Chayote Squash and Wild Rice with Lentils and Quinoa Soup

Chewy wild rice along with quinoa add texture to this thick stew-like soup, with the lentils adding body, and chayote squash giving it the slightly unorthodox edge.

I grew up eating chayote squash on a regular basis, usually in lentils-based koottu, or as coconut-based molagoottal. I like its pear-like crispness and mild bland flavor that lends itself well to be incorporated into any dish.

Add in favorite herbs from the garden as a bouquet-garni, some garlic, and some cayenne pepper and the stew comes together quite easily.

For a quicker weeknight meal, I pressure cook the wild rice and lentils in vegetable stock. Then, add in the veggies and seasoning, allow to simmer gently, and serve warm.

Kids were unimpressed by the color of the soup, they would have preferred it not so tan and brown, but, they scooped spoonfuls and enjoyed ti anyway.

Quinoa, Millet, Barley, Soybean Dosai

I grew up with a steady dose of Dosai-- the versatile anytime crepe-like flatbread made from hearty urad dal and rice. I didn't think about it much, it was a staple and therefore taken for granted. I didn't bother to analyze its nutritional value when I was young, I didn't care to know much about it, except that the batter was always handy and my mom would make this simple dish without a second thought and serve it with any handy chutneys or leftover sambaror kozhambu.

Now that I am trying to feed my own kids, I find that this unassuming protein-packed Dosai is my best friend-- the kind I can take liberties with and not fall out. The kids love it with or without chutneys and dips on the side. And, these are second-gen enhanced non-traditional Dosai that tradition-loving puritans would probably frown at.

There is the 'ordinary' dosai that was favored by the kids when they were toddlers. A slight variation of it is the Brown Rice Dosai that always satisfies. And then, there is the Soy Bean Dosai which comes from a multipurpose batter that doubles as Idlee batter for steaming. On and off, I make the batter with a mix of barley and pearl millet with brown rice and urad dal which gives a wholesome Barley-Millet Dosai.

It helps to plan ahead: I typically soak the ingredients overnight on a Thursday evening, grind it Friday night, then allow it to ferment all weekend thanks to natural wild yeast in the air. In winter, I help it along by warming up the oven a bit, turning off the oven, and leaving the batter inside the oven to stay warm and ferment better. The batter is ready when it bubbles a bit when stirred and emits a pleasant sour odor.

The batter, once fermented, can be stored in the fridge for a week. I take out a little at a time to make a few dosais as needed for breakfast or dinner, as they taste best fresh off the griddle.

Anyway, there are umpteen variations for the batter - just add whatever grams and pulses are handy and see how it turns out. Sometimes, the texture is off and the batter tends to stick to the griddle making it tough to cook if the combination is not right, but over time, it is easy enough to gauge the outcome while measuring and soaking the ingredients.

This Quinoa-Millet-Barley-Soybean Dosai is one such combination that turned out fine and was much relished by the family

Ingredients for the batter:
1 cup urad dal
1 cup quinoa
1 cup millet
1 cup barley
1 cup soy beans
2 cups brown rice

Preparation

1. Soak the ingredients for the batter overnight
2. Grind using a heavy-duty blender or wet grinder to a smooth batter with the consistency of pancake batter
3. Leave it in a warm place to ferment and rise - preferably cover with a cheese cloth or any breathable towel - anywhere from 24 to 48 hours
4. Add some salt and a little water if needed to make the batter spreadable on the griddle to make the crepes.
5. Cook much like pancakes-- brown one side, flip and cook the other side

Mint Thuvaiyal:

Here, I serve the dosais with red-chili chutney and home-made Mint Thuvaiyal- a pesto-like South Indian concoction. Mint is getting wild in the backyard, their runner roots taking over a small patch thanks to recent rains and warm weather.

Fresh mint leaves from the garden sauteed with toasted urad dal and chana dal, plus grated coconut, chilies, and tamarind paste come together to make this quick thick chutney-like blend referred to as Thuvaiyal/Thogayal in Tamil.

Quinoa Fritters with Eggplant, Kale, Zucchini and Mushrooms

I had ground up some quinoa to stock up on quinoa meal, about fine corn meal consistency, to make vegetable porridge. And used some of it to make these griddle cake-like fritters loaded with veggies.

Of course, the outsides got a bit too well done on the cast iron skillet, but, the insides were moist and cooked; the taste was just fine, so we enjoyed it with some chutneys.

