Turkey Burgers with Mango and Curry: Punched-up Poultry.

Turkey Burgahs. Delicious, healthy, tricked out with mango and curry paste, and a big hit of cilantro – elements that are all incorporated directly into the meat. In the winter, I make this exact same mixture and slam it into a loaf pan for turkey meatloaf. So this is a multi-seasonal winner. You probably won't need the whole mango for this recipe – so I instruct you to eat the rest of the mango over the sink.

Mango still-life, No.1.

Mangos are one of the best things in all of life. I spent an entire summer eating mostly mangos and potatoes once, and working at Tilley Endurables at the mall at Queen's Quay in Toronto. I lived across the street from a fruit market, and I had no money - so for some reason I fixated on mangos and potatoes. And also I had to wear a ridiculous Tilley outfit at work that included pleated, high-waisted khakis and a tucked in t-shirt blousey thing. Not hot. At all. Anyway.

Don't be alarmed at bun to burger ratio.
It wasn't as bad as it seems.

So, turkey burgers. I topped these with avocado, which was a really welcome addition. Don't muck them up with many other toppings, as there's a lot going on in the burger, and things can get confusing. Don't let that happen to you and your delicious dinner.


Turkey Burgers with Mango and Curry

a pound of ground turkey (or chicken, or in a pinch I've also used pork)
about 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups diced mango (I use a regular ol' potato peeler to peel my mangos, and then cut chunks off around the pit, then dice)
1 medium onion, diced
2 tbsp of hot curry paste (feel free to use medium or mild paste if you want to cut down on the heat factor - I like Patak's brand)
1 cup of chopped cilantro
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp canola oil for frying onions and mango, 1tbsp for frying burgers (you can use any neutral oil here, or even olive oil I GUESS, if you must. I've been told I need to stop being so hard on olive oil)
sliced avocado, to top the burgers
squeeze of fresh lime juice, squeezed on burger just before burger enters mouth

Fry your diced onion and mango in a pan with the canola oil, for about 5 minutes, until the onion becomes translucent and the mango softens up a fair bit. Then add your curry paste, and salt and pepper. Cook the curry paste with the mango and onion for about another fiver. Remove from the pan and allow it to cool. Once it's cooled, add it to a bowl where you've already placed the ground turkey. Add in the cilantro. Mix it up well – this is a good time to use the tools that come attached to you, i.e. your hands. They're the most effective. Don't over-mix. Form into four burger patties. Now is the time to slam it into a loaf pan (or free-form a loaf-ish shape on a sheet pan) if you want to go the meatloaf route. I cooked the burgers over medium heat in a cast iron skillet, but obviously grilling these on the barbecue would be an excellent option. For some reason I don't own a barbecue. Well it's because I haven't bought one. Weird how that works.

Summer, meet plate.

These babies are a little tender, so handle them with care. There's no filler in these burgers, like breadcrumbs and/or an egg, so the meat is a little more fragile. To combat this, I put them in the fridge for about 15 minutes before frying. It just makes them stay together a little bit better. Also, watch it with the flipping. Do it as little as possible. I found the burgers took about 20-25 minutes to cook in the pan.

Serves 4.

Faux Tandoori Chicken Thighs/"Tandoori" For Lazy People.

This dish has very little to do with authentic Tandoori. But there are enough similarities that I thought it merited some sort of qualified Tandoori-ish recipe title. Hence, what you see above.

Soooo...you take some chicken parts (thighs or breasts are best - this isn't really a wing-friendly sauce). Pour a delicious bath for them that consists mainly of plain yogurt (the good, full-fat, ideally Greek/Balkan kind) and Indian hot curry paste. If you want to get a little fancy, add some garlic, ginger, cilantro, and lime juice to the marinade. Serve with rice. Now I'm not saying this would wow the chefs at Lahore Tikka House or nothing, but it's a good, flavourful, Indian-ish dish.

"Tandoori" for Lazy People

All flatware courtesy of Dollarama.

6 chicken thighs/3 chicken breasts, boneless skinless (thighs are better, frankly, and cheaper - and harder to overcook)
1 cup of plain yogurt, preferable Balkan/Greek, the thicker the better
2 tbsp Indian curry paste (I use Patak's Hot)
juice of 1 lime
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 chunk of ginger, grated (I use the small holes of my regular cheese grater - wash grater properly after to avoid ginger cheese; also, don't worry about peeling ginger - total waste of time)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Stir together all the ingredients in a big bowl or casserole dish. (If you're going to grill the chicken, see below, reserve a few tablespoons of the sauce to glaze with toward the end of grilling). Add the chicken last to make sure the sauce ingredients are well incorporated. If you have the time, marinate the chicken in the sauce for up to 4 hours before you cook. But don't worry if you don't have time - there's enough flavour in the dish to skip marinating altogether if it's not doable.

Pop the casserole dish with chicken in it directly into the preheated oven. It took about 30 minutes to cook, but it will depend. It might seem quite liquidy, but not to worry...the liquid will keep the chicken moist and you can spoon it over the delicious basmati rice that you serve it with. To assess whether chicken is done, you're supposed to see if the 'juices run clear'. I find this highly difficult sometimes. So, I do it the old-fashioned way, and pick up a thigh, cut into the middle, and see whether it's pink. If it's pink, stick it back in the oven, until it's not. Foolproof.

You could also barbecue the chicken if that suits your fancy. If you do, drain the chicken of most of the marinade before placing on the grill. Grill over a fairly low heat for about 20 to 30 minutes, glazing with the reserved sauce towards the end of cooking.

Again, I served mine with basmati rice. Which I friggin' love. I also made a snappy little cucumber salad by doing the following:  I diced up half a cucumber, then picked some mint from the garden, (mint is crazy easy to grow and will provide you with plenty of mojito inspiration all summer) sliced that up finely and added to the cucumber. Then I sprinkled over a bit of lime juice, a bit of fish sauce*, and about half a teaspoon of brown sugar. Super delicious and dead easy.

*Everyone, in my humble opinion, should have fish sauce in their fridge. I use it constantly. It usually comes in giant bottles, but don't fear, it pretty much never goes bad. Likely because it sort of smells like it's already gone bad? It's basically fermented anchovies. But don't let that dissuade you. Seriously! It's awesome in curries, salads, and stir-frys, just to name a few. I know it sounds unseemly (who wants a sauce made of fish), but I swear to you it will become your secret ingredient, if only you'll let it.