Quinoa Upma

"A" aunty, our neighbor (yes we have an neighbor here in US who gets us food at times, isn't that awesome?) - came over with this Upma to our place. "Kinwa" - whats that I asked ? Then she spelled it out - Quinoa . She said it was one of the healthiest whole grains with high protein content, that doesn't spike the blood sugar levels. She is 70, looks 60 and is active like a 40 year old. Well if she eats it and says it is good for you - has to be! I bought a packet of this from the local grocery store and have been experimenting since... It is slightly tough to chew, and has a different tast to it, but takes on the flavors of the spices pretty well. I used it in place of Suji or Rava here to make upma... You can use it as a rice substitute too! So go ahead and try this unique cereal/grain and let me know how you like it. If you have any recipes using Quinoa, let me know and I will be happy to try them!


Ingredients

2/3 cup Quinoa
1 small Onion - finely chopped
1 carrot- diced
10-12 green beans cut into small pieces
1 boiled potato - diced
1/2 inch of ginger - grated

handful of peanuts
1-2 green chillies

1 tea spoon of mustard seeds
1 tea spoon of cumin seeds
1 tea spoon of urad dal
1 tea spoon of channa dal
1 table spoon of cooking oil
fresh curry leaves a bunch
Salt to taste


How to

Bring 1 and 1/2 cups of water to a boil, add salt and quinoa. Let it simmer covered in a pan for 15-18 mins. When completely cooked, fluff with a fork and set aside.

In a separate pan, heat oil, splutter mustard and cumin seeds. Add green chillies and curry leaves and peanuts and urad dal and channa dal and stir.

Add the chopped onions and saute for a couple of minutes. Add the rest of the vegetables (carrots and beans) and some salt, cook it covered for a few minutes. Once the vegetables are cooked, add grated ginger and the diced boiled potatoes and mix well.

When the vegetables are completely cooked add the boiled quinoa. Check for salt and mix well.

Let it stand on low flame for about 2 minutes. Turn off the stove and eat it warm. Squeeze half a lemon - will taste great too. Else sprinkle some coriander leaves. Make it yours!

Enjoy! I like mine with a little bit of coriander chutney !