Quinoa Upma

I'm a person who is not open to all types of cuisines and  tastes.  I do not buy an ingredient that is new to me and do not cook a new food unless and until I have tasted it elsewhere.  Quinoa is one such grain that I had heard a few years ago.  I did not have the courage to buy and prepare it unless I have tried it.  Recently I tried it and it seemed to taste good and only a few months back did I know the nutritional goodness of Quinoa.

This quinoa upma is just like any other upma  and easy to make too.

Ingredients :

1 cup quinoa

1 onion chopped

2 - 3 green chillies slit

1 carrot chopped

1/2 cup green peas

1 capsicum chopped

small piece of ginger minced or chopped finely

few curry leaves

juice of a lemon

pinch of asafoetida

1/2 tsp. turmeric powder

salt to taste

1 tbsp. oil

coriander leaves chopped for garnishing.

For the tadka :

1 handful groundnuts

1/2 tsp. mustard seeds

1/2 tsp. urad dal

1/2 tsp. jeera

Method :

1.  Soak the quinoa in water for 15 - 30 minutes.  ( this helps in removal of saponin content which is bitter in taste and toxic ).  Rinse well and pressure cook with 1 : 1.5 water or cook as per packet instruction.  Once the cooked quinoa is cooled, fluff it up with a fork.

2.  In a kadai, heat oil, add groundnuts and fry till golden pink and remove.  In the same oil add mustard seeds and after they splutter, add urad dal and fry till pink and then add jeera.

3.  Once the seasonings are fried, add asafoetida and turmeric powder and then ginger, green chillies, curry leaves and onion and saute till the onion turns transluscent.  Add  the other vegetables like carrot, peas and capsicum ( french beans, cauliflower florets, broccoli, potatoes can also be added ), salt and mix well.  Cover and cook for a few minutes till the vegetables are cooked.

4.  Once all the vegetables are cooked, remove from heat and mix in the cooked quinoa, fried groundnuts and lime juice and mix everything well.  Garnish with lots of coriander leaves and serve with pickle or coconut chutney. ( You can add salt to the quinoa at the time of mixing if required )

Krishnaarpanam

Happy Pongal and Badam Katli

Wishing one and all a Very Happy Sankranthi and may the Sun God shine upon us his blessings always.

Coming to the recipe,  I have Badam Katli which I learnt from another blog.  I'm sorry I forgot the blog's URL or the name as it was a long time back that I had tried this sweet and registered in my mind.  After that I did not visit the blog or searched for it.  But, I would like to thank the person for this recipe and it has been really easy to make this katli which I had been thinking that it was quite difficult to make katlis.

Ingredients :

1 cup badam ( almonds )
1 cup sugar
2 - 3 tbsp. ghee
1/4 cup milk powder
1/4 cup milk ( or less as required )
a few drops of rose / almond essence according to preference

Method :

1.  Soak almonds in hot water for half an hour and peel the skin off.
2.  Grind the almonds using milk into a smooth thick paste.  (  The paste should not be thin or watery )
3.  Mix the almond paste and sugar in a non-stick pan or non-stick kadai  and keep stirring.  ( I have not tried it on a heavy bottomed metal kadai as not much of ghee is used in this.  I personally suggest to use non-stick one )
4.  When the sugar has mixed well with the almonds, add the milk powder and ghee and keep on stirring for few minutes till the mixture starts to become dry at the sides of the pan.

5.  Add the essence and mix.  Remove on a greased surface or on a parchment paper which has been greased or sprayed with non-stick spray and roll out the dough with a greased rolling pin to 1/2 or 1/4 inch thickness.

6.  Cut into desired shapes and let cool for an hour or two.

The katli tastes best after 24 hrs. of making.  Enjoy....

Krishnaarpanam