Mediterranean Quinoa Salad | Quinoa Recipes | Healthy foods

Quinoa is one among the world's healthiest food. It was one among the many to-try things that I had wanted to try when I moved to the US. But its taken me time and that too a long one but as they say better late than never. I gave in last week and bought a packet of qunioa from my local grocery store. I love the Mediterranean flavors a lot and I thought of making a simple salad to start with it. I served it with some Jamaican Jerk spiced roasted chicken and it was a filling meal on the whole.

~*What U Need*~ Quinoa - 1/2 cup Water - 1 cup Red onion - 2 tbsp, chopped Lemon - 1/2, juiced Olives - 1/8 cup, chopped Red and yellow peppers - 1/4 cup, chopped Extra virgin olive oil - 1 tbsp Cucumber - 1 cup, peeled and diced Tomatoes - 1/2 cup, deseeded and cubed Feta cheese - 1/3 cup, crumbled Chickpeas / Garbanzo - 1/2 cup, cooked till soft Salt and pepper - to season Avocado slices and spur cream - to serve How I Made it: Rinse quinoa and cook as per package instructions with salt. Then fluff with a fork and set aside in a large mixing bowl to cool. Prep the vegetables. Add everything to the quinoa, season with salt and toss. Add the olive oil and feta cheese and toss gently. Adjust seasoning as you taste.

Top with avocado slices and sour cream and serve!!!

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

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Cucumber Coriander Salad

After all that indulgence, yes we have been indulging a hell lot for the past few days. Thanks to V day, the huss has been asking for special breakfast, special lunch and special dinner menus. And since Friday we have been having cutlets for snack, heart shaped pizza take outs for dinner and homemade badam kulfi for dessert. Oh yeah and not to forget that Caramel Pecan Silk Supreme that the huss got from the bakery as an added surprise for me. Its been only two days and there is hardly two more slices left. I must have gained atleast 5 pounds in the last 3 days. Its time to go back to salads and detoxifying smoothies. I made this simple ka salad for my lunch today. I used homemade yogurt for the dressing but you could use greek yogurt too.

Prep time: 15 mins; Cooking time: Nil; Serves - 1 ~*What U Need*~ Cucumber - 1 large Plain yogurt - 1/4 cup Coriander - 1 tbsp, finely chopped Green onions - 2 tbsp, chopped White vinegar - 1 tsp Sugar - a pinch Salt - a pinch Black pepper - to season Garlic powder - a pinch How I Made it: Clean, de seed and chop the cucumber. In a medium bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and mix well. Add the cucumber and toss in the dressing. Season with salt and pepper if needed. Refrigerate till you serve.

Serve chilled!!!

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Tzatziki Sauce

I first heard about this dip from George Calombaris during his Masterclass in Season 3. I was so hooked to this recipe or rather the name of the recipe. It had a cute ring to it and I was jotting down the ingredients list as usual on the daily newspaper. As time went by, I forgot the date on which the recipe was jotted down and  the paper heap found its way to the local newspaper-wala. Though the paper was lost, never did I forget the recipe. I did not have exact measurements but then I was confident to go with my intention. So one day, as George said I grated the cucumber, sprinkled a dash of salt and dumped it in the fridge to leave its water. And there it sat for the rest of its life... I forgot the whole episode and after 2days when I was cleaning the fridge, I found it hidden behind the preserved vegetables. Left with no other option, I had to dump it into the dustbin and with that went in the tzatziki recipe. I didn't want to waste another cucumber.

After months or rather say an year, the dip started popping around my head from time to time and so thought of giving it a go. This is not George's recipe but has been heavily adapted from here. The original recipe called for dill leaves but I replaced it with mint leaves. The dip was perfect to have with our Sunday Biryani.
P.S: I will be trying George's recipe soon... its still registered in my mind.

