Quinoa - A simple recipe

Are you looking for a healthy meal to prepare which you won’t spend hours in the kitchen?  So here’s a quick and simple recipe for you. 

Quinoa or, as some people call it, `Rice of Incas’ is a very healthy option for those who want to avoid rice for one reason or another.  There are several ways of making it but one of the easiest and still tasty ways is to serve it with red Kidney Beans (or Raajmaanh) or simply boiled chick peas (Kabuli Chaney).

Ingredients:

1 Tb. Sp.              Olive Oil/ Colza oil

1 cup                     Quinoa

Kelpamar (according to taste)

Water

Preparation:

Boil water.

Add quinoa grains.

Let it boil for about 5 - 10 minutes.

When it is done you’ll see that the grains haver germinated.

Once the grains are well cooked, lower the flame and let the water dry.

Serve in a dish with kelpamar and olive oil or colza oil dressing.  You can add some boiled chickpeas or red kidney beans (rajma) to it. 

It is a healthy and complete meal.  Personally I love it as main course of my meal.  If you are looking for a healthy

Health Benefits:

Quinoa has a very high nutritional value and its high protein content (18%) makes it ideal for those looking for protein rich diet.

Colza or Rapeseed oil is a rich source of Omega 3, 6 and 9 and an excellent source of these Omega elements for vegetarians.

And if you don’t get Colza oil, you can use Olive oil, which, too, has several health benefits.

Beating winters simply

Winter means cold weather and often people fall prey to diseases like flu.  But there are some simple ways to beat cold and I'm going to share one of them with you today.  It's called Besan ki barfi or simply Besan. 

Ingredients:

250 Gms Besan (chickpea flour)

250 Gms Ghee (clarified butter)

Single string Chashni (Sugar syrup made in such a manner that it forms a single string when it flows)

Powdered khus-khus (poppy seeds)

Almonds (whole or crushed)

Procedure:

Heat ghee in a wok.  Add besan to heated ghee and heat till the fragrance of besan fills the house.  Take it off the flame.  Add powdered poppy seeds and almonds and mix well.  Add sugar syrup to it and continue mixing.  It should be semi-liquid.

Take a metal plate with rim and butter it.  Pour the mixture in it and let it lie for 7-8 hours.  It will become solid.

After that cut it into small square pieces with a knife and take it out carefully and store.

You can store it for some time if you manage not to finish it that is :-)

It is easy to make and the most crucial part is making the chashni or the sugar syrup.  If you are unable to make perfect sugar syrup you may end up with either too soft or too hard barfi or it may be too sweet or not sweet enough. 

Benefits:

It helps reinforce immunity during winters and is considered a good remedy for cold.  Besan is very rich in proteins and is good for health.