I was introduced to quinoa about 4 years ago. Some of my ex-colleagues talked about it all the time. Although I was intrigued, I had no interest in trying it. Then a day came when we were advised to reduce all kinds of starchy carbs. Our doctor told us to stop eating white rice and move to brown rice if we wanted. I started looking for things that would replace rice and I came across quinoa again. This time, I wanted to give it a try.
Then one day, I tried mixing quinoa with pearl couscous . The child loves these pearl shaped couscous (although he is not a fan of the tiny traditional couscous). The dish became a hit and now it is on the menu once a week atleast.
Quinoa - Pearl Couscous with Vegetables
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup pearl couscous
- 1/2 cup quinoa
- 2 and 1/2 cups vegetable broth or water
- 1 cup vegetables - onion carrot, corn, capsicum(bell pepper), celery
- 1/2 tea spn chopped jalapenos optional or use red pepper flakes
- 1/4 tea spn each dried basil and oregano
- 1/2 tea spn lemon pepper seasoning or 1 tbl spn lemon juice
- Olive oil and butter
- Salt
Instructions
- Wash quinoa in water a couple of times.
- Bring vegetable broth to boil and add quinoa, couscous. Cover and let it cook till all liquid is absorbed. Take off the heat and let it cool. Now fluff them with a fork. Keep aside.
- Heat little olive oil and butter (butter for extra taste) and add vegetables. Fry them for few minutes and then add jalapenos (or pepper flakes).
- Now add cooked quinoa-couscous, lemon pepper or lemon juice, dried basil and/or oregano. Mix everything very well.
- Serve hot.
Notes
Quinoa - Pearl Couscous with Vegetables
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup pearl couscous
- 1/2 cup quinoa
- 2 and 1/2 cups vegetable broth or water
- 1 cup vegetables - onion carrot, corn, capsicum(bell pepper), celery
- 1/2 tea spn chopped jalapenos optional or use red pepper flakes
- 1/4 tea spn each dried basil and oregano
- 1/2 tea spn lemon pepper seasoning or 1 tbl spn lemon juice
- Olive oil and butter
- Salt
Instructions
- Wash quinoa in water a couple of times.
- Bring vegetable broth to boil and add quinoa, couscous. Cover and let it cook till all liquid is absorbed. Take off the heat and let it cool. Now fluff them with a fork. Keep aside.
- Heat little olive oil and butter (butter for extra taste) and add vegetables. Fry them for few minutes and then add jalapenos (or pepper flakes).
- Now add cooked quinoa-couscous, lemon pepper or lemon juice, dried basil and/or oregano. Mix everything very well.
- Serve hot.
Notes
I know this place has been very quiet for last few days. First the camera had some issues, then technical issues with the site and when they got resolved, I was down with pretty severe cold. All I wanted to do was sleep!. But I have been very active with my other blog art Campus . Finally I am making some time for the crafts – which I love so much but never had time to explore more!.
The temperatures here are dropping very fast. It is not possible to step outside without jackets. I was hoping we will have few more days to play outside, but we are staying indoors for now. That also means I am making a lot of soups. If anyone is interested, I will post them here.
Here is a simple recipe for Corn Flakes Chivda. A chivda can’t be simpler than this. I made this because I had to use up a large batch of Kellog’s corn flakes that we bought but could not finish. It was nearing expiration and I had to think of something. Since I usually like to make a hot breakfast every morning, corn flakes or cereals hardly get finished. V had bought this bag when I was in India and he could not finish it. These corn flakes were slightly sweetish, any corn flakes can be used. All my friends that tasted this loved it.
Also check out corn flakes rolls .
Ingredients: 5 cups corn flakes 2 tbl spns peanuts 2 tbl spns cashews (optional) 1 tea spn cumin powder 1 tea spn coriander powder 1 tea spn poha masala (optional, but gives a great aroma and taste) 1 tea spn chaat masala 6-7 curry leaves 1 tea spn mustard seeds 1 tea spn urad dal A big pinch of asafoetida 1/4 tea spn turmeric 1 tea spn sugar (optional, do not use of corn flakes are sweet) 1/2 tea spn chilli powder 1/2 cup sev (optional) Oil Salt
Method: Heat about 2-3 tbl spn oil and add peanuts and cashews. Fry for a minute and then add mustard seeds, urad dal. When they start popping, add curry leaves and asafoetida. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add all dry masalas and salt. Mix well. Now add corn flakes, sev. Mix everything very well. Let it cool to room temperature, then store in air tight container.
Preparation time : 20mins
