Indian Style Turkey Burgers with Turmeric

There are a lot of things I love about living in a small town.

I love that sitting in traffic means that there are three cars in front of you (No joke; that is our rush hour) I love the fact that all our neighbors are friends and you can’t go to the grocery store, the post office or the feed store without seeing some one you know.

I love that on my morning bike ride past what was once our mountain areas only natural lake and is now a nature preserve, I can watch bay and buckskin horses grazing.

Last week I was on my bike ride via the Baldwin Lake Nature Preserve and I swear I saw the two most gorgeous turkeys in someone’s front yard! I was right at my turn around point, and I was hot and exhausted. I rode seven miles in the middle of the day and that is a lot for me; especially when it is eighty two degrees outside mid day! I was honestly so shocked to see the gorgeous black and white feathered creatures strutting through someone’s front yard that I barely stopped. My boyfriend has lived in this neighborhood for over five years and I’m positive he had no idea there were turkeys just a few miles away! I was anxious to get home and tell him about the turkeys.

When I got home and I was telling him, his daughter and our neighbor about the turkeys and they all kind of looked at me like I was a goof ball. Obviously I was the only one who had ever seen them. The next day I went on the same route on my ride and was hoping to talk to the owners of the turkeys and ask if I could take a picture of them.

I rode all up and down Fairway; no turkeys.

The next day I did this ride again; still no turkeys! I felt like I was completely imagining the turkeys at this point! Was I so hot and exhausted (And possibly hungry) that I had imagined the turkeys?

This morning dawned way cooler than its been the last few days. In the distance I could see thunderstorms rolling in as I climbed on my bike and set off on a wild goose chase ( I mean turkey hunt)

I had just turned around, two miles into my ride and was heading back home when I heard a gobble and saw one of the gorgeous birds just hanging out in the shade in a front yard! Even better, the owner of the bird was also out front doing yard work! I talked to this very nice, friendly neighbor of mine about her beautiful birds (Who were pets, not meals) and got some great, yet a little blurry pictures of the feathered creatures. As I was talking to her the more aggressive of the two male turkeys came up to her for some pets and she told me they actually make great pets and they are very affectionate and even get along well with her cats, dogs and grand children!

I had a great time visiting with my neighbors the turkeys this morning but I’m still not a vegetarian and these Indian inspired turkey burgers are just fantastic!

Indian Style Turkey Burgers with Turmeric and Mango Mayo

1 pound ground turkey

1 tsp coconut oil

1 clove garlic

1 tsp grated fresh ginger

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 a serrano chili, chopped thin

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

Spinach naan or paratha bread

Spinach

1/2 cup mango chutney

3 tablespoons mayonnaise

In the coconut oil brown the garlic and ginger. Add the serrano chili, the curry powder and the turmeric. Mix this seasoning into the ground turkey and form patties.

BBQ these or pan fry with a little bit of coconut oil.

Mix the mango chutney and the mayonnaise.

Toast the naan bread and with a knife add the mango mayo to each slice of bread. Top with a burger, spinach and another piece of bread and serve.