Quinoa Pulao ~ Spinach quinoa

Tweet

The newest healthy ingredient in my kitchen is avocado oil. Have any of you used it yet ?  I found it in a local health food store at first and purchased it, then noticed even my regular grocery has begun to stock this oil. Since this oil is extracted from the fruit, it has the same heart healthy benefits and the ability to lower blood pressure etc. Also it is one of the oils that has high heat capacity, the label on the bottle claims 500 deg F making it ideal for cooking. And the last part, it has a very subtle taste that makes it easy to use in a variety of recipes without interfering with the taste of the final dish. I have been using it regularly in my cooking and baking these days and am loving it so far :) 

Another healthy ingredient that has always been an essential part of my kitchen is quinoa. These days I have begun to use it much more often than I did in the past. Every week at least once if not more times, I end up using this grain like seed in some dish or the other.  Recently I tried a variation of pulao with a combination of quinoa and spinach that quickly became a favorite of ours. It's quick, easy and flavorful. It also packs well in the the lunchbox :)

Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and method to make spinach quinoa

1 and 1/2 cups quinoa

1 onion cut fine (pyaaz)

1 large tomato cut fine = 1 cup of cut pieces ( tamatar)

2 cups packed spinach leaves ( palak)

1 large carrot cut into small pieces (gajar)

1 cup baby Lima beans (cooked until soft ) ( optional)

2 Tbsp oil

1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)

2 Thai or Indian variety green chilies cut fine or to taste ( hara mirch)

1 tsp garlic ginger paste ( adrak/ lehsun)

Salt to taste (namak)

3/4 tsp red chili powder ( or to taste) ( lal mirch)

3/4 tsp garam masala ( or to taste)
To make your own garam masala check out this post

Rinse quinoa thoroughly in cold water and drain. Place in a heavy bottomed pan with 3 cups of water and cook until soft. Keep this quinoa aside.

Prep the vegetables and keep aside. If you are using baby lima beans, cook in a little water until soft and keep aside.

Heat oil in a large heavy bottomed pan, add cumin seeds, when the seeds sizzle, add green chilies and stir once or twice. Then add ginger garlic paste and stir a few times. Add onion and saute until onions are translucent.

Add tomatoes and cook until tomatoes are soft and mushy. Add carrots and Lima beans is using, salt to taste, garam masala and chili powder and stir a few times. Sprinkle a little water and close with a lid and cook on low for just a few minutes until the carrots soften.

Add spinach and stir a little until the spinach wilts. Add cooked quinoa, and mix gently and allow to heat on low or medium low for a minute or so.

Remove from heat and serve hot with curry of choice or some raita and chips. 

Serves approx 3

If you are looking for quinoa recipes here are a few more,

Quinoa Khichdi ~ Peanut flavored quinoa

Quinoa mung dosai ~ Savory crepes

Lemon Vegetable Quinoa

Read more ...

Lemon vegetable quinoa

Tweet

About once a week if not more often, I try and include quinoa in our diet.  One of the traditional rice dishes that was often made in our home when we were growing up is lemon rice or limbu saadam as it is known in Tamil. Lemon rice is simply seasoned with mustard seeds, chick pea lentil and curry leaves with a delicious lemon flavor, I hope to post that recipe in this space some time soon.

In the meanwhile, inspired by lemon rice, I made this version of quinoa with some vegetables. This easy and nutritious recipes has quickly become a favorite in our home. It works very well for weeknight dinners, and leftovers pack well in the lunch box too :)  Pair this with some raita (yogurt based salad ) or even some curry to make a filling meal.

Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and method to make lemon vegetable quinoa

1 and 1/2 cups quinoa

2 carrots cut into small pieces ( gajar) (1 cup of cut pieces)

1 red bell pepper / capsicum deseeded and cut into small pieces (capsicum/ Simla mirch) (1 cup of cut pieces) (see notes)

Salt to taste (namak)

1/4 tsp turmeric powder ( haldi) 

2 Tbsp oil

1 tsp mustard seeds ( rai / kadagu)

1 tsp chick pea lentil (chana dhal / kadalai parappu)

3 dry red chilies broken into small pieces ( or to taste) (lal mirch)

2 Thai or Indian variety green chilies cut fine ( or to taste) ( hara mirch)

8 to 10 large curry leaves  torn into small pieces (kadi patha)

3 Tbsp finely cut cilantro for garnish ( coriander leaves / hara dhania)
juice of half a lemon (or to taste) 

Rinse quinoa thoroughly in cold water and drain. Place in a heavy bottomed pan with 3 cups of water and cook until soft. Keep this quinoa aside.

