Roz Ka Khana

A friend of ours recently introduced us to quinoa and all its benefits. Quinoa or KEEN-WAH as it is pronounced,  is 100% whole grain and I was excited to note that not only does it have fewer carbs than rice but is a great source of protein – 12% to 18%. To learn more about Quinoa and its benefits, go here.

We had been trying to find alternative methods to cut down rice from our diet. Brown rice, broken wheat are all great alternatives, but I find that neither has the protein content that quinoa provides. Basically, quinoa seems the closest to providing a balanced nutrition, the carbs, protein, Vit.B etc.

Of course, we tried it as an alternative to plain rice and then mixed it with plain yoghurt for the traditional South Indian staple, thayir saadhan or rather thayir quinoa! The other characteristic of quinoa that differentiates it from brown rice or broken wheat is that though there is a slight nutty flavor, you cannot taste it at all when you mix it with spices or curries. This, to me, is a perfect alternative to white rice!

Girish came up with the brilliant idea of trying bisi bele huli quinoa today for lunch and my mother got equally excited with the idea and pulled out her staple recipe for bisi bele huli bhaath. She and I got busy making it and I have to say it was awesome. So if you truly want to try this with rice, the recipe is just the same, only replace the quinoa with cooked rice.

Ingredients:

Boiled Toor Dal (yellow pigeon peas)  – 1 cup

Cooked quinoa – 1 cup (1 cup quinoa and 2 cups water in a pressure cooker, or a rice cooker)

Madras Sambar Powder – 2 1/2 tsp (you can use the MTR brand)

Turmeric – 1 tsp

Tamarind – lemon size soaked in water and made into a paste

Beans – 1/2 cup julienne sliced

Carrots – 2 julienne sliced

Peas – 1/2 cup

Cauliflower – florets 1/2 cup

Masala – to be ground into a paste

Onions – 2

Garlic – 8 pods (optional, if you dont like the smell of garlic, you can skip)

Red chilies – 8-10

Ginger – 2 inches

Khus Khus – 2 tbsp (poppy seeds)

Cloves – 4

Cardamom – 2

Dalchini (Cinnamon sticks) – 2

Grated coconut – 1/2 cup

Oil – 1/2 cup

Garnishing: cilantro – 1/2 cup, cashew pieces – 1/2 cup, mustard seeds – 1 tsp, curry leaves – a bunch, red chilies – 2

Method:

1. Take 2 tsp of oil in a heavy bottomed pan, add all the ingredients for the masala and fry lightly for about 5 minutes.

2. Add the turmeric powder and fry again for 2 more minutes. Allow to cool.

3. Put all the ingredients in the pan, add the tamarind and the tomatoes and grind to a smooth paste. Keep this aside.

4. Now take the same kadai, add the remaining oil and lightly fry the vegetables for about 5 minutes.

5. Add the ground paste and continue to fry until the oil separates, for about 10 minutes. Then add the sambar powder.

6. Now add the boiled and mashed toor dal, add about a cup of water and leave it to boil, for about 5-7 minutes. Add salt to taste.

7. Now add the cooked quinoa to the above mixture, and mix well. Cook a little more for about 5 minutes until the ingredients are thoroughly mixed.

8. In a separate pan, add a little oil, about 1 tsp. When the oil gets hot, add the mustard seeds and fry till they crackle. Now add the curry leaves and the red chilies. Add cashews and fry till they brown a little.

Add this to the bisi bele huli quinoa. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot.

I haven’t been baking much this year aside from the ones already posted here, the banana bread and the pistachio cookies, all the same tried recipes. I did get the idea once to bake a batch of different cookies and give them as homemade gifts this year, to add that personal touch. But like everything else, the time got away from me and I resorted to gift cards, once again, the tried and true method:) I know, sounds a little boring, but aside from looking up some delectable recipes on the web, I couldn’t get myself to actually shake things up a little this season. Until I went grocery shopping with my nephew and he told me he was craving cupcakes and wanted to buy some, from Walmart! Of all the places, I thought. I mean, Walmart is fine for basic groceries, but I don’t consider it to be a place to buy gourmet food.

Is vanilla cupcake considered “gourmet food”, probably not, but I had my biases with Walmart anyway. Of course, my actual response was, “I’ll make a better cupcake for you!!” There, I had said it. Now I had opened myself up to a challenge that I make better cupcakes than Walmart. Should have said “better than “Sprinkles” – the best cupcake-ry in town, but I had to start small:)

So we got home and I started on the challenge of making the cupcakes from scratch, the cake, frosting and all….I was not going to use a mix or frosting out of a box or can. That’s probably not a big deal for most, but it felt good, saying that at least;)

In case you’re curious, I got the recipe from here.

Vanilla Cupcakes

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup granulated white sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Zest of 1 large lemon (optional)

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup milk

Buttercream Frosting:

2 cups confectioners sugar (icing or powdered sugar), sifted

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2tablespoons milk or light cream

Method:

Vanilla Cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

2. In a food processor or a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The mixture will look a little curdled. Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest.

3. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

4. If using the stand mixer, chage the whisk attachment to the paddle attachment. If using a food processor, continue as is. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

5. Fill the muffin cups with the batter and bake for about 18-20 minutes or until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost with icing. You may scrape the top off a little to flatten the top of the muffin so the frosting goes on smoothly.

For the Frosting:

In an electric mixer, or standmixer, cream the butter until smooth and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, gradually beat in the sugar. Add the milk and beat on high speed until frosting is light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes). Add a little more milk or sugar, if needed.

Verdict: According to my nephew, he may not buy a Walmart cupcake again:) It turned out moist and just right, like the recipe said it would.

Happy Holidays everyone!!