Quinoa | Oh Taste n See.....

Lemon Quinoa with Black Garbanzo Beans

Channa(chickpeas), Diabetes Friendly, Entrees, Phase 2, Quinoa, South Beach Diet

Feb 072013

I had bookmarked a recipe for Lemon Quinoa from Pavithra of Dishes From My Kitchen, a very long time ago. Since then, I have been making this on a regular basis and gradually adapted it to my style. I figured I had not posted this recipe and so, here it is. Check out Pavithra’s blog for some awesome pictures, and another variation featuring edamame beans. This recipe is very tasty as is nutritious with a lot of protein and fiber from the quinoa and the black garbanzo beans. It is also very easy to make, if you have precooked garbanzo beans on hand. I usually soak large batches of beans, cook them and freeze them, so that I can put together a dish like this very quickly.

Ingredients:
1 cup Quinoa
1/2 cup Black Garbanzo beans, dry(or 1 cup cooked)
2 tbsp Gingelly oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp split urad dal
2 tsp channa dal
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp chopped ginger
6 Green chillies, slit
1 sprig, curry leaves
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste
2 tbsp chopped cilantro, for garnish

Method:
To cook the Quinoa
Rinse the quinoa under running water. Place 1 1/2 cup water in a saucepan. Bring this to a boil. Add the quinoa to this, and let it boil until the quinoa almost absorbs the water. Clamp a lid and lower the heat and let it continue for 2-3 minutes. Let the quinoa rest for a while before fluffing with a fork. Let it cool before making Lemon quinoa.

Alternatively to cook quinoa using pressure cooker, use 1 1/4 water for 1 cup quinoa and pressure cook for 3 whistles. Let sit and fluff with fork.

To cook the garbanzo beans
Soak the garbanzo beans in water for 6-8 hours or overnight. Pressure cook in salted water for 4 whistles. Drain the cooking liquid and cool. This can be frozen after cooling for use any time.

You can cook both the quinoa and the garbanzo beans ahead of time.

To make Lemon quinoa, heat the oil in a pan, add mustard seeds. Let it splutter. Add in the dals, let them turn golden brown. Add the cumin seeds, ginger, split green chillies and curry leaves. Add in the turmeric powder, followed by the lemon juice and salt. Add the cooked garbanzo beans and the cooked quinoa. Mix them together, until all the flavors are melded. Taste test, add salt/lemon juice as needed. Switch off stove and sprinkle in chopped cilantro.

Verdict: Lemon flavors are always my favorite, and this particular recipe is one of our lunchbox favorites. I have tried adding chopped red onion and sauteeing it prior to adding the garbanzo beans/quinoa and it tastes really good too. Tangy and vibrant, this dish tastes good hot as well as at room temperature.

I’m sending this post to MLLA 56. “My Legume Love Affair” is a very popular blog event started by Susan, of the Well-Seasoned Cook. It has been running for several years and this month is taken over by Lisa.

Also sending to Vegetarian Lunchbox, Cooking with Seeds – Quinoa/Ragi and ‘Only Vegan’, event series by Pari.

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16 bean Multi grain adai

Barley, Beans, Brown rice, Diabetes Friendly, Dosa Varieties, Phase 2, Quinoa, South Beach Diet, Tiffin items

Aug 132012

I received a bag of ’16 bean soup mix’ as part of my MLLA win earlier this year. I have been wanting to use this rich mixture of beans in an innovative Indian recipe. I decided to make adai using this, and instead of using just rice, I combined quinoa, barley and brown rice, hence making this a multi bean, multi grain adai. I paired this with an oat coconut chutney(recipe coming soon) and it made it a super wholesome meal.

For those of you who don’t have the soup mix. Here is the list of beans that are in the packet: Northern, Pinto, Large Lima, Blackeye, Garbanzo, Baby Lima, Green Split, Kidney, Cranberry, Small White, Pink, Small Red, Yellow Split, Lentil, Navy, White Kidney, Black Bean. You can substitute 1 tbsp of each kind of beans for the soup mix, such that it makes up a cup of beans. Feel free to use any and all kinds of beans you have on hand.

