Quinoa pongal with Minty Coriander chutney

Pongal is one of the usual breakfast in Tamilnadu (one of the South Indian states). I have to admit I used to hate pongal, the reason being it was just cooked rice and split mung bean with loads and loads of clarified butter (ghee) and pepper. My mum always had to make something else cos I was adamant not to eat it. Since last May/so, I have reduced my intake of rice substituting it with world's yummiest grain, Quinoa :) Came back from work yesterday and all I wanted was quinoa and lentils. I was going through my paati's (granny) recipes I saw a non-vegan version of pongal. The Einstein part of my brain was so active I decided to make vegan quinoa pongal.

If you have a pressure cooker, this is really easy to make. Else, use a heavy-lid pan to make it.

Ingredients- Serves 3 (on a portion control diet)

• Quinoa-3/4 cup


• Split yellow mung bean-3/4 cup


• Cashews-10


• Curry leaves-10


• Pepper-coarsely ground-3 Tbsp (lesser if you want less spicier effect)


• Mustard seeds (2 tsp) Cumin seeds (1 tsp)


• Ginger grated- 1.5 Tbsp


• Rice bran oil-2 Tbsp


• Asafoetida-a pinch


• Turmeric- 1 tsp


• Salt-to taste

Method:

• Pressure cook/Cover and cook quinoa and lentils with 3.5-4 cups of water.


• Next step is to season it. In a pan, add oil,heat it,add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves, turmeric, cashews, wait for it to be about brown, add ginger and pepper and pour it over the quinoa and lentil mixture.


• Add salt and mix them well. Serve with chutney

Minty Coriander chutney

Ingredients:

• Mint leaves-2 handfuls


• Coriander leaves-2 handfuls


• Ginger-a small piece


• Coconut (fresh/frozen)-1/4 cup


• Garlic-one pod


• Tamarind paste-1/2 tsp


• Oil-a tsp


• Cumin seeds-1 tsp


• Curry leaves-7


• Green chili-1


• Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp

Method

• In a pan, add mint and coriander leaves fry them until they shrink under heat, turn off the flame,let it cool and blend it with green chili, ginger, garlic, coconut, tamarind, salt.


• In a pan, add oil, heat it and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, cury leaves and pour them over the chutney

South Indian Quinoa Feast

I was talking to Celeste(Honk a vegan blog) about quinoa and I have been craving for south Indian food. So was time to put 1 and 1 together and create magic. Made coconut quinoa and lemon quinoa with green peas coconut stir fry. :) Thom(Don't Switch off the light blog) has been such an inspiration to make Lemon quinoa.

Coconut Quinoa

Ingredients:

• Coconut-1/4 cup-fresh/frozen(thawed)(not desiccated one)


• Cooked white quinoa-1 cup


• Curry leaves-1 sprig


• Mustard seeds-1 tbsp


• Split, de-husked black lentils (ask for split urad dal in indian grocery)-1 tsp (OPTIONAL)


• Asafoetida-1 pinch


• Cashews-6/7 (halved) (OPTIONAL)


• Green chili-1 [or more for spicy option-My lips were on fire today as I accidentally bit one :( ]


• 2 tsp rice bran oil


• Salt-to taste

Method:

• In a pan, add oil, once very hot, add mustard seeds, asafotida, cashews, wait until it is about to turn brown, add curry leaves, green chili, and urad dal, once it browns, add quinoa, salt and coconut and mix them until well mixed.


• Serve with any spicy curry :)

Lemon Quinoa (Inspired by: Thom)

Ingredients:

• Lemon juice-to taste


• Cooked white quinoa-1 cup


• Curry leaves-1 sprig


• Mustard seeds-1 tbsp


• Turmeric-1 pinch


• Peanuts-6/7 (halved) (OPTIONAL)


• Green chili-1


• 2 tsp rice bran oil

Method:

• In a pan, add oil, once very hot, add mustard seeds, peanuts, wait until it is about to turn brown, add curry leaves, green chili, and urad dal, once it browns, add quinoa, salt and mix them until well mixed. Take it off heat and add lemon juice to your taste. Quinoa is extra sensitive to lemon so I suggest you add them little by little and do a taste test.


• Serve with any spicy curry. Thanks for the inspiration Thom :)

Coconut green peas stir fry

Ingredients:

• Coconut-1/4 cup-fresh/frozen(thawed)(not desiccated one)


• Green peas-1 cup


• Curry leaves-1 sprig


• Mustard seeds-1 tbsp


• Asafoetida-1 pinch


• Chili powder-1 tsp


• 1 tsp rice bran oil


• Salt-to taste

Method:

• In a pan, add oil, once very hot, add mustard seeds, asafoetida,  curry leaves, green peas,salt, chili powder and fry until soft, add coconut and fry until coconut turns slightly brown. Goes well with both the recipes above :)

Kale Quinoa cooked Moroccan style

Had baby kale and boiled black-eyed beans sitting in my fridge looking at me saying "Add us together" and I did put them together with quinoa. Cooked them in Moroccan style. Was yum.

Ingredients 

• Red quinoa- cooked 1 cup


• Red onion-1-finely chopped


• Baby Kale-a handful


• Moroccan seasoning - 1 tbsp


• Boiled black eyed beans - 1 handful


• Coconut-1 tbsp


• 1 tsp oil


• 1 tsp cumin or mustard seeds


• Few curry leaves (optional)


• Salt- to taste


• Lemon juice- from half lemon

Method

• Cook red quinoa without salt.


• In a pan, add 1 tsp oil, add cumin/mustard seeds and curry leaves and add the onions in.


