CURRY BURGERS AND RICE

John and I love curry. We wanted to try something different, and with a tight budget we could only afford ground meat. So....I made curry burgers. No need for bread crumbs or eggs, these stay together with all the spices and extras added!!

Items purchased: curry paste (we always have this on hand because we use it a lot, but if you don't you will need to buy a small jar of it), ground beef (about 2.5 pounds to feed everyone), 2 bags of Knorr Sides...cheese and broccoli rice, and kaiser rolls....this recipe also calls for coriander and caraway seeds (I know not everyone keeps these around, we got them with a spice rack we purchased last summer).
Price (minus the 2 extra spices): $$12-15 dollars (add about $5 for a small package of spices)

1.5 pounds ground beef (the other pound I used to make regular burgers for the girls)
3 Tbs of curry paste
2 cloves garlic (diced)
1 onion (diced)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 small palmful of coriander
1 small palmful of caraway seeds
olive oil
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 Tbs worcheshire sauce

In skillet: put enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan, bring to medium/high heat. Put in the onion and garlic (you will want these to get browned and caramelized...will take about 10-15min). Then reduce heat and add caraway seeds, coriander, cumin, and cayenne pepper. If this seems dry, add a small amount of olive oil and stir. Then add curry paste and worcheshire sauce. Warm this only until well mixed. Set aside to cool a bit.

In large bowl mix ground beef, 1 tsp salt and pepper, and garlic powder. Once mixed well, make a small hole in center of beef and add the spice mixture. MIX WELL, meat will turn a nice dark red color (easy to know when it is all mixed in). Then make your patties...we were able to get 6 fist sized patties from this recipe. Do not work the burger too much or you will get chewy burgers. You can cook them right away or cover and place into the fridge for about 30 minutes. Cook burgers to level of doneness you prefer.

We served these on garlic kaiser rolls (with shredded cheddar melted on burgers-it's what we had in the fridge): To make, soften 1/4 stick of butter and mix in garlic salt. Place under broiler (low) for about 10 minutes...keep an eye on them you don't want toast or croutons!!

We served with rice...they were on sale at Shop n Save this week 10 for $10!! Just follow the directions on the package (it takes about 10 minutes to make). You can also serve with Cajun tots: buy a bag of tots and put Cajun seasoning on it. Cook according to directions on package.

The girls had regular burgers: I mix breadcrumbs and the ground meat, salt and pepper and a little garlic powder. Made about 8 burgers. Then serve on regular hamburger buns.