~*What U Need*~ Makes - 1 cup Greek yogurt / Hung curd - 1 cup Lemon juice - 1 tbsp Garlic clove - 1 Cucumber - 1, deseeded and diced Mint leaves - 1 handful Salt - to season Black pepper - to season

How I Made it:
Strain plain yogurt in a cheesecloth overnight. Peel cucumbers, cut in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Discard seeds. Slice cucumbers, put in a colander, sprinkle some salt, and let stand for 30 minutes. This step is to draw out the water from the cucumber. Drain well and wipe dry with paper towel.
Blend together garlic, lemon juice, mint and cucumbers. Season with pepper powder. Give a few whizzes until fully blended. Whisk yogurt till smooth.

Stir the cucumber mixture into the yogurt. Season with salt as needed. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving so that the flavors can blend in.

Serve with pita breads or biryanis or pulao varieties.

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Easy Sambar Saadam / Bisibelebath

Sambar saadam is u, me and everyone’s comfort food. A yummy one pot meal which combines the unique flavor of sambar and the goodness of veggies. I just love the way the rice melts in the mouth and when combined with ghee it is just awesome. I prefer making this semi-runny, semi-solid delicacy rather than the rice + sambar combination these days. Try adding some ghee to the rice when having it and you will totally love the texture and taste. Penning down more words will only lead me to brag about the yumminess of this heavenly one pot meal and so I am off to the recipe...

Serves - 2
Cooking time - 10 mins
Preparation Time - 15 mins

What U Need:
Raw Rice - 1 cups
Toor dal / Sambar Paruppu - 3/4 cup
Tamarind - Marble-sized ball
Chopped vegetables - 1 to 1.5 cups
Shallots - 6
Tomato - 1(medium)
Green chillies - 1
Sambar powder - 3 tsp
Hing powder - a generous pinch
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Chopped coriander leaves - 2 tbsp

To Temper:
Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Shallots - 4
Dried Red Chilly - 1(large)
Fenugreek seeds - few

My Cup of veggies
French beans - 4
Carrot - 1
Radish - 1 Potato - 1(medium)
Peas - a handful
Drumstick - 1
Capsicum - half of medium sized
Cucumber - 1/4 of medium sized
Brinjal -1(medium)
Snake gourd - 1/4 of medium sized

Pre-preparation:
Slice the shallots from the tempering section thinly. Clean and chop the vegetables into chunks. You can use the vegetables you have in hand. Clean the toor dhal and rice.
Add 1 cup of warm water to the tamarind and extract juice by discarding the pulp.
How I Made it:
Heat oil for tempering in the pressure cooker and add the mustard seeds and allow to splutter.
Add the curry leaves and fry.
Split the red chilly into two and then add this to the tempered oil. When black add the fenugreek seeds and sliced shallots and fry till the onions brown.
To this add the hing, green chilly, turmeric and sambar powder and tamarind water and mix well for 10 seconds.
Add the chopped veggies and fry for 2 mins.
Then add in the toor dhal and rice and sufficient water. For 1 cup of rice, I use 2 cups of water (1:2 ratio) and for dhal, I use 1 cup of water. So in total I need 3 cups of water. Already 1 cup has gone in the tamarind juice so I added an extra 2 1/2 cups of water. Extra 1/2 cup as I wanted my rice to be more moist.
Cook for 3 whistles. Wait till pressure leaves and then remove the whistle and stir it well.

Drizzle ghee over and serve hot with vadagam / chips / any fried side dish. We had it with Crispy fried Cauliflower and we loved the combo.

Though the process looks long and has more ingredients, making this is really easy.. Its just chop!!fry!!cook!! And a yummy one pot meal is ready!!!

Note:
I use the regular rice but you can also try with ponni or basmati

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

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Red Cabbage Mixed Salad

As I had already mentioned I am a diehard fan of any kinda salads these days. I prefer having a refreshing bowl of salad and a glass of fruit juice to the daily dinner menu. And huss also joins hands with me these days. So we just go chop!! chop!!
Making salads has given me the option to explore many un-tried veggies, fruits and salad dressings. I just play with all the ingredients in hand and am enjoying it.
One such veggie is the red cabbage. I have seen red cabbage many times but was not sure what to do with it and hence usually ignored it. But after I read a few articles on its usage in salad, I grabbed some when I went for my next grocery shopping.

