Quinoa Fruit Salad

Category: Quinoa recipes / Salads
Preparation Time: 5-10 mins  
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Servings: 2 servings

  Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) is an excellent complete protein source for vegetarians. It is not only healthy but also very easy and quick to cook. 

Quinoa with fruits

This quinoa salad is a quick fix breakfast option if we have the cooked quinoa in hand. Quinoa can be cooked in stovetop or pressure cooker.   

                                           

Please refer my detailed post on how to cook quinoa in instant pot and stovetop here: How to cook Quinoa in Instant pot & Stovetop?

For this quinoa fruit salad, we can use any seasonal fruits available. Here I have used apples, raisins, pomegranates and walnuts. We can use any fresh fruits, dry fruits and nuts. The type & amount of fruits can be altered as per our liking :)

                                        

I haven't used any dressing in this salad but if we prefer, we can add honey-lime dressing. 

Ingredients: 

• Quinoa, cooked - 1 cup 
• Green apple, chopped - 1/2 cup
• Red apple, chopped - 1/2 cup

Quinoa salad with Black beans & Sweet corn

Category: Quinoa recipes / Salads
Preparation Time: 10 mins  
Cooking Time: 20 mins

Servings: 2 -3 servings

 Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) is an excellent complete protein source for vegetarians. 

It is not only healthy but also very easy and quick to cook. 

Quinoa salad with Black beans & Sweet corn

We love the combination of black beans and sweet corn in pastas, quesadillas and also as a side dish for Chapathi. 

                                           

This quinoa salad is a quick fix lunch option if we have the cooked quinoa, black beans and sweet corn in hand. Quinoa can be cooked in stovetop or pressure cooker. Nowadays am using my Instant pot for cooking the quinoa.

Please refer my detailed post on how to cook quinoa in instant pot and stovetop here: How to cook Quinoa in Instant pot & Stovetop?

                                   

Ingredients: 

• Quinoa, cooked - 1 1/2 cup (1/2 cup uncooked)
• Black beans, cooked - 1/3 cup
• Sweet corn, cooked - 1/3 cup
• Tomato, finely chopped - 1 small
• Coriander leaves, chopped - 1/4 cup
• Green chilly, finely chopped - 1-2 no's (can be avoided if making for kids)

How to cook Quinoa in Instant pot & stovetop?

Category: Kitchen Basics
Preparation Time: 5 mins  
Cooking Time: 15 mins

What is Quinoa?
Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) is one of the world’s most popular health foods.

                                             

Quinoa is gluten-free, high in protein and one of the few plant foods that contain sufficient amounts of all nine essential amino acids. It is also high in fiber, magnesium, B vitamins, iron, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, vitamin E and various beneficial antioxidants. 

Surprisingly, there are over 120 different varieties of quinoa as defined by the Whole Grains Council. Though the grain itself can manifest in a wide variety of colors (including purple!), the most common quinoa colors found across American grocers are white (also considered ivory or yellow quinoa), red, and black.

Interestingly enough, all three of these quinoa types cook and taste differently. While white quinoa has a fluffy post-cook texture, red and black quinoa are known to keep more of their shape and color after cooking. Red quinoa also has a heartier taste and chewier texture than the muted, bitter taste of white quinoa, while black quinoa tastes somewhat crunchy and slightly sweeter than either red or white.

Why to rinse Quinoa before cooking?

Quinoa is a healthy grain that we can incorporate into a variety of different dishes. There is a coating on quinoa seeds that can give it a bitter and nutty taste. By using a fine mesh strainer or a sieve, we can avoid this bitter taste by thoroughly rinsing your quinoa first. Many pre-packed quinoa are pre-washed but it's better to rinse it again.

Cooking Quinoa in Stovetop:

Ingredients:

• Quinoa, washed -1 cup
• Water -  2 cups
• Salt - a pinch (optional)

Quinoa Kheer / Payasam

Category: Indian Sweets / Desserts
Preparation Time: 5 mins 
Cooking Time: 20 mins
Servings: For 3-4 persons

For my 50th post, I thought of preparing a healthy, sweet, kid-friendly recipe and thus came this Quinoa Payasam / Quinoa Kheer:) Quinoa as we all know is one of the healthiest food and for this dish we can add any choice of fruits or nuts to make this more healthy as well as Yummy:)

Quinoa Payasam

Quinoa- Strawberry Payasam

Ingredients:

• Quinoa - 1/2 cup
• Milk - 3 cups
• Sugar - 1/2 cup (Jaggery can also be used)
• Cardamon seeds - 1/4 tsp
• Ghee - 1 tbsp
• Cashews, chopped -5-6 nos
• Walnuts, chopped - 5-6 nos
• Strawberry, chopped - few (Optional) (Any fruits can be used)

Method:

1. Place Quinoa in a fine strainer and wash well in running water, drain and keep aside
2. Cook Quinoa as per the package instructions (Add Quinoa and 1 cup of water in a pan and bring to boil, then lower the flame and let it sit for 15 mins. When the sprouts / germs inside the seeds are visible, it means its cooked) Since it's bit bland, I added few cardamon seeds and few drops of ghee during cooking process and it gives a nice flavor
   
3. While it's cooking, boil the milk in medium flame for 10-12 mins; add few cardamon seeds for additional flavor
   
4. Add the cooked quinoa into the milk, stir well and allow to cook for few more mins
   
5. Add Sugar and mix well and keep the flame in medium
6. In another pan, heat ghee and roast the cashews and walnuts ill it becomes golden brown
   
7. Add the roasted nuts and switch off
   
8. Serve hot or allow to cool down
   
9. Once it cools, add the chopped strawberries and serve:) 
   

Quinoa Idly & Dosai

Category: Breakfast / Tiffin    
Soaking Time: 6 Hrs / Overnight  
Fermentation Time: 4 - 7 Hrs    
Cooking Time: 10 mins /batch

I tried substituting 50% of Idly rice with Quinoa in our normal Idly / Dosa batter and the result was good:) Only the colour would be pale and not pure white but will be soft.
One thing I noticed in this method was fermentation takes lesser time than our normal batter, so we need to check after 4-5 hrs to avoid overflowing

Quinoa Idly

Ingredients:

• Quinoa -2 cups
• Idly rice - 2 cups
• Whole white urad dhal - 1 cup
• Fenugreek seeds - 1 1/2 tsp
• Salt - To taste

Method:

1. Soak quinoa & Idly rice together and fenugreek seeds (separately) for 5-6 hrs / overnight and urad dhal for 1-2 hrs
2.  In a wet grinder, first add the fenugreek seeds and then urad dal, grind till it becomes soft and fluffy. Once urad dhal is done, remove it in a big container and keep aside. While grinding for Idly, make sure you just sprinkle required water at regular intervals rather than pouring it at once. This will make the batter very fluffy and airy which results in soft idlies
3.  Add rice & quinoa to the grinder and grind it till it becomes smooth, but with a slight coarse texture. Once done, remove it into the container with urad dhal
4.  Add required salt and mix well with hands
5.  Allow to ferment for about 4-7 hrs and it depends on your room temperature; After fermentation, the volume of the batter would be almost doubled. (Make sure to place the batter in a big bowl to avoid spills after it gets fermented)
   
6. Once fermented, make idlies as usual and serve with your favourite side dish 
   
7. Next day, just add little water to the batter and make it slightly thinner than the idly batter. 
8. Heat Tawa and grease it. Pour a ladle of dosa batter and spread it to a thin circle. Pour a teaspoon of oil around the corners and cook covered for few seconds.
   
    
9. Flip it over and cook other side
   
10. Serve hot