Red Quinoa with Mixed Vegetables

We have developed a liking for quinoa. This made me try first with the different types. This time, I bought the red qunioa and made this dish. We really liked it. The sauteed vegetables in light olive oil gave it a very good taste and texture to the food. The red quinoa has a mild flavor. This great grain is so healthy and so filling that you can eat guilt free.

Ingredients:

Red quinoa - 1 cup
Zucchini - 1/2 chopped
Tomato - 1 chopped into cubes
Peal onion - 10 Slit into half
Corn - 1/4 cup
Cilantro - 1 tbsps chopped
Lime Juice - 1 tbsps
Salt - to taste

Prepraration:

First cook quinoa with 2 cups water in a pan( you can either pressure cook for one sound or you could cook in a pan keep stirring once in a while to check if its cooked ).

In another pan, heat a tsps of olive oil. Add pearl onions and saute till they are light brown. Add zucchini and fry for another minute.

Add corn and mix for another mintue. Finally add tomato and saute it for another minute. By now all vegetables would have kind of sauteed well. Just sprinkle sufficient salt on top  and add cooked quinoa.

Mix vegetables and quinoa well and just before removing from heat, add lime juice and cilantro. Mix well and remove from heat.

This is a great dish to make in short time. It is filling and a complete meal. You could add more vegetables of your choice.

Sending this to Akheela's Food Platte red event and to Priya of Mhrao Rajasthan's recipe's CWF - Quinoa event

Quinoa (Kheen -Wa) Tabbouleh

Rice is our staple item. My husband and I need rice at least for one meal a day. Due to a signal in my husband's blood sugar levels, we wanted to take more care from the beginning. Though not alarming, prevention is better than cure is my policy. So the home maker (thats me) takes charge of diet conscience cooking, preparing meals with proper fiber content and less carbs. Thats when this quinoa came to my mind. I have had this long time back but dint know many recipes out of it. So I planned to substitute this grain for rice. I am trying to make different dishes as possible starting today with quinoa and many other rice substitute dishes. Lets see how far I succeed. This is just to start our new dietary plan.

Ingredients:

Quinoa - 1 cup
Water - 2 cups
Tomato - 1 finely chopped
Onion - 1/2 chopped fine
Cucumber - 1/2 finely chopped
Parsely - 3 - 4 tbps finely chopped.
Lime Juice - 4 tbsps
Olive Oil - 3 tbps
Salt - to taste

Preparation:

Cook quinoa in 2 cups boiling water. When it cooks, you will notice a white sprout around the grain. Remove from heat when cooked and let it cool.

In the mean time cut all veggies and keep aside.

When quinoa comes to normal room temp, add tomatoes, onions, cucumber, lime juice, olive oil,salt, parsley and mix well. You can add more lime juice according to your taste.

Quinoa Tabbouleh is ready in minutes.

For other quinoa recipes, check quinoa upma 
Sending this to Vegetarian Foodie friday and to Girliechef's  Hearth and Soul

Also sending this to Priya's of Mharorajasthan recipe's CWf event - quinoa

Quinoa Uppitu / Quinoa Upma

Quinoa originated from the Andean region of South America. It remained their important food for 6000 yrs. It has great nutrional values as its protein content is very high. Unlike wheat and rice, quinoa has balanced set of amino acids makign it a complete protien source compared to other plant foods. It is also rich in dietary fiber, phosphorus and iron. (Source: Wikipedia) This new item in my pantry is now our favorite. It has got such rich nutrional values and it tastes really delicious. I get very excited when i see the sprouts when we cook the quinoa. I learnt about this quinoa when we went to my husband's cousin's house. She had made Quinoa uppitu / Quinoa Upma. It tasted so good and I thought I should share this dish with such nutrional content with all of you.

Serves 2:

Ingredients

Quinoa - 1 cup

Mixed Vegetables - 3/4 cup (Chopped)

Onion - 1 Small finely chopped.

Green Chilli - 3 chopped

Water - 2 cups

Red Chilli Powder - 1 tsps

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsps

Salt - to taste

For Seasoning:

Oil - 2 Tbsps

Mustard - 2 tsps

Urad Dhal - 2 tsps

Cumin Seeds - 2 tsps

Curry Leaves - 6 to 8 leaves

Preparation:

Wash quinoa untill water runs clearly. This removes the saponins from quinoa which gives a bitter taste to quinoa. I presonally do not mind the bitter taste. In a vessel, add 2 cups water and quinoa and let it cook in medium heat for about 15 - 20 mins. The cooked quinoa will have tiny white sprouts. Keep it aside.

Now in a pan add oil and when its hot add the seasoning. Fry them untill golden brown and green chilli and then onion. Fry till onion becomes transparent. Add the mixed vegetables, turmeric, chilli powder, salt and let the vegetables cook untill tender. sprinkle water when necessary.

When the vegetables gets cooked, add quinoa and mix everything well. Quinoa Uppitu is ready! Its a simple recipe but tastes very good. You can serve with sambar or coconut chutney.

I like to cook quinoa and vegetables seperately and mix them. Alternatively, you can pressure cook quinoa like rice along with vegetables. In a pan add the seasoning  fry this quinoa and veggie mixture for 5 mins untill everything mixes well. I prefer cooking it in seperate container to be sure that I dont add too much water.

We can also germinate quinoa to add it to salads and other cold food. Soak quinoa for about 2-4 hrs in clean water to make it sprout and add it to your dish.

Sending this to Priya of Mhraorajasthan's CWF - Quinoa event started by Kiran