Lemon Quinoa (Rice)

Navaratri celebrations are going on. During these 10 days we make variety of dishes to offer to god. With hectic schedule it is not possible to cook elaborated dishes like Vadas, Boorelu on weekday. So I kept my creative hat and made this healthy lemon rice. Instead of rice I used quinoa.




2 cups of quinoa
lemon juice from 2 lemons
5-6 Green chilies (slit length wise)
2-3 Red Chillies
1tbsp Chana Dal
1tbsp cashews, peanuts(optional)
1tbsp Urad Dal
1tbsp Mustard Seeds
1/4tsp fenugreek seeds
2 tbsp Oil
1/2 piece Ginger finely chopped
1/2tsp turmeric powder
curry leaves
pinch of asafoetida/hing
Salt to taste


Procedure:

Cook quinoa along with turmeric powder and 1 tsp oil(Oil helps quinoa to be fluffy without sticking to the bottom) either in microwave or in a pan(1 cup of quinoa needs 1-3/4 cups of water to cook). Let quinoa cool down.

In a separate pan add oil once the oil is hot, add hing/asafoetida, mustard seeds, Chana Dal, Urad Dal,Cashews and Peanuts. Once dals/lentils turn golden color add the red chilies, green chilies, curry leaves, ginger. Cook for 2 mts and turn off the heat. Transfer tampering mixture to cooked quinoa. Mix well and adjust spices.

Spicy and sour rice is ready to be served.

Navaratri-2011- Glimpse of our Kolu..

Navaratri celebrations started. I hope everyone is having blast with dandia, delicious food and admiring/watching creative kolu. Here is the preview of our kolu. Complete kolu pics will be posted later.

Shub Navaratri!!! Wish u all a Happy Navatri. May Godess Durga bless u all.

Stuffed Okra Fry

Did you ever feel like cooking something special looking at the vegetable? That is what happened to me when my friend got okra from farmers market. These okras are so fresh and tender. I just felt like making bhindi masala(Stuffed okra).



Here is the recipe

Okra ( I used approximately 1-1/2 lbs)
1 medium sized onion cut into slices
chopped coriander
3tbsp sambar powder( I used home made sambar powder prepared by mom)
1tsp cumin powder
1tsp dry mango powder
2tsp red chili powder(Adjust as per your spice level)
1tsp besan(gram flour)
1small sized lemon juice
salt as per taste

1tbsp oil

Preparation:





Wash okra ,trim heads and slit into length wise half open (stop cutting just before tail ends). In a bowl add all spices. Mix with lemon juice and little bit of water to make thick paste. Take little bit of spice mix and fill in the slit okra. Complete the step for all okras.






In a wide pan arrange filled okras side by side( I had to use 2 pans since I didn't have that big pan). Make sure okras are not on top of each other. sprinkle oil and cook on medium heat covering with lid. Make sure turn in once in a while till okras and spices cooked evenly.


Now add chopped coriander and onions and fry for 5 more mts without covering with lid. Spicy okra masala is ready to be served. Serve with rice or roti.

Gongura Pickle -- Reposting

My friend got me fresh gongura leaves from farmers market over the weekend. Decided to make gongura pickle.

Here are the few pics..

Here is the recipe link Gongura Pickle