A mouth-watering delicious Indian-inspired vegetarian burger recipe that will make you so happy. It is inspired by the Mcdonald's India burger that I wish I got here in the USA so I made it myself. A crispy paneer patty filled with cheese that is air fried and coated in a tikka masala sauce in a burger bun- tell me that sounds awesome right?! If you are a paneer lover this is a burger you need in your life! The flavors of the tikka masala sauce add so much to this recipe especially paired with a brioche bun! It’s like the fusion love child of a veggie burger and paneer. You need to make these and see for yourself how good they are.

Happy Cooking!

Servings: 3 burgers

Prep Time: 15-20 mins

Cooking Time: 40-45 mins

Total Time: 1.5 hours

Ingredients: 

Tikka masala sauce: 

• 2 tbsp vegetable/peanut oil

• 1 tsp cumin seeds

• 2/3 cup chopped onions

• 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste

• 1.5 tsp Turmeric powder

• 2 tsp red chili powder

• 3/4 tsp cumin powder

• 1/4 tsp garam masala

• A pinch of cinnamon powder

• Salt to taste

• 2 tbsp tomato paste

• 6-7 tbsp cashews

• 1/2 cup yogurt

• 3/4th-1 cup milk

• 1/4 cup heavy cream

• 1/4 tsp sugar

• 1/2 tbsp kasturi methi

Crispy Paneer:

• 360-400g Paneer cut into 6 thin squares, that fit inside the burger bun 

• 3 cheese slices 

• 1 cup breadcrumbs 

Assembly:

• 1 tbsp Coriander chutney 

• 2 tbsp Mayonnaise

• 3 Burger buns

• 3 leaves of lettuce

• 3 rings cut from a red onion

Directions: 

1. Tikka masala Sauce: In a pan, add 1-2 tbsp oil.

2. Add chopped onion and cumin seeds. Let it cook for 3-4 mins till the onions are translucent.

3. Add ginger garlic paste and cook it for 2-4 mins till fragrant.

4. Add the dry spices- turmeric, chili, cumin, cinnamon, garam masala, and salt and mix them in.

5. Add the tomato paste and cook it well so that there is no raw taste, about 3-5 mins.

6. Add cashews and mix them in.

7. Add the yogurt and milk and cook till it slightly thickens.

8. Let it cool and grind into a fine paste.

9. Add salt as per taste, sugar, crushed kasturi methi, and heavy cream. Your tikka masala is ready. It should be a nice flowy texture. Keep aside.

10. Crispy Paneer: Preheat the air fryer to 390F or the oven to 425F. I recommend using the airfyer. If you are using an oven line a baking tray with parchment paper, and if you are using an air fryer, line the basket/tray with parchment paper. If you want to pan fry it or your paneer is too soft - check notes.

11. Make sure your paneer doesn’t have too much water content. I like to press it between two paper towels to soak up the water.

12. Take a cheese slice and measure it to the size of the paneer squares.

13. Place a cheese slice on a paneer slice and sandwich it close with another paneer slice. Be careful while handling the paneer slices, as they are thin so are fragile.

14. Dip the paneer in the tikka masala gravy and cover it all over with a thin layer.

15. Coat the paneer in breadcrumbs ensuring all sides are covered.

16. Spray oil over the coated paneer and cook till they are crispy. If you are using the air fryer cook them at 390F for 8-12 mins, flipping it midway and spraying oil on the flipped side too. If you are using the oven cook at 425F for 8-12 mins flipping it midway and spraying oil on the flipped side too.

17. While the paneer is crisping up in a bowl mix the mayonnaise and coriander chutney and keep aside.

18. Once the paneer is crisped let it cool for 2-3 mins before handling so it is easier to handle.

19. Dip the paneer in the tikka masala gravy making sure it is coated all over.

20. Heat up the burger buns. I like to spray or spread some butter on the buns as they heat up.

21. Assembly: On the bottom bun spread some of the chutney-mayo mixture.

22. Top it with a lettuce leaf.

23. Place the tikka-masala coated crispy paneer over the lettuce.

24. Place a slice of onion ring over it and sandwich it close with the top of the bun.

25. The burger is ready! Serve with your favorite burger sides like fries or onion rings.

26. I have had this burger cold and it was quite enjoyable!

Notes/Tips:

• I recommend air frying the paneer to get it more crispy than baking.

• You can make the tikka masala sauce from before and keep it in the refrigerator.

• For a video of the tikka masala sauce click here.

• For a video and recipe for homemade coriander chutney click here.

• Brioche buns pair the best with this recipe.

• Be careful while handling paneer it is very fragile when thin.

• If you want to pan fry make a flour slurry with all purpose flour and water and dip the paneer cheese sandwich in it and then in breadcrumbs. Then you can pan fry it. Skip dipping it in the tikka masala sauce - directly dip it in the flour slurry.

• If your paneer is tooo soft and doesn’t hold its shape, use the flour slurry as a base if you need.