Fusion cuisine can be weird (anybody remembers ?), but sometimes, it feels just right. Enter, the butter chicken burger.
You can find it at Melbourne’s , alongside other Indian fusion burgers and snacks. Payal Bisht and Prasuk Jain opened the restaurant in April, but the idea has been in their heads for a few years. It all started when they made a and curry burger for Jain’s parents, who were visiting from India. “My dad was like, ‘I’m never eating a burger, I want my Indian food’. That’s all he had ever eaten in his life, so we made this and told him it was an Indian burger,” he explains to SBS Food.
The couple serves a version of that burger today at Burger Shurger, but the “Mighty Chicken Burger” is their signature dish: a big piece of fried chicken with , , , lettuce and pickled onions, in a charcoal bun. The sauce has been thickened with cashews so it sits well on the burger, and taste like what you’d find in India, mildly spicy rather than sweet. “In a lot of restaurants here, they put a lot of colouring in it and it’s very sweet. I think they have that perception that Australians don’t like spicy food,” says Bisht.
The brains behind BurgerShurger belong to Prasuk Jain (left) and Payal Bisht. Source: Supplied
The “Keema Pav” is a burger version of the . “We kept the same flavours. We have a pea and mint mash on the base, a lamb masala patty, pickled onions and an egg on top,” says Bisht.
Burger Shurger has also been a big hit with vegetarians. “We didn’t realise how much of a vegetarian crowd we would attract. I’m vegetarian myself and when I eat out, I’ve always wanted to have three or four vegetarian burger options, but usually, there’s only one,” says Prasuk. Here, you have paneer, mushroom, falafel and curried mashed potato burgers. The “Vada Pav” is their take on . They fry curried mashed potato in chickpea batter, then add mint and coriander chutney, sweet and sour tamarind sauce, onions and crispy .
Burger Shurger means “burgers and stuff” so don’t miss out on the other stuff. Fries come in a few different ways, including coated in masala or covered in butter chicken sauce and shredded chicken. We love the “Gobhi 65”, a recent addition to the menu, which sees battered cauliflower deep-fried and tossed in a . The “Pataka Chicken Ribs” also have a kick to them, and Jain says they’d almost make him give up being vegetarian.
Shakes and burgers usually go hand in hand, but Bisht and Jain didn’t think they worked well with Indian flavours so they’re doing craft beer and wine instead.
Don't stop at the burgers. Try one of the spicy sides, like these Pataka Chicken Ribs. Source: Supplied
The couple is not too worried about the proliferation of regular burger joints, as what they’re doing is unique in Melbourne. “There are a lot of young people coming in because they’re adventurous. Some people come because of the craft beer. And some Indian people our age bring their parents so they can have burgers and their parents can have their Indian food,” says Bisht.
297 Glen Huntly Rd, Elsternwick, Vic
Tue – Thu 5:30 pm – 9:30 pm, Fri – Sat 11:30 am – 9:30 pm, Sun 11:30 am – 9 pm
