I remember the conversation like it was yesterday.
husband: You’ve just got to try these!
me: What are they?
husband: She calls them Bombay sliders. They’re Indian!
me: After a bite… You do realize there’s mayonnaise in them, right?
My husband hates mayonnaise. Or, I should say, he thinks he hates mayonnaise. He was raised on Miracle Whip, which I find inferior to real, good mayonnaise. But he will forever assume that all mayo tastes like Miracle Whip. For years, I’ve been banned from using this substance.
The above conversation took place years ago at a food and wine event in Park City, Utah. My husband had come across a woman at a booth handing out Bombay sliders, and just knowing that they were Indian, he accepted one and ate it. And went back for another, completely ignoring the creamy sauce.
I went to the woman’s booth and asked her about these Indian-inspired turkey sliders, cause they were wonderful. She told me she found the recipe on Epicurious.com, and that I could, too. At this moment I don’t remember if the woman was a representative of a turkey company, or something else. But I did go home and look up the recipe, and there was the mayonnaise – not only as the base for the curry sauce, but also in the sliders themselves.
We’re not a big sandwich family, but occasionally, just for fun, I will make these. First of all, sliders are just cute and fun. And, these days, you can actually purchase slider buns at the grocery store. But most of all, if you love all flavors Indian, you’ll truly enjoy these little sandwiches.
Unfortunately, I can’t find the original recipe on Epicurious.
Bombay Sliders
sauce:
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup Greek yogurt or sour cream
2 teaspoons good curry powder, to taste
1/2 teaspoon salt
sliders:
Makes 8-10 sliders
1 pound ground pork
1 pound 2 ounces ground turkey
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/3 cup sliced green onions
1/4 cup mayonnaise
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 piece, 1″ square, of ginger, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Slider buns, toasted on both insides using butter or oil
For the sauce:
Firstly, mix together all of the ingredients for the sauce; set aside. If you’re wary of curry powder, start with 1 teaspoon and taste first.
For the sliders:
Place the pork and turkey in a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients. Mix everything together using your hands, but don’t overmix.
Make uniform-sized burgers with the pork-turkey mixture to fit into the slider buns. I weighed mine at 4 ounces each.
Heat a griddle over high heat. Add a little olive oil. Cook the burgers on the first side for about 3-4 minutes. They should be gently browned. Then turn them over, reduce the heat slightly, and continue cooking them for about 5-6 minutes. These times will vary, of course, depending how thick your burgers are.
Place the burgers on a serving platter, and continue with the remaining meat. To serve, place the warm burgers on a room temperature bun, and top with the sauce.
I always serve extra sauce as well, because the combination is just so good. (It’s a great dipping sauce!)
You can use meat, like lamb, or any ground meat combination for these sliders.
I prefer burgers are a little pink in the middle. That way they’re nice and moist.
Note: I’d published this slider recipe way back when, but had to re-do the photos!