Vegan Haggis Burgers aka patties

I had some vegan haggis leftover from the weekend. I would have been tempted to follow in the footsteps of fellow blogger Johanna GGG and made some cheesy Haggis nachos for light snacking. But I already had plans for the leftovers in my head. I had already decided on making some vegan haggis burgers, or as some people would them - patties. Its been awhile since I've had a good veggie burger, in fact I can't remember the last time. So this was a good opportunity to make some.

Instead of enveloping my veggie haggis burgers in between two bread buns or a pitta bread, these were served with some Brussels Sprouts hash. The Brussels sprouts hash was excellent, but more about that later.
The burgers were substantive, with bite and chew from the lentils. Golden and crisp on the outside and light and soft on the inside. So much superior than those carpet tile processed burgers found at supermarkets. And just look at them, so much prettier and colourful.
The ingredients are exactly the same as the vegan haggis, the only addition is cooked kidney beans. These kidney beans were mashed and then combined with the other ingredients. This ensured that the burgers held whilst cooking and flipping in the pan and then transferring in one piece to the plate.

Vegan Haggis Burgers or Patties
Makes 8
Ingredients
50g pinhead oatmeal (soaked for 1 hour)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 large onion, sliced finely
2 teaspoons garam masala
1 tablespoon Tamari
100g chestnut mushrooms, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and grated
100g puy lentils
100g of cooked kidney beans, about 1/2 tin, rinsed and chopped
1x400g tinned cooked kidney beans, drained, rinsed and well mashed
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Sunflower oil for shallow frying
Method
Saute onion, garlic and seasoning in the oil until soft. Add the lentils and carrot and simmer on low heat until the lentils are soft, stirring to prevent sticking. The moisture content of the soaked lentils and carrot should be sufficient, but if not add a very small amount of water. Add the mushroom and allow to soften before adding the chopped kidney beans. Add the drained and rinsed oatmeal. Allow to cool before adding in the mashed kidney beans and combine well. Season to taste. Then shape into 6 - 8 burgers and place in fridge for 30 minutes to firm up before shallow frying in vegetable oil. Fry on both sides until golden. Serve warm.