I got tired of eating Dr. Praeger's burger patties. I wanted to make something from scratch and not just warm up a frozen dinner. I had dry Kidney Beans at home, so I put them in a slow cooker last night and thought I'd try making either meatballs or  burger patties. I have these with onions and yogurt on the side. Or you if like extra spicy sauce, you can try Sirachi or chili garlic sauce!

Ingredients:
1 15 oz. (425g) can of kidney beans
1-2 green chilis
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp grated ginger
1-2 tsp red chili powder
salt to taste
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp lemon juice
1 cup ricotta
1/4 cup roasted sliced almonds & pine nuts
1 cucumber
1 tomato
cilantro




Mash the kidney beans first.
Then add green chili, garlic powder, ginger, red chili powder, cumin seeds, salt and lemon juice. Mix together.
Refrigerate for 2 hours.





Take some of the mixture in your hand and press flat.
 Place about 1 tbsp of the ricotta, almond & pine nut mixture in the center. And press the sides around the ricotta filling and roll into a ball.

If the mixture is not firm and you are having a hard time rolling the balls, try adding a baked potato to the mixture and then roll into a ball.


Once all the meatballs are rolled, dip in breadcrumbs and bake in the oven 350 degrees until golden brown (about 15-20 minutes).

Another alternative is heat oil in a pan. Dip the meatballs in flour and fry.







To plate, I used cucumber slices, tomato slices, cilantro and leftover almonds and pine nuts to garnish with some sirachi sauce. Here's the finished look!