Heat oil in the same pan, add mustard seeds to it. When the seeds splutter, add chick pea lentil/ chana dhal and stir until it begins to redden. Add red chilies, green chilies and torn curry leaves and stir a few times.

Add carrots, bell pepper , turmeric powder and  salt to taste. Stir a few times. Sprinkle a little water if required, cover with a lid and cook until the veggies are tender crisp.

Add cooked quinoa, mix well, adjust salt to taste if needed and allow to heat for a few minutes until flavors mingle.Add juice of half a lemon or according to taste and mix well. Garnish with finely chopped cilantro.

Serve hot with any curry on the side , or some raita. 

Serves approx 2 to 3 

Notes:

The vegetables above can be substituted with 2 cups of any combination of vegetables like green peas/ matar, cauliflower/ Gobi,  green beans, carrots, capsicum, etc.

If you are looking for Quinoa recipes, here are a few more

Quinoa Khichdi ~ Peanut flavored quinoa

Quinoa mung dosai ~ Savory crepes

Quinoa Cashew Kheer ~ Indian pudding

Read more ...

Mixed Vegetable Pulao ~ Subz Pulao ~ With Stepwise pictures

Tweet

During my last two visits to India, I bought a lot of cookbooks with the hope that I would get a chance to try  something or the other from these books at some point. But routine day to day cooking does not provide me much time to browse through books to figure out what to make from them. Occasionally over the weekend when I am watching something on tv, I do end up glancing through some recipes and vowing to try some of the recipes "one day". Sometimes one of the recipes will capture my interest enough to make me want to try it out immediately.  

One such recipe that caught my attention was a subz pulao or mixed vegetable pulao in a Nita Mehta book that looked interesting. Specifically the spice paste used in the pulao intrigued me. Usually the pulao I make has whole spices, this one had a paste that I thought would definitely add more flavor to the rice. Curious to know how it worked out, I gave it a try that very weekend. And I loved it, it was a very easy, yet flavorful pulao that was very different from my usual pulao. I have made this recipe a few times now, and have been tweaking the recipe a bit each time. This final version is the one I like the most and this rice is perfect for a quick meal or for a hearty weekend lunch.

Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and Method to make Mixed Vegetable Pulao
1 cup basmati rice (chawal/arisi)soaked in water for 30 minutes
2 small carrots (gajar) cut into small pieces = 1/2 heaped cups of cut pieces of carrots
20 to 25 beans ends snipped off and cut into small pieces = 1/2 heaped cups of cut beans
1/2 cup green peas (matar) (frozen)
1/2 cup cauliflower florets (gobi)
1 large red onion cut into small pieces (pyaaz/vengayam)
2 small bay leaves or 1 large bay leaf (tej patta)
2 tbsp clarified butter/ghee/nei or oil (use oil for a vegan version)
1/2 Tbsp dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi)
1/2 tsp lemon juice (limbu)

For the masala paste
3 cloves of garlic (lehsun/poondu)
1 tsp chopped ginger (adrak/inji)
1/2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera/jeeragam)
1/2 tsp coriander seeds (dhania)
1/2 tsp fennel seeds (saunf/sombu)
1 clove (laung/lavang)
1/2 inch stick of cinnamon (dalchini/pattai)
seeds of 2 green cardamom (elaichi/ellakai)
1 dry red chili (optional)

Soak rice in sufficient water for at least 30 minutes. Prep the vegetables and keep aside.

Place all the ingredients of the masala paste in a small jar of a blender/mixer, add a little water as required and grind to a smooth paste. Keep this masala aside.

Heat ghee/oil in a large heavy bottomed pan, then add bay leaves and onion and stir until onions are translucent.
 

Add masala paste and stir for 1 to 2 minutes, then add vegetables, kasuri methi and stir for 3 to 4 minutes.

Add 2 cups of water, salt to taste, 1/2 tsp lemon juice, drained rice and bring to a boil.

Cover with a lid, lower heat and cook for approximately 12 to 17 minutes on very low heat until the rice is cooked. Remove from heat and keep covered for another 10 to 15 minutes.

Serve hot with raita and papad/chips or with a curry of choice for a more hearty meal.

Read more ...

Spring Onion Pulao ~ With Stepwise Pictures

Tweet

Spring onions are something I use often in curries, especially this curry with the combination of spring onions and chickpea flour is one of my favorites and is something I make often. I have rarely seen spring onions featured as a star ingredient in a pulao. So when I first came across an idea for spring onion pulao in a Sanjeev Kapoor book I was intrigued. With just cumin, garlic, garam masala and spring onions the ingredient list for the rice seemed very short and perfect for a simple lunch.