• Once they are soft, add kale and boiled black eyed beans, the Moroccan spices, coconut and stir them until it is dry.


• Add the red quinoa in, add salt, mix them well. Take it off heat and add half a lemon juice.

Dahl Quinoa

Dahl/Dal is a vegetarian Indian curry made from lentils. There are numerous ways to make Dahl with different types of lentils. Lentils is one of the most important source of protein for vegans, so I make sure I eat at least dahl twice a week. With Quinoa, it is protein times 2. :) Best for lunch boxes and dahl could be used like a dressing with salad.

Ingredients 

• Split black lentils-3/4 cup


• Yellow lentils-1/2 cup


• Red onion-1-finely chopped


• Tomato-1,ginger-a small piece, garlic-2 pods- blend them together


• Turmeric-1/2 tsp


• Chilli powder-1/2 tsp


• Sambar powder- 2 heaped tsp


• Coriander leaves-a hanful chopped


• Salt-to taste


• Lemon juice-optional-1/2 lemon


• Rice bran oil- 2 tsp


• Cloves-2, Cinnamon stick-1 small stick,  cardamom-1, cumin seeds-1 tsp


• Quinoa cooked -1/2 cup

Method

• Pressure cook split black lentils, yellow lentils without salt


• In a pan, oil, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, cumin seeds, once they splutter, add onion, bit salt, water to fry the onions brown.


• Add the blended tomato paste, turmeric, chilli powder and sambar powder, fry until tomato is fully cooked. Add the cooked lentils onto this and mix them well and let it cook for 4-5 mins.


• Add coriander leaves in. Remove off heat and add lemon juice


• Mix with quinoa and enjoy :)

Serves:2-3 people

Protein quinoa pilaf cooked Indian style

Found this recipe in one of my diaries and I knew immediately what was going into my lunch box tomorrow. The actual version of it had rice instead of quinoa and had the title "Chickpea Groundnut High protein pulao". Very much Indian ;) Pulao/Pulav is how any rice that is flavored in termed as. I thought of making this recipe in brown rice but decided to go with organic red quinoa. Heavenly. Ended up having a small portion of it for dinner.

Ingredients 

• Quinoa-1 cup cooked with 3 cups water (My quinoa consumed water like a sponge.. Try with 2 cups of water and add as required)


• Dried Chickpeas,dried Peanuts,dry peas-a handful each-soaked overnight-pressure cooked without salt


• Onion-1 small finely chopped


• Tomato-1, Ginger-a small piece, Garlic-1 pod-blend them together


• Dry chilli powder-1/2 tsp ( is way too low compared to normal Indian spicy limit)


• Channa masala (Spice from Indian grocery) - 2 tsp


• Garam masala-1/2 tsp


• Dry fenugrek leaves (ask for dry methi in an Indian grocery)-1/2 tsp


• Coriander leaves - a handful


• Clove-2, Cinnamon-a small stick, Cardamom-1 pod, Bay leaf-1,cumin seeds-1 tsp,curry leaves-1 strand(optional)

Method

• In a pan, add 1 and 1/2 tsp oil, add cloves, cinnamon,cardamom,bay leaf,cumin seeds,curry leaves and wait for them to roast, add onions, salt, fry, when ever you feel oil is necessary, add water and fry the onions.


• Once onion turns brown, add the blended tomato paste, fry for a minute, toss in turmeric, dry chilli powder, channa masala, garam masala, salt and fry until tomato loses it's raw smell. Add 1/2 to 3/4 cup water and add all the cooked lentils, add dry fenugrek leaves and let it boil for a 3-4 minutes. Add coriander leaves and let it become semi-dry curry and add cooked quinoa, add more salt and mix them well :)

Serves: 2 people

Healthy Quinoa Crepe

Healthy quinoa crepe

 Ingredients

• White/Red Quinoa-1 cup


• Brown rice- 1.5 cup


• Urad dal - 1 cup


• Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp

Method

• Soak them all together for 8 hours


• Grind them together with water to a fine consistency. It is okay if it is not watery enough for crepe. You could add water when you make them


• Make sure you let it ferment overnight on a table and in the morning take out needed quantity for crepe, add water and pour the batter over hot griddle, spray olive oil and make sure you cook both sides.


• The softest crepe you would have ever eaten in your life :)

Serves:5-6 people 

Quinoa Mudajjara

Quinoa Mujaddara

A variation of Mujaddara, a mediterranean dish with a twist. Rice has been substituted with quinoa, which is way healthier than rice due to it's high protein,fibre, iron and calcium.

Ingredients

• Brown Lentils-1/2 cup


• Quinoa-1/4 cup


• Red onion-1 small - finely chopped


• Cumin seeds-1 tsp;


• Cinnamon stick-1 inch


• Coriander powder-1 tsp


• Chilli powder-1 tsp


• Cumin powder-1 tsp


• Coriander leaves-1 strand(optional)


• Sea salt-to taste


• Rice bran oil-1 tbsp

Method

• Soak lentils for 2 hours in hot water and boil the lentils with no/very less salt. Keep it aside


• Boil quinoa separately (2.5 water:1 quinoa - Bring water to boil before adding quinoa to it). Add it to lentils. Mix them together and add bit of sea salt.


• In a sauce pan, heat oil, add cumin seeds & cinnamon stick, and after 5 seconds, add the chopped onions, coriander powder, chilli powder, cumin powder and fry them. If you feel oil is too less for onions, add more oil/add salt and sprinkle water to brown them.


• Once the onions turn brown, add the boiled quinoa and lentils , salt and saute them until you reach the right consistency. ( you will know when it starts to stick to the pan).


• Garnish with coriander leaves

Serves:2 people