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9-Year-Old Indian Girl In US Wins Michelle Obama's Cooking Challenge With Her 'Garam Masala Quinoa Burger'

This 9-Year-Old Indian Girl's 'Garam Masala Quinoa Burger' Just Won Her A Cooking Challenge By Michelle Obama

A 9-year-old Indian girl from Illinois has won a healthy eating challenge in the United States of America with her 'Garam Masala Quinoa Burger with Raita', a dish she makes often to take to school for lunch.

"I have watched my mom and grandma make all sorts of delicious food in the kitchen with an Indian twist since I was born," Shreya Patel was quoted as saying in Let's Move, a programme developed by US First Lady Michelle Obama to address childhood obesity.

"I have been helping them cook since I was three. I love to mix, measure, chop, and even clean up afterwards. My grandma and I came up with this recipe together because we both love sandwiches. We make this recipe often to take to school for lunch or even on picnics with friends," she said.

Obama recently hosted a Healthy Lunchtime Challenge to promote cooking and healthy eating among America's young people. The challenge invited kids ages 8-12 to join a parent or guardian in creating an original recipe that is healthy, affordable, and delicious, according to the Let's Move website.

Among 1,000 entries submitted, 55 winning recipes were selected "based on their healthfulness, taste, originality, affordability". On July 10, the kids and a parent or guardian joined the First Lady for the 'State Dinner,' featuring a selection of the winning recipes.

There was one winner from each US state, territory, and the District of Columbia. Patel's burger was the winning recipe from the state of Illinois.

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked garbanzo beans

½ cup cooked quinoa

¼ cup chopped kale

¼ cup peeled and chopped onion

1 small boiled potato

½ teaspoon garam masala

½ teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon peeled and grated fresh ginger

1 garlic clove, peeled and minced

¼ teaspoon grated serrano chile pepper

¼ cup panko breadcrumbs

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ cup Greek yogurt

¼ cup grated cucumber

4 whole-wheat buns

Sliced tomatoes

Baby spinach leaves

Preparation:

Coarsely chop the garbanzo beans in a food processor or by hand. In a large bowl, combine the chopped garbanzo beans with the quinoa, kale, onion, potato, garam masala, cumin, ginger, garlic, serrano chile pepper, and breadcrumbs. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir the mixture thoroughly and form into 4 round patties

In a large sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the patties and cook, flipping once, 5 minutes per side, or until brown and crispy.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the yogurt and cucumber. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To assemble the sandwiches, place the patties on the whole-wheat buns, and top with the raita, tomato, and spinach leaves.

379 calories; 11g fat; 58g carbohydrates; 15g protein

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.