to repeat that!

Serves 4
Burger patty ingredients:
20 oz. ground turkey
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. garam masala
1/2 - 1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup minced green onions
1/4 cup cilantro, minced


Yoghurt sauce:
1 cup plain Greek yoghurt
1/4 cup minced green onions
1/4 cup cilantro, minced
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp salt

Suggested condiments:
Persian Cucumbers, thinly sliced
Tomatoes
Shredded lettuce

Make the yoghurt sauce first, mixing all ingredients in a small bowl and let sit to meld the flavors.

Cut up your veggies for the burger, I used cucumbers and tomatoes, but lettuce would be nice too. 

I mixed the turkey mixture in my stand mixer, but any bowl would work too. Just be sure to combine all the ingredients well, you want to have the spices in every bite.

***If you want to check the seasoning, and salt, throw a tablespoon of the raw mixture in a small dish in the microwave and cook for 15-30 seconds.  It will cook it, (but its super hot) and you can taste.  Do remember that the microwave sometimes makes it kind of tough, which is not something that will happen when you grill it!

Make 4 patties from the ground turkey, making them a bit bigger than you want them to be as they do shrink.  If you make a small thumb print indentation in the middle of the patty they will come out flatter and less 'bulgy' in the middle after cooking.  Try it... it works!

Cook them on the grill for 3-4 minutes per side. I did these inside on a grill pan on a rainy day recently and they turned out pretty darn good!

If you like Indian flavors, like I do, here are some other recipes you might like:
Indian Butter Chicken
Turkey Keema Curry
Balinese Grilled Chicken