Quinoa (Kin – Wa) – Incas called it as “Mother of all grains”

Grown in the Andes Mountains in South America, quinoa is one of the oldest seeds known to the mankind that was consumed as food. Quinoa is stocked with life-sustaining nutrients all across the board, including all eight essential amino acids. There are other highly beneficial compounds, vitamins and minerals in this food that the Incas reverently called “chisaya mama” (mother of all grains). Quinoa leaves are also used in the South American cooking very similar to spinach.

 I got introduced to Quinoa only recently at a Mexican store. Quinoa is pronounced as “Kinwa”. Quinoa is usually thought of as a grain but it is actually the seed. After reading a lot about it I realized that as a vegetarian Quinoa may as well be part of my essential ingredients in my food preparation. So, the dilemma was how to incorporate it into my typically Indian vegetarian cooking regimen. Have tried a few and every single time it worked. You can toast, sprout, steam and grind and it never goes wrong.

You can cook quinoa very similar to cooking rice. I toast the seeds first before cooking as it brings out the subtle and divine nutty flavor of the seeds. Here is a quick and easy quinoa salad I made the other day.

Ingredients:

Quinoa – 1 cup

Carrots – 3 grated

Onion – 1 large finely chopped

Green peppers (capsicum) – 1 large finely cut

Green chilies – 3-4 slit (according to the level of heat you can take)

Garbanzo beans – 1 can

Cilantro – ½ cup chopped

Lemon – 1 large squeezed

Raisins – ½ cup soaked in hot water

Almonds – ¼ cup chopped

Salt – according to taste

 Method:

1. Dry toast the quinoa and add 2 cups of water and cook like the way you would cook rice. You can also cook in a pressure cooker or a rice cooker. When you see the ring-shaped sprouts popping out, you’ll know the quinoa is almost ready. Stir the quinoa so all the water gets absorbed. Cool to room temperature.
2. In a large bowl, mix all the other ingredients and add the cooled quinoa.
3. You can serve the salad at room temperature or you can make the salad ahead of time, chill in the refrigerator and serve.

 

This is such a crowd pleaser and tastes out of this world!  You can also mix other vegetables such as cauliflower, spinach, broccoli to this salad. Try it and pls. drop your comments on this blog.