Friday, July 12, 2013

How to cook Quinoa

Quinoa ( pronounced : Kin-wa ) is appreciated by many people for its nutritional value. It is a source of complete protein. Also a good source of dietary fiber,  iron, calcium, etc.

Cooked quinoa can be used in various dishes from salads to pulaos to upma and many more.
I shall post few of the recipes as we go.

This is how you can cook quinoa.

Stove Top :

  • Rince the quinoa under running water just like how you rinse rice before you cook it. 
  • Take 1 cup of quinoa and 2 cups of water and cook covered for about 15 minutes on medium or till the quinoa is fluffy and cooked and all the water is soaked up. Give a standing time of 5 minutes.
Microwave
  • Take quinoa and water in the proportion 1:2 in a microwave safe bowl, cover loosely and microwave for about 10 min. Let is stand for another 10 min. 
Quinoa looks fluffy and transparent after it is cooked. They are crunchy in texture.


Note :  
  • You can replace water with vegetable stock.
  • You can also cook in a rice cooker.
  • You can add chopped vegetables like onions, celery, carrots, bell peppers etc to make is more flavorful. 
  • You could also add garlic, or a spring of rosemary or dash of black pepper and some lemon juice with little olive oil.
  • You could make it like how you make vegetable pulao or vegetable upma as well.