Quinoa Adai

          Though I have been cooking quinoa for so many years now, I have been using it only, in the place of rice in pilafs or just cooked it as such or with some rice and used it with sambar and curries. Only now, I have started using it in dosa batter and muffins and the next in that list is this Quinoa Adai. This is not a big recipe, we make it the same way as regular adai, using quinoa in the place of rice, the adai came out well and the quinoa gave a nice taste to the it..

Eggless Quinoa Muffins

          It's been a long time time since I had baked some muffins or cakes, in fact I have not been doing much baking because of the hot weather also, but now the temperatures have come done, so might be I'll be baking more. Coming to today's post, I have wanted to use quinoa in baking for a long time, but the first time, I had used uncooked quinoa in baking and the results were not good. After that, for some reason, didn't do it again until now, this time I used cooked quinoa in these Quinoa Muffins and they turned out good and I was very satisfied with them. I have used whole wheat flour/ atta along with the cooked quinoa, and they are not too sweet, so they are perfect for breakfast or snack. I have also added some grated carrots, golden raisins and walnuts and they tasted very good with a nutty texture from the quinoa..

Quinoa Dosa (Crepes)

          Today's post is going to be another healthy and delicious dosa with quinoa and brown rice. The most common way in which I include quinoa in our diet, is adding a little to the regular rice that I cook for lunch. Now this Quinoa Dosa has become another regular in my kitchen. The dosa comes out very good, it has the perfect texture, perfect color and also tastes really awesome with any chutney of your choice..

Quinoa With Fresh Rajma/ Kidney Beans

          I love rajma/ kidney beans, both fresh and dry, and the fresh beans tastes simply too good. It can be used in curries, kurmas and pairs well with most vegetables. So when I wanted to try something with quinoa, I used these kidney beans which I had in the freezer, added some fresh masala and the result was a very filling and tasty dish. Serve it with some vegetable raitha for a complete meal..

Quinoa Patties With Chickpeas Gravy

          Many of us are familiar with the famous Ragda Patties, this is a slight healthy twist to this delicious dish. Ragda is the chickpeas or peas gravy that is served with the potato patties. Here I have reduced the potatoes and replaced it with the healthy quinoa and sauteed cabbage, they tasted really awesome. The chickpeas gravy that I have used here is slightly different, in that I have added some tamarind and jaggery, to give it a sweet and sour taste. The Quinoa Patties, topped with the Chickpeas Gravy, with a sprinkle of sliced onions and green chutney, made up for a wholesome and healthy meal, try this next time you cook quinoa..

Chilli-Garlic Quinoa

          Last week I had cooked about a cup of quinoa, and it was just me and my daughter, we couldn't finish up the entire quantity between us, so I had some leftover cooked quinoa. I didn't want to have it in the same way, mixed with some curry or sambar, I wanted to make something different with it and I came up with this Chilli Garlic Quinoa. It's a very simple dish but tasted really good, and was given a 'A+' by my daughter. Cooking quinoa al dente, can be a little tricky, refer here, you don't want to have a mushy dish. Try this out if you like the chilli and garlic flavor..

How To Cook Quinoa

           Quinoa is a fairly new grain, only 3 or 4 years back I got introduced to this wonder grain (it's not a complete grain, they call it as a pseudocereal). It was not love at first 'taste', in fact it was many months later that I tasted it again and only after that I slowly started to use it in day to day cooking. I usually try to replace rice with it, it's very rich in fiber and protein and has a slightly nutty taste. Cooking quinoa correctly might be tough for first timers, so I thought I'll do a basic post about cooking it..

Minty Quinoa

           I have been neglecting my blog for more than a week now, my parents and sisters had come over, lots of cooking but couldn't find time to check on my blog. Well, today's recipe is yet another simple and healthy preparation with quinoa (I have a packet with me that I had brought with me from the US). But for those who can't find quinoa, you can do the same with couscous too, also the other day I found a packet of quinoa (of course imported one ) at Nilgiris in Chennai. Now coming back to the dish, it gets its flavor from the mint leaves and tastes great with any raitha or plain yogurt too..

Beetroot Quinoa

          Quinoa has become a part of our regular diet nowadays, I have started replacing rice with it in many of our dishes. Even if I am not preparing a special dish with it, we mix it (instead of rice) with dal or sambar. I made this simple but yummy combination of quinoa with beetroot, if you like beetroot rice or curry, then you should definitely give this a try..

Quinoa With Cucumber And An Award

          Quinoa, it's a grain or a pseudograin, high in fiber, protein, manganese, well, the list goes on, but I am not going to bore you, copying everything from wikipedia here. Couple of years back, never heard of it, but now I simply love it. It's so easy to cook and can be had as a salad, can be used instead of couscous in Mediterranean dishes and also tastes great in pulaos, in the place of rice. This dish is very simple, needs very few ingredients, no masalas to grind, it gets it flavor from the sauteed cucumber. I added some black beans and roasted peanuts for the extra crunch and munch..