Fried and Prejudice

From buttermilk and breadcrumbs to spicy Korean sauce and kosher pickles, chefs like to get creative while rustling up a burger for their cheat meal days

When it comes to burgers, the options for what you can slip between the breads is almost limitless. In an interview, Jerry Murrel of Five Guys Burgers and Fries, an American fast casual restaurant, said his favourite burger is just a plain hamburger with nothing but raw onions. Even if they often cook fancy dishes at their restaurants, chefs make no apologies for liking what they like. Just a head’s up: their descriptions are likely to leave you hungry.

‘I like extra spice’
Neelam Singh, founder and chef, The Burger Company

I like my burger with a crisp and  delicious patty, topped with melted cheddar cheese, crunchy iceberg and super hot bhut jolokia sauce. Unlike regular red chilli, the spiciness in that sauce has a different kick to it. I believe my taste [for burgers] has evolved over the years. As a child, I liked it simple—patty, veggies, cheese and a bun. However, it also felt incomplete to a certain degree. As I grew older, I kept experimenting. Back then, there was limited access to exotic  ingredients. Sometimes, I used bread instead of a burger bun. The patty was made with leftover sabji my mum made. Experimenting with usual and unusual ingredients led me to my current favourite.

‘In the US, our burgers are called sandwiches’
Chef Freny Fernandes, founder and chef, Moner

In India, burgers are usually made from chicken patties, which is weird because when I went to the US they called them sandwiches. Only a ground beef patty is called a hamburger. And the best I’ve ever had was in NYC—dry-aged beef, Muenster cheese, and lots of caramelised onion! I try to replicate that whenever I really want to eat a burger but instead of the dry-aged beef I have to go with a regular lamb patty! I also dig the buttermilk fried chicken burger. It’s made by marinating the chicken for 12 hours in buttermilk before covering it with breadcrumbs and deep-frying it. I layer it with sriracha aioli, pickles, Romaine lettuce, and onions.

‘Marinate chicken with peri peri overnight’
Darshan Desai, founder, Hashtag ONE

Pic/Shadab Khan

A burger should be fun. Classic burgers sometimes miss this element and heavily focus only on the meat. I prefer making mine with a zing of flavour that blends perfectly with the meat.  My first experimental burgers were in my university student accommodation, where I marinated a chicken breast with peri-peri sauce overnight and added whatever I could find in my fridge [olives, baby spinach, cheddar cheese]. It’s still my comfort burger, and I suggest readers try it too. I make it once or twice a week, on a cheat day or to reward myself for completing a task. At HashtagONE, I’ve created the TruffleEddy burger which has a truffle edamame patty, and Seoulful burgers slathered with  tobanjan, a spicy Korean sauce.

‘I top it with brie cheese and bacon jam’
Chef Vicky Ratnani, founder and chef, Speak Burger

I like a well-toasted brioche bun, lightly buttered spread with a sharp French mustard mayo topped with crunchy fresh lettuce, juicy fat slices of tomato, grilled onions, kosher pickles topped with juicy charcoal grilled patty of meat topped with brie cheese and bacon jam. There are layers of flavour and texture in every bite.

‘Being Parsi, I add farcha and cutlets’
Chef Arnez Driver, head chef, La Poz Place

A burger to me is like a piece of art. It has to have its own personality. The burger should also have several textures —the softness of the buns, oozing creamy spread, the juiciness of the bulging patty, crunch and freshness of the lettuce. Each bite should have all these elements combined.

Being Parsi, I predominantly eat bread at home, therefore, cutlets, farcha, patties and omelettes are plopped between bread with a spread of cheese, mayonnaise and green chutney, along with vegetables. Mind you, there’s never a clean way to eat this. Allow the sauce to drop down your hands, crumbs on the table and on your face. I consume this delicacy at least twice a week. I think, slowly and steadily, I’m beginning to look like a burger myself.

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