~*What U Need*~

Red cabbage(cut into chunks) – 1 cup
Boiled corn kernels – ¼ cup
White cabbage(cut into chunks) – ½ cup
Cucumber(de-seeded and cut into chunks) – ¼ cup
Tomato(Medium) - 1
Carrot(julienned) – ¼ cup
Capsicum(julienned) – ¼ cup
Pitted black olives – 2 tbsp

For the Salad Dressing
Apple cider Vinegar – 1 tsp
Mayonnaise – 2 tbsp
Olive oil – 2 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Pepper – a pinch

How I made it

De-seed and dice the tomato into cubes.
Add all the ingredients mentioned and give it a stir.

Refreshing bowl of salad is ready.

Serve immediately. Sit back and enjoy!!!

Though the name suggests Red cabbage, I would say that the overall color of the veggie falls under Purple. So off this goes to Food Palatte Series Purple held at Torview

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Tender Cucumber Salad with Red Wine dressing

The summer has set in with full violence but the good news !!! it has brought on melons, tangy sweet mangoes and of course tender cucumbers in abundance. Cucumber is a perfect cooler for the season and what is best than making a refreshing salad with a simple red wine dressing. Sounds yum na!!! That’s what I made when I got a half kg of tender cucumbers.
Huss always wants mayonnaise to be added to the salads which I didn’t prefer for this salad. I just wanted a mouthful of freshness. So pan-fried some paneer cubes and topped off his salad with this. And he loved it!!!

~*What U Need*~

Tender cucumbers / Vellari Pinji – ¼ kg
Lettuce Leaves – a bunch
Capsicum(julienned) – ½ cup
Salt – to taste
Pepper – a pinch
Chaat masala – a pinch

For Salad Dressing
Olive Oil – 2 tbsp
Red Wine – 3 tbsp
Apple Cider Vinegar – ½ tsp

Optional
Paneer cubes – 10-12
Ginger Garlic Paste – ½ tsp
Oil – 1 tsp
Salt – to taste
Pepper – to taste

How I Made it
Slice the cucumbers thinly. Cut the lettuce leaves. Add the julienne-d capsicum and mix well.

Add the salt and pepper and combine well.
To this add the ingredients in the salad dressing and give it a stir.

Lets prepare the paneer now!!! Heat oil in a pan. Add the ginger garlic paste and sauté till the raw smell goes off.
Add the salt, give it a stir and add the paneer cubes.
Allow it to cook to brown on every sides.
Add the pepper and toss it. Don’t use spoon to work on the paneer, just gently toss it around.
This step is purely optional. I skipped this for my salad.

Add the sautéed paneer cubes on top of the salad. Sprinkle some chaat masala and serve immediately.

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Aviyal - A traditional South Indian Cuisine

Aviyal - This is a traditional and authentic south Indian recipe and is my favorite (when prepared by mom). Ever since I got married, I have not tried it but I have been craving for this.. Whenever I land up in my hometown, I ask mom to make 'Sambar and aviyal'. Love this combination.

So one day, hubby dear encouraged me to do this and so got the recipe from mom and tried it.
Came out really really well. It came out nearly perfect... Happy with the outcome, I tried it again on Tamil New Year and it was so very yum. Would love to have this dish anytime.

~*What U Need*~

Snake gourd, Yam, Potato, Carrot, Beans, Brinjal, Raw Banana, Cucumber
2 cups of these vegetable cut into long pieces
Grated coconut - 1 cup
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Urad Dhal - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Garlic cloves - 2
Turmeric powder
Green chili - 1
Small onions / shallots - 6-7
Thick curd - 4 tbsps
Coconut oil - 2 tbsps

How I Made it
Heat coconut oil in a non stick tawa. Add mustard seeds and allow to splutter. Then add urad dhal and curry leaves.
Now add the cut vegetables and give it shake and close with a lid. Do not use your spoon on the vegetables. Cook the vegetables in medium heat

Now blend coconut, cumin seeds, garlic, Turmeric powder, curry leaves, green chilli and shallots to a coarse mixture.
Add curd and give it a pulse.

Check the vegetables and once cooked add the ground mixture. Add salt and some water. Allow it to boil for 2 mins and then off the flame...

Serve with rice.

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