Ingredients
1 cup of 16 bean soup mix
1/2 cup long grain brown rice
1/4 cup of quinoa
1/4 cup pearled barley
2 green chilly
6 red chillies
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
2 tbsp chopped ginger
1/2 tsp asafoetida
Salt, to taste
oil, to drizzle on top of adai

Method
Soak the beans, rice, quinoa and barley with sufficient water to cover, 6-8 hours. Drain it well and grind along with the green chillies, red chillies, cumin, fennel, ginger and asafoetida. You are looking to have a batter that is thick, not watery, still is very slightly gritty. This adai batter requires no fermentation. You can make adais as soon as you grind the batter. However, the batter may be stored up to a week in the fridge and used as needed.

Heat the griddle until hot and swirl a ladleful of adai batter to form a thick dosa. Drizzle with oil. Let it get golden brown on one side. Flip and cook the other side. Serve with chutney of choice.

Verdict: The adais turned out really crispy and golden brown. Made for a very filling and protein rich meal.

Notes:
- The adai is spicy and the spices are intended to mask the beany flavor of the adai, feel free to reduce the amount of chillies as desired.
- You can add some chopped onions, cilantro, spinach, murunga keerai(drumstick leaves), grated carrots etc. to make the adai more nutritious, and for added flavor.
- If you dont have quinoa or barley on hand, substiture with 1 cup of rice along with 1 cup of bean mix.
- The adais need to be cooked over medium flame , a little bit longer than what dosas take. Be patient to get that crispy crust.

Sending this to:
- Our very own: Serve it – Griddled event, hosted by me and Krithi.
- Show me your HITS: Rice, event series by Sangee
- Anu’s South India Kitchen Series
- ‘My Legume Love affair #50′
- JCO – SuperFoods event by Jagruti.
- Desi – Videsi Food event

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Quinoa Upma – A guest post for Krithi’s Kitchen

Diabetes Friendly, Phase 2, Quinoa, South Beach Diet, Tiffin items, Upma

Mar 162012

I think it has been mentioned so many times in both of our blogs, that it is redundant to mention that Krithi and I are college best friends and have been friends for 13 years now. We also share a love for food and cooking and often times find ourselves chatting about food or topics related to food. Thanks to Krithi for having invited me to do a guest post for her blog and a first one at that.

I have recently switched to a more healthy diet and this dish is a perfect way to meld a healthy meal to comforting Indian food.

A healthy dish – is always determined by the ratio of carbs to protein and the amount of fat in the recipe. Being vegetarian or vegan it is always difficult to get the right amount of protein in your diet. A great solution is ‘Quinoa’ – which is the only grain that has a complete protein – something that is realized easily by people who eat meat, but very difficult in the vegetarian diet. It is an ancient grain, rich in manganese and folate and due to its nutritional value, it is highly recommended for people who have migraine headaches, diabetes and even pregnant and breastfeeding mothers.

Here, I have increased the flavor of the quinoa by toasting it first, which not only adds a nice nutty flavor, but also quickens the cooking process. Here is the recipe..

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1/2 cup diced vegetables – carrots, beans and peas
1 small yellow onion, diced
3 green chillies slit
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard
1/2 tsp urad dal
1 tsp channa dal
a sprig of curry leaves/cilantro
salt to taste
2 cups water

Method:
In a dry pan, add the quinoa and roast it over medium high heat until you get a nutty aroma and the quinoa is slightly golden brown and toasted. Remove the quinoa onto a plate and put the pan back on the stove. Heat the oil and add mustard seeds, urad dal and channa dal. Let it splutter and add the green chillies and the curry leaves. Add the onion and saute until translucent. Add the diced vegetables and saute until partly cooked. Add 2 cups water and salt to taste. Let the water come to a boil. Slowly add the still warm quinoa and cook stirring. Let the quinoa cook until all the water is absorbed. Switch off stove. Pop a lid on the pan and let rest for another 5 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro (I didn’t have any, but it makes it awesome) and fluff with a fork. Serve as is, or with any chutney as an accompaniment.
Note: Alternately you could also cook quinoa first and then temper with the said ingredients like pulao/fried rice. It tastes fabulous either way.

Verdict: This is a quick and easy recipe, with the nutrition from quinoa and the added veggies. I always substitute rava with quinoa in my upma, and my family hardly notices the difference. You can also substitute quinoa for rice in mixed rice recipes. It tastes really good. I have tried vaangi baath and lemon quinoa and both came out very well.

Sending this to the following events:
1. Bon Vivant Moments #2 – Savory
2. Comfort Food
3. Culinary Concepts – Vegan/Plant Based
4. Healthy Morsels – Pregnancy