Tomato Bath with Quinoa

Quinoa (pronounced as keen-wah) is not a grain; its a seed related to the spinach family which was originally from South America. It was a regular Incas diet. It is a delicious whole grain thats easy to digest and an excellent replacement for rice. Some of the nutritional fact about Quinoa are; they are high in amino acids, protein and calcium. It is found to be more satiating than wheat or rice, so helps in weight loss.

The coating of the saponin on the seeds gives it a bitter taste, so it needs to be washed before cooking. Basic method to cook is to boil 1 cup of quinoa with 2 cups of water for 15 minutes. It absorbs all the water and the size of the seed will increase, with a tender and springy texture. Quinoa can be enjoyed as porridge for breakfast or salad with vegetable and many other items.

For those who love quinoa and want to try something different with it, have to try this. Its an Indian twist. Tomato bath, which is an instant favorite in most of the houses. A simple and quick dish which is a sure hit. I followed the same procedure as in making tomato bath with rice, but replaced rice with quinoa.

Ingredients:
1 cup Quinoa
2 cups water
2 tbsp olive oil,or oil of your choice
3 cloves
3 cardamon
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp ginger-garlic,crushed
1/2 cup onion, chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/3 cup peas
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/4 cup coriander leaves,chopped
1/2 lemon

Method:
1.Boil Quinoa with water. This takes about 10-15 minutes
2. Crush the cloves and cardamon into powder using mortar and pestle.
3.Heat oil in a wok. Add the powdered spice and bay leaf. Then add ginger-garlic and onions. Cook until the onions turns transparent,then add chopped tomatoes.

4. Saute tomatoes for 2 minutes and add turmeric,chili and cumin powder.

5. Cook until oil separates and the raw smell of tomato is gone. Then add peas and cook for another 5-10 minutes.
6. Add the cooked quinoa ,salt and garam masala. Cook for 5 minutes.
7. Finally add coriander leaves and squeeze the lemon. Turn off the heat and serve hot along with raita or plain yogurt.
COOK'S FILE:
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NOTE: Cook Quinoa simultaneously when you are making the gravy. Its easy to mix the hot cooked quinoa in the finally stage.
STORAGE TIME: Was able to eat it the next day by reheating it.
HINT: Tastes like Khichdi