Masala Burgers with Tangy Tamarind Sauce and Red Onion-Mint Relish

Pairs well with:

Merlot

Get cozy and get pouring. Our Merlot is the wine for long weekends and lengthy chats.

Ingredients

Tamarind Sauce:
14 oz packet of frozen Tamarind Pulp
(1) ¾ Cup Light Brown Sugar
(2) 1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
(3) ½ teaspoon Ground Cayenne Pepper
(4) 2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
(5) Patties:
2 oz fresh ginger, chopped
(6) 2 oz cloves of fresh garlic
(7) ½ cup Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided. 4 table spoons for patties, rest for greasing the grill rack and buns
(8) 2 tablespoon Garam Masala
(9) 2 teaspoon ground Cayenne Pepper
(4) 2 teaspoon Kosher salt
(5) 2 pounds ground sirloin
(10) Red Onion
Cilantro Relish:
2 Cup thinly sliced Red onion
(11) 2 Medium Size Roma Tomatoes, thinly sliced lengthwise
(12) ½ Cup Chopped fresh Mint leaves
(13) ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
(5) 2 tablespoon of fresh Lemon Juice
(14) 6 whole wheat Hamburger Buns, split
(15) ½ head of Iceberg Lettuce

 

Instructions

Preheat a gas grill to medium-high. To make Tamarind sauce, thaw the Tamarind pulp by keeping the packet in a bowl under running cold water for few minutes. Transfer the pulp to a non-reactive (stainless steel or anodized aluminum) 3QT Sauce pan. Add light brown sugar, ground cumin, Cayenne Pepper and salt. Mix well. Place the saucepan on the grill and let the mixture simmer for 10-15 minutes, stir occasionally. The mixture will thicken and result in about 1 cup of Tangy Tamarind sauce, Transfer to a small glass bowl and let it cool. Add ginger and garlic to the bowl of a food processor with chopping blade. Pulse the food processor few times till they are finely chopped. Add 4 tablespoons of olive oil to a non-stick medium size frying pan. Place the pan on the grill, let the oil heat for few minutes. Transfer chopped garlic and ginger to the frying pan. Stir occasionally, cook for few minutes till they are golden brown. Add 2 table spoons of Garam Masala and 2 tea spoons of Cayenne pepper, cook for a minutes or so till the mixture turns brown. Remove from the heat, let it cool for few minutes. Add 2 teaspoon of Kosher salt, mix well. Transfer the spice mixture “Masala” to a large bowl, add ground sirloin and mix well. Divide the mixture into 6 equal parts and make six patties. Transfer them to large baking dish and refrigerate. For Relish, combine, Red onion, tomatoes, Mint leaves, salt, and Lemon juice in a medium size glass bowl, mix well and refrigerate. Brush the grill rack with Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Place the patties, cover and grill for 3-4 minutes. Turn the patties over and grill for another 3-5 minutes, covered, till done to your liking. Transfer the patties to a serving platter. Brush the cut side of the buns with Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil and grill them 1-2 minutes till lightly brown. To assemble the burgers, place enough sliced lettuce leaves to cover the browned side of bottom buns. Spread about 2 tablespoons of Tangy Tamarind sauce on each of them. Place the patties and then add few table spoons of relish on the patties. Add the top buns and serve.