How to improve this culinary creation?

I'm my on going efforts to incorporate more sardines in our diet, I've had a go at a creation.

I boiled some lentils with some mung beans. About 3 parts mung, 1 part lentils. I added turmeric and some cumin seeds, and the juice of one lemon, and enough water to cook the lentils without turning it into soup.

Once cooked, I left it to cool and lose some excess moisture, leaving a fairly stiff dough.

I then mixed in a tin of sardines, and mashed it all together. I then shaped it into patties.

In the name of science, I made 4 large ones (the size of small burgers) and 4 much smaller ones (about walnut size). I cooked 2 of the large ones and 2 of the small ones in the wok, shallow frying. The others went under the grill.

I preferred the texture of the grilled ones. Wife preferred the fried ones. We both agree that flavour is fine in both cases, they tasted too dry.

So the goal is to make them taste moist and juicy, while maintaining a texture that holds together, like a burger or falafel or such.

Constraints are no meat other than tinned sardines. Only ingredients that are exceptionally good for us, ideally high in protein or vitamins or good fat, while low in carbs or bad fat.

 

Sweat some sliced onions down until they reach a light to medium brown colour and add that to the mix.
Or add some steamed spinach that has had the excess moisture well and truly squeezed out.

 

I think I read somewhere that some mascarpone cheese makes a more moist burger

 

If it is a "proper" burger just use meat with a higher fat content.
As far as mascarpone with cumin and sardines goes I'm not too sure

 

Cannot honestly say the concept screams at me: nom-nom-nom! Although, cumin and fish together is, in essence ... curried fish?

Maybe you simply didn't add enough liquid to your lentils, especially when you describe it as

. I would begin there, adjusting your liquid levels first, before adding extras.

 

@"M", when I say a still dough, I mean just stiff enough to hold a shape long enough for me to get it in the pan and start sealing it.

One think I am going to do next time is increase the ratio of sardines to other ingredients. The effect I'm aiming for is kind of a sardine burger, where the lentils and any other ingredients are really there to provide enough starch to bind it to hold the shape.

 

Cover with 'light' mayonnaise and serve with juicy 'reduced fat' (oven) chips.