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I found these Turkish Lamb Burgers in Delicious Magazine and I thought it would make an excellent Sunday grill. Heavy on exotic spices, it is a great way to familiarize with the delights of Turkish cooking. You can either stuff the patties into warm pita bread,  roll the mixture into meatballs and serve with yogurt sauce on the side as a starter or you can just serve them on buns next to mixed salad or pickled green chillies.

Ingredients for the Burgers

– 2 lbs good-quality minced lamb
– 3 garlic cloves, crushed
– 2 medium red onions, finely chopped
– 2 TBSP olive oil
– 1 oz fresh flatleaf parsley leaves, chopped
– 2 TBSP tomato purée
– 2 tsp ground cumin
– 1 tsp ground coriander

Ingredients for the Chutney

– 1/4   cup cider vinegar
– 2 TBSP pure maple syrup
– 1 large garlic clove, minced
– 1 TBSP fresh ginger, finely grated
– 1/2 tsp ground cumin
– 1/8-1/4 tsp dried hot red pepper flakes
– 1 plum tomato, seeded and finely chopped
– 2 TBSP fresh cilantro, chopped

Steps for the Chutney

– boil vinegar, syrup, garlic, ginger, cumin, and red pepper flakes in a small pan until thickened and reduced to about 2 tablespoons for  2 to 3 minutes
– remove from heat and stir in tomatoes
– add salt to taste
– stir in cilantro just before serving

Steps for the Burgers

– mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl and season well.
– shape into 8 even-size burgers, each about 3/4 in thick.
– space out on a tray, cover and let them chill for 1 hour (or couple of hours, in the fridge)
– preheat grill to high before cooking (about 10 minutes)
– grill for 5 minutes on each side
– serve on toasted buns with tomato salad and green salad

Afiyet olsun! (Bon appétit!)