Chickpea Zucchini Patties

I'll be the first to admit I'm kind of lazy and predictable when it comes to weeknight cooking. I don't like to spend more than an 30-45 minutes getting a meal together and that includes prepwork. So more often than not I end up with the same ol easy to make, put-a-few-things-together-in-a-skillet type meals...  stirfry, pasta, upma, lentil tacos/enchiladas, some kind of veggie curry... etc.  UGH. BORING. I was getting tired of my own predictable dinners so I turned to foodgawker for inspiration.

I came across these easy to create chickpea patties with cucumber, breadcrumbs and  a hint of spice and I thought - What a great way to use chickpeas - in a patty instead of the usual channa masala. I substituted zucchini instead of the cukes and it turned out great.  I had fresh zucchini from the farmers market!  It's also not always that I have all the ingredients for a brand new dish I've never tried but it seemed like all the stars were lined up yesterday...

[originally from Wonderful Joy Ahead]

Ingredients:

-  2 slices whole wheat bread, toasted

-  1/2 large zucchini or 1 small zucchini grated 

-  1/2 cup Greek yogurt

-  2 scallions, sliced thin

-  1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro

-  2 (15 oz) cans chickpeas, rinsed

-  2 large eggs

-  2 tsp good quality extra virgin olive oil

-  1 tsp garam masala

-  1/4 tsp cayenne pepper  (add more if you want spicy!)

-  1/4 cup finely minced red onion

-  3/4 tsp salt

Directions:

1.  Pulse the toasted bread in the food processor till you get crumbs.  Set aside.

2.  Pulse the chickpeas a few times, NOT till pasty but till somewhat mashed. Alternatively, you could use a potato masher too.. so there are a few whole pieces as well. 

3.  In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, olive oil, garam masala, cayenne. Add the scallions, red oinion, yogurt, chickpeas, breadcrumbs, cilantro and zuchhini till everything is nicely combined.

See how easy this is? 

4.  Let the mixture sit in the fridge for 30 minutes till it gets a little firm and easy to form into patties.

5.  Form patties by the handful, roughly.. I don't really rely on any measuring device for such things. LOL.  Nobody said they had to be perfect. :-P

6.  Add a Tbsp of oil to a skillet and cook the patties 3 at a time (or 2 depending on how big your skillet is)  until they are golden brown.  They take about 3 minutes on each side.  You have to replenish the oil as you cook the patties. 

7.  Serve hot with a chutney of your choice --  but since I didn't have any -- I had mine with ketchup or sriracha. 

Healthy and yummy! Enjoy!