Broccoli Quinoa And Bean Fritters

This week I am doing my bookmarked recipes from my BM partner, Mireille’s space. She has some amazing recipes and it was quite a task for me to shortlist what I was going to make. This recipe for Broccoli Quinoa And Bean Fritters caught my eyes right after she had posted it. I am always on the lookout for recipes using whole grain and when I saw this one with Quinoa, I wanted to try it right away. I initially thought of making it as a complete dinner by making this as a burger patty, but decided to go low carb and hence used it as a finger food. I made small cutlet sized patty and pan fried them. I did modify the recipe a bit and used some Indian spices. I also used some spicy cheeses to bring some heat into the dish.

Preparation time – 15 minutes
Cooking time – about 40 minutes
Difficulty level – easy
Recipe adapted from – Mireille

Ingredients to make Broccoli Quinoa And Bean Fritters – (makes about 30 medium cutlets or 20 large ones)

• Quinoa – ½ cup
• Black beans – 1 15 oz can
• Garbanzo beans/chick peas – 1 15 oz can
• Broccoli – about 7 oz
• Cheese (any combination of 2-3) – about1/2 cup (I used habanero cheddar and jalapeno Muenster)
• Crushed red pepper – 1 tsp (adjust based on your spice level)
• Garam masala – 1 tsp
• Dhaniya Jeera powder – 1 tsp
• Salt – to taste) be careful when adding salt since cheese has salt in it)
• Oil – to pan fry the fritters

Procedure –

• Wash the quinoa well and then cook it in about 1 cup of water until all the water is absorbed and the quinoa looks fluffy.

• Steam the broccoli florets and then keep them aside. Rinse the canned beans and keep them ready as well.
• In a food processor bowl, add the beans and the broccoli and coarsely grind them to a paste.

• Transfer this mixture to a large bowl and then add the cooked quinoa and then rest of the ingredients (except oil). Combine everything with your hand to form a thick mixture.

• Make patties with this mixture and then layer them on a baking sheet. I made flat ones and cylindrical ones. Refrigerate this mixture for about an hour. At this stage you could also freeze the shaped patties and then pan fry them when needed.

• Heat a heavy skillet and add about a tsp of oil to coat the surface. Lay the chilled patties and let them cook evenly on the all the sides. Add more oil as needed to fry the fritters.

• Remove the fritters on a baking sheet and then bake them for additional 5-7 minutes (rotating once in-between) at 300 F. This step is optional but helps to crisp up the patties.
• Serve the Broccoli Quinoa And Bean Fritters with any dipping sauce. My kids ate it with ketchup for their dinner and loved it.