1. Finely grate eggplant and zucchini, squeeze out excess water and keep handy
2. Finely mince kale, onions, and mushrooms
3. Add seasoning to taste
4. Fold in the quinoa flour or meal, adding a little water as needed to make the batter about pancake consistency; alternately, keep water to a minimum to shape into patties
5. Cook on a medium hot cast iron skillet
6. Serve with tomato chutney and coriander-mint chutney

Quinoa-Stuffed Scallop Squash

We are fortunate that within walking distance, there's an international farmer's market that is open on Sundays June through October. "International" because farmers/growers and vendors of Russian, Mexican, Hmong and Mien origin offer vegetables unique to their culture and ideally suited for their traditional dishes. Besides the fresh produce, there's usually music from various countries. A unicycle-riding bagpiper is a fixture as well - kids love to watch him perform - especially when he arranges to do a "flaming" bagpipe performance.

Anyway, I usually pick up veggies at random, whatever catches my fancy, and then decide how I am going to use them after safely settling them in my kitchen.

The scallop (aka patty pan) squashes were lovely. I couldn't resist. At 4 for a dollar, it felt like a steal.

Stuffed veggies are always fun. Stuffed peppers is a favorite. So, I decided to make stuffed scallop squash again. This time, the filling is veggie-loaded quinoa.

Ingredients
4 to 6 scallop squash

For the stuffing:
1 cup cooked quinoa
½ cup chopped colorful bell peppers
½ cup chopped green or red cabbage
½ red or yellow onion, diced finely
1 serrano chili chopped finely (optional)
salt to taste
1 Tbsp canola oil

Preparation

1. Cut an opening at the stem part, save the top, and scoop the innards out of the scallop squash, leaving a fairly thick layer of flesh inside
2. Steam or simmer the scallop squash (top as well) in salted boiling water for a few minutes till tender, and plunge in ice/cold water to prevent over-cooking, and to preserve its shape.
3. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a pan, saute the onions, chilies and bell peppers, add the the cabbage, then the quinoa and cook till veggies are wilted a bit and yet still crunchy; adjust salt and herbs or other flavors to taste
4. Scoop the quinoa mixture into the scallop squash, garnish with herbs and serve warm or at room temperature. I went with mint and fennel and some rosemary from my garden for garnish as those were the herbs I used for flavoring the quinoa as well, so carried over the same; but, even cilantro or parsley will be fine

10 Grain Cereal Upma and Quinoa Upma

Upma ("Oop-maa") is a staple in south India, usually as a tiffin item for breakfast or sometimes a light dinner, made with coarse grits-like farina. There were two schools of thought about the ideal upma in our family when I was young: the grainy, non-lumpy, non-sticky kind with  lots of vegetables like carrots, peas, onions, ginger, tomatoes, chilies etc; and the gooey, ghee-dripping kind with just some tempering and possibly chilies and ginger and a touch of salt to taste.

Over the formative years, I've gone from liking one kind to the other and back again. These days, in my kitchen, it depends on my mood.

For the gooey porridge-like upma, I prefer the coarse meal 10 grain cereal sold in bulk food stores: wheat, corn, rye, triticale, oats, soy beans, millet, barley, brown rice, oat bran and flaxseed. Sometimes, I add an optional 11th item - viz., quinoa - to this mix.

For the grainy coarse upma, I like just the quinoa, or a mix of quinoa and bulgur. I cook it al dente first and then make the upma as below.

Veggies in either case depends on what's handy. Typically, onions, ginger, chilies, cabbage, bell pepper, carrots, peas are the staple. Sometimes I add cauliflower, edamame, kale or spinach.

Tempering: heat a tablespoon of canola oil in a pan, when oil is hot, add split urad dal, when the dal turns golden brown, add mustard seeds, and when mustard seeds pop, add curry leaves and the vegetables.

Saute the veggies, then, add the 10 grain cereal for the gooey upma. Add boiling hot water to the cereal in the ratio 1.5 : 1 - i.e., one measure of cereal gets 1.5 measure of boiling water. Cover and cook on medium low heat till the cereal is cooked through. Add in ghee or flax oil Omega butter™. Stir well and serve warm with Indian pickles.

Quinoa Scallions Fenugreek Feta Fritters

For a while now, fritters, griddle cakes, and unleavened pan breads seem to be taking over my kitchen. Anything is fair game as long as I can make a batter and cook it on the pan quickly. A nice big vegetable side, plus a few of these small fritters or pancakes seem to be a popular dinner meal with all but the youngest in the house.

Ingredients
1 cup cooked quinoa
¼ cup buttermilk
¼ cup crumbled feta
¼ cup finely chopped scallions
1 Tbsp Bragg's Liquid Aminos
2 eggs
2 Tbsp flax meal
2 mint leaves minced
2 Tbsp finely chopped cilantro leaves
1 Tbsp dried fenugreek leaves (available at most Indian stores)

3 Tbsp finely diced onions