Ground turkey is studded with shredded zucchini and spiked with curry paste, cilantro, garlic and ginger to create one flavorful patty. You won’t believe how flavorful this Turkey Tikka Burger with Mango Chutney Yogurt Sauce is and those lucky enough to be served one would never guess how quickly they come together.
When Andy was in residency – which seems like forever ago but really was less than 18 months ago – many of his fellow neurosurgery residents were Indian. We were guests at several Indian weddings, which by the way are hands down the most fun!, and along the way discovered which Indian dishes were our favorites. Andy’s hands down fave was chicken tikka. One of the residents uncles actually owned an Indian restaurant in Madison and whenever they went there as a group, they were sure to bring it out for him. Nicest people ever.
As much as we enjoy Indian food, I’m definitely no expert. Instead, I decided to combine all of the flavors of Andy’s favorite dish into something I do consider myself most knowledgeable about – burgers! And these burgers couldn’t be easier. Ground turkey is studded with shredded zucchini and spiked with curry paste, cilantro, garlic and ginger to create one flavorful patty. It’s then topped with fresh cilantro leaves, an amazing Mango Chutney Yogurt Sauce and sliced cucumbers before being sandwiched between two bun halves. You won’t believe how flavorful this burger is and those lucky enough to be served one would never guess how quickly they come together.
Speaking of turkey, last month I was scheduled to road trip with the menagerie to visit Cooper Farms in Mercer County, Ohio. Road trip? To a farm? Absolutely! Especially when this farm was raising the Presidential turkey flock! You know how each year there is a ceremony where the President pardons a lucky turkey each Thanksgiving? This year, that turkey – or rather pair of turkeys – was from Ohio! Ohio actually ranks 9th nationally in the United States in turkey farming producing 219 million pounds of turkey each year.
President Obama celebrated the 67th anniversary of the National Thanksgiving Turkey presentation this year by pardoning two 20-week old, 48-pound turkeys from Cooper Farms that were named Mac and Cheese. These turkeys will now live out their lives at Morven Park in Leesburg, Virginia, the estate of former Virginia governor Westmoreland Davis.
- 2 pounds lean ground turkey
- 2 cups shredded zucchini
- ¼ cup mild curry paste
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 cup mango chutney
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
- cucumber slices
- cilantro
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- In a large bowl, combine all burger ingredients and divide evenly into eight patties.
- Arrange on a parchment or silicone mat lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
- Flip burgers and bake an additional 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, stir together sauce ingredients in small bowl.
- To assemble burger, place patty on bottom half of bun. Top with cilantro leaves, Mango Chutney Yogurt Sauce and sliced cucumbers.
We eat a lot of turkey at our house and I absolutely love knowing that some of that that we consume is from our friends at Cooper Farms. Want to make this recipe even easier? Simply substitute purchased turkey burgers and top them the yogurt sauce instead. The Kirkland brand of turkey burgers found at your local Costco are from Cooper Farms!
Looking for another great turkey recipe?
More great turkey recipes from fellow food bloggers:
Turkey Burgers with Honey Chipotle Cranberry Sauce | Lemons for Lulu
Turkey Parmesan Roll-Ups | basilmomma
I am absolutely drooling over this burger. My husband is from India so I love to add the flavors of his cuisine with food from mine. This is the perfect match up.
This would be the perfection combination for the two of you, Christie!
Melanie, you really should send your readers stacks of napkins before you post delicious burgers like this. My mouth won’t stop watering!
Such kind words, Becca – thank you so much!
I really don’t know much about Indian flavors, that isn’t a cusine we have much of here in Nashville, it is more about fried chicken and collard greens 😉 but these burgers look AMAZING! I definitely have to try them!
You’d never guess I learned about Indian food in Wisconsin, right Annie? LOL Thanks so much for the compliment!
I love how you have combined all those flavors into this burger. I especially like the sound of that sauce and the cucumbers helping to keep that turkey burger moist.
Thanks so much, Pam – this is definitely a great moist burger. I love that my daughters didn’t even suspect that I snuck in extra veggies into their burger. 😉
Ah!! This looks amazing! My husband would love it. I would use my vegetarian burger recipe for myself and top it with your sauce (it really sounds amazing.)
Thanks, Kacey – let me know what you think if you give it a try!
Oh wow, this sounds amazing, Melanie!
Thanks, Julie!
This looks so good! Pinning to my recipes to make (and this is definitely going to be on the short list)!
Thanks so much, David – let me know if you give it a try!
Now this is my kind of burger! Looks SO delicious and that mango chutney sauce has just got me drooling here.
Thanks, Thalia – I love that chutney, definitely a delicious addition!
Great recipe idea. Really liked the addition of shredded zucchini to a turkey burger. Also enjoyed your story about Mac and Cheese and Cooper farms. Happy New Year!
Thanks so much for the kind words, Trevor!
Looks delicious!
Just one question, what kind of mild curry paste do you mean?
Love your recipes, thanks!
Thanks so much, Judith!
For the mild curry paste, it’s in a jar in the Indian section of your local grocer. It’ll note on the jar if it’s mild or hot. Let me know if you need further assistance!
This is such a creative recipe, Melanie! I love tikka but wouldn’t think to add it to a burger. I’m sure this is delicious, and it looks amazing!
I made eight burgers and I think my husband ate 3 at dinner that night – love when I get that vote of confidence!
You were so lucky to get to try so much real Indian food. It is so complex. This tikka looks so good too!.
It definitely was a great learning experience and I loved getting to try real Indian food vs. an Americanized version of it.
These look amazing! I’m absolutely bookmarking this recipe to make it soon… I adore curry and Indian spices in just about anything.
Thank you so much, Mary – let me know what you think if you give it a try!
This sounds amazing – so many fun flavors! Pinned!
Thanks so much, Lindsay!
I’ve been craving a good juicy burger for weeks. Why haven’t I gotten one yet?! I think I’ve found my match, though. This burger looks outta this world amazing, Melanie!
Thanks, Julie – this is definitely a winner at our house. So juicy and delicious – I’m sure you’d love it!
I made these burgers last night and they were DELICIOUS! I forgot to get zucchini, so I subbed some shredded carrot. Thanks for a great recipe. We’ll definitely have these again!
A great substitution, Stephanie! So glad that you enjoyed them!