Indian-spiced vegetable cakes with chickpeas are packed with bold flavor and wholesome ingredients in each bite! Served with a creamy mint yogurt sauce.
Crisp, flavorful and incredibly simple. These vegetable cakes are going to be your new edible obsession! I’ve been looking for something to satisfy my savory craving but also contained healthier ingredients. One of the easiest ways to pack a whole lot of nutritious ingredients into a dish is by making these Indian-Spiced vegetable patties.
Each of these irresistible veggie cakes is full of chickpeas and bold Indian spices for a satisfying meal! I promise after you take your first nibble of these crunchy cakes with creamy yogurt mint sauce, your taste buds are going to be dancing for joy.
Each of these vegetable cakes is a mixture of shredded carrots, zucchini, fresh garlic, ground chickpeas, and peas. See how the chickpeas are coarsely pureed? I blended them for about 30 seconds. You don’t want it to become a smooth paste-like hummus. You want to keep the texture a little “bumpy”.
The Indian spices are the little extra oomph that makes these vegetable fritters extra yummy. It’s a blend of turmeric, curry, and chili pepper – robust, earthy flavors with a little kick of heat!
There are two unique ingredients in these vegetable cakes, oat flour, and flaxseed. The oat flour and ground flaxseed add a nutritional boost for added fiber and omega-3 fatty acids. Together they also help the cakes stick together so that you can form these beautiful vegetable patties.
It’s all about getting that crisp crust on each side. I used a cast iron pan to fry each fritter slightly. However, a stainless steel pan or even a nonstick pan would work great. Since there is no egg in the recipe, once the surface is nice and crunchy on each side, they are ready to eat!
Check out all of those veggies packed into each cake! These fritters have a more dense interior from the chickpeas and fresh vegetables, so they are quite filling. Top each cake with creamy mint yogurt sauce, it’s the perfect complement to the bold Indian spices and chili pepper!
You could serve these vegetable cakes as an appetizer, on top of a bed of lettuce for a salad, or even as a patty for a vegetarian burger! Just make the patties larger if you are going the burger route. I’ve also made super tasty sliders with my other vegetable fritter recipe, it’s got an avocado sauce that is addicting! How will you serve these delicious Indian-spiced vegetable cakes?
Can these vegetable cakes be baked or made ahead of time?
These vegetable cakes can definitely be baked. Line a sheet tray with foil and lightly grease with oil or cooking spray. Bake at 400°F for about 20 to 25 minutes to cook through. To get a crisp top, broil in the center of the oven for about a minute or until golden brown after baking. You can freeze then defrost, or refrigerate and reheat the cakes for meal prepping. It’s always the most crispy fresh from the pan, but reheating is a nice option. Place the cakes on a foil-lined sheet pan and broil in the center of the oven for about 3 to 4 minutes on each side, or until crisp to the touch and warmed through. Keep an eye on the cakes to make sure they don’t get too brown under the broiler!
Vegetable Cakes with Yogurt Dipping Sauce
Ingredients
Yogurt Dipping Sauce
- ½ cup greek yogurt, plain non-fat, or plain nondairy yogurt (soy, rice, coconut)
- 1 tablespoon mint leaves, thinly sliced fresh
- 1 tablespoon green onions, thinly sliced
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
Vegetable Cakes
- 15 ounces chickpeas, 1 can, garbanzo beans
- 1 cup zucchini, grated
- ½ cup carrots, grated
- ½ cup green peas, cooked
- 3 cloves garlic, minced (2 teaspoons)
- ¼ cup oat flour
- 1 tablespoon flaxseed, ground
- ½ teaspoon turmeric, ground
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon chili pepper, optional
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, ghee, or grape seed oil
Instructions
Yogurt Dipping Sauce
- In a small bowl combine yogurt, mint leaves, green onions, salt, and pepper. Taste and season as desired. Refrigerate if not serving immediately.
Vegetable Cakes
- In a food processor or blender, pulse chickpeas until a puree forms, about 30 seconds scraping down as needed. You do not want it to be completely smooth, it should look mashed with some smaller pieces of beans. This will give the fritters some texture.
- In a medium-sized bowl combine ground chickpeas, zucchini, carrots, peas, garlic, oat flour, flaxseed, turmeric, curry, salt, pepper, and chili pepper.
- Measure out 3 tablespoons of the mixture and form a ball with your hands, the mixture should stick together as you press and form it.
- Press down into a ½ -inch thick patty, about 2 ½ to 2 ¾-inches wide. This should yield 8 cakes. Place onto a sheet pan as you make them.
- Heat a large saute or cast iron pan over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of oil and allow to heat.
- Add half of the cakes and cook for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, until golden brown and crispy on the surface. If your pan is large enough, you can cook all 8 at the same time.
- Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel.
- If needed, add another 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan and allow to heat. Cook the rest of the cakes as directed above.
- Serve immediately while still warm with mint yogurt sauce.
Equipment
Notes
- You can substitute garbanzo bean flour, whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, gluten-free flour, coconut flour or almond flour for the oat flour.
Nutrition Facts
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000-calorie diet. All nutritional information is based on estimated third-party calculations. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods, and portion sizes per household.
Jay says
I made these today and they were delicious! I loved the idea of using chickpeas instead of potatoes as the binder as a lot of fritter recipes used it and I wanted to avoid the extra carbs. The tweaks I did was add more curry powder and omit cumin and chili. I also didn’t have any flaxseed or peas on hand. I did add mushrooms.
This is going on our fortnightly rotation. Can’t wait to experiment with other vegetables!
Jessica Gavin says
Thank you for sharing your modifications, sounds tasty!
Sabra Abraham says
This is one of my favorite new recipes. Thank you Jessica!! For my second batch I increased the amount of zucchini (since the garden is producing) and it was just as good, and a bit moister. I love the topping, as I don’t have to feel guilty about eating tons of it.
Jessica Gavin says
Thank you for your feedback! I love that you added more zucchini from your garden, delicious!
Jaybee says
I really cannot thank you enough for this recipe. I made it a bit Indian way but, the idea came from you. I am so happy I stumbled across this blog and is now part of my favorites list. Because the dish I tried with this base idea came out really well and I am forever grateful to you for that.
Sneze says
I made these yesterday for the first time. I mashed the chick pea and left the frozen peas raw. I found the mixture too dry to bind everything together, so I added two eggs. The result was perfect. I’m making my second batch today, as I post this.
Jessica Gavin says
Thank you for your feedback and helpful modification suggestion!
P says
New-ish to cooking. Was looking for recipes for healthy, but tastey snacking that would add some vegetables to my diet.
These were really easy to make. The prep was seamless and straightforward.
I did add a little (1/8 tsp) bit of cumin to give it a stronger flavor. First with cumin seeds in the oil. Then with cumin spice in the mixture. Both were great!
These have a satisfying yet light flavor and texture. Reminds me of falafel.
I would love to try a crispier version that holds together easily. Any suggestions?
Jessica Gavin says
Thank you for trying the recipe and providing feedback! To make the fritters more crispy I think you could coat the outside of the fritter with flour to give it a crust. Or even do a breading with flour, then egg, and then more flour or breadcrumbs, however, fry in a little more oil so that it reaches about 1/3 cup the fritter. Fry until golden and crispy.
Sheridan Morgan says
Thank you for this beautiful recipe. As a family we always discuss whether a new meal is good enough to be repeated, and we all agreed that this was a winner.
Jessica Gavin says
Awww, this made my day Sheridan! I’m so happy that the whole family enjoyed the recipe and that you will be making it again.
Sandra Mavis says
These look delicious! I’m planning for an event for about 40 people at church and it will be a tight schedule…
I’m wondering if I could make up the receipe the day before and cook the patties the morning of the even t (it’s at 12:30)
Jessica Gavin says
Hi Sandra! I think you could prepare and form the uncooked patties the day before. Just place them on a sheet pan, layered in between parchment or wax paper, and cover with plastic wrap of foil, then cook them the next day. You can keep them warm in a 200 degree oven before serving.
Sarah says
Can these be prepared the day before and put in the refrigerator.
Jessica Gavin says
Hi Sarah! I think you could prepare the cakes the day before, but maybe reheat them on a sheet pan in the oven so that they get warm and crisp again. You could either broil them in the center of the oven for a few minutes, keeping a close eye that they do not get too crispy. Or reheat at 350 until warmed through. Please let me know how it goes!
Cecile says
I made these tonight. They are delicious!! The dip is simple and goes well with the cakes 🙂 Thanks ! x
Jessica Gavin says
Yay Cecile! That is so awesome that you enjoyed the vegetables cakes, I love the sauce too 🙂 I’m sure you could put it on more dishes!
Vanessa innes says
Done these the weekend as a appetiser with yoghurt dip my daughters loved them eldest asked me to make more but larger so she can have them on burger roll with salad. Was hoping to freeze some but all went.
Thanks for recipes Jessica fab!!!
Jessica Gavin says
Yay Vanessa! That is so great that your daughters enjoyed the recipe 🙂 Good job!
Peggy Dominie says
These chick pea cakes look wonderful. I will be trying them . I have been sick and trying to get better. Love most of your recipes. Thank you.
Jessica Gavin says
Thank you Peggy! I can’t wait to hear what you think. I hope you feel better soon!
Juliette says
Judy thanks for introducing me to Grocery IQ app. How long have you been using it? I will download onto my phone and think it will be a wonderful help.
Judy says
I have been using it for about 2-3 years. We love it. We can sync it so that the list and additions or subtractions show up on both our phones. You can also store your favorite items so you can grab them off the list and not have to type it in each time.
Judy Caywood says
Oh I have been using it for about 5 years. My husband and I both use and sync it so if we split up at the store we can see what the other has picked up. It’s very nice. Sorry my reply may be quite late. I just now saw your message.
Judy says
This sounds delicious and nutritious. I believe I have all the ingredients except the peas which have a lot a protein and I heard from a friend they use to give them to kids who were anemic so a good thing to add in. Better get this in my Grocery IQ app. Thanks for another great recipe and also a beautiful one.