I tweaked the recipe a bit, and paired it with this low fat, protein rich mung bean curry that is also one of my favorites. I loved the simplicity of this pulao, in a way it reminded me of this jeera rice (cumin flavored rice) that I make occasionally.  This rice would also be great with more rich and creamy curries like paneer curries too, but since I was in the mood for simple this time, that's the combination I went with, although I would probably try this rice with some kind of paneer curry next time:)

 

Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and Method to make Spring Onion Pulao
1 and 1/2 cups of basmati rice rinsed and soaked in sufficient water to submerge the grains for at least 30 mins.
7 spring onions cut fine (reserve 3 tbsp chopped greens for garnish) (hara pyaz)
2 cloves of garlic cut very fine
3 tbsp clarified butter/ ghee/ nei (can be substituted with equal quantity of any oil for a vegan version)
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera/ jeeragam)
salt to taste
3/4 tsp garam masala ( to make your own garam masala check out this post)

In a large heavy bottomed pan, heat clarified butter/ ghee. Add cumin seeds to it, when the seeds sizzle, add garlic and stir until the garlic browns.

Add spring onions and stir until almost cooked.
The copyright of this content belongs to Veginspirations.com

Drain rice and add to the spring onion mixture and stir gently a few times.  Add 3 cups of water, salt to taste,  garam masala and mix well. Allow this mixture to simmer on low heat with the lid closed until rice is cooked.

Once rice is cooked and soft, remove from heat. Keep this covered for another fifteen to twenty minutes. Fluff with a fork, garnish with reserved green onions, and serve hot with your choice of curry/ dhal/ raita. 

Read more ...

Easy Mung Bean Curry ~ Moong Curry ~ With Stepwise pictures

Tweet

For some odd reason I was under the impression that I have already posted the recipe for this easy mung curry in this space. The other day when I was searching for it here, I realized somehow this recipe had missed making it into this space earlier.  It surprised me, mainly because this curry features frequently in my home, but since I was under the impression that I had already posted this curry, I never bothered with pictures etc for it :) Well you know how they say, better late than never........... :)

This curry is what I categorize as an everyday curry. Its a no fuss, easy and quick curry that is perfect when paired with any kind of Indian flat bread , whether it is rotis, phulkas or chapathis. In a pinch you can even have this curry with some kind of crusty bread like french bread/ ciabatta rolls/ or the more Indian pav on the side.  Yet despite its simplicity this curry is delicious,  very flavorful and has this lovely creamy texture that I just love. Also the fact that it uses very minimal ingredients means that it does not need very much in terms of planning ahead, which is great for people like me who do not plan their menu days or weeks in advance :) If you like mung bean, this simple curry may be just the thing for your quick weekday menu:)

Before I go a couple of  updates......I have recently updated my Easy Kadai Paneer post with updated pictures + stepwise pictures. I have also updated this oat sabudana dosa  (Oat Javarsi dosai/ Savory Indian crepes made with oats and sago) with updated pictures and my very first video clip of the process of making the dosa. Take a peek at these posts and let me know what you think :)



Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and Method to make Mung Bean Curry
1 and 1/4 cup whole mung beans soaked in water for 5 to 6 hours or overnight
1 large red onion cut fine
1 Thai or Indian variety green chili cut fine (or to taste)
1 tbsp oil ( I used coconut oil)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder (haldi/ manjal podi)
1/4 tsp cumin powder (Jeera powder)
3/4 tsp coriander powder (Dhania powder)
1/2 tsp red chili powder (or to taste) (can be substituted with cayenne powder)
1/4 tsp garam masala (or any other curry powder) To make your own garam masala check out this post
2 to 3 tbsp finely cut cilantro leaves (coriander leaves/ hara dhania/ kothamalli)
1/4 cup whisked plain yogurt (curds/ dahi/ thayir)

Heat oil in a large heavy bottomed pan, when hot add cumin seeds, when the seeds sizzle, add green chili and stir a few times. Add onions and saute until onions turn transparent.

 Drain the soaked mung beans and add to the sauteed onions. Add spices except salt, water enough to submerge the beans, stir well and close with a lid and allow the beans to cook until soft.

Add salt to taste, water if required to achieve desired consistency and  simmer for another few minutes for the flavors to mingle. I always add salt when the beans are almost cooked as I have heard that adding salt earlier inhibits the cooking process of beans and makes it a little hard. When done, add whisked plain yogurt and mix well.
The copyright of this content belongs to Veginspirations.com

Finally remove from heat, garnish with some cilantro and serve hot with some Indian flat bread like rotis/ phulkas/ chapathis etc.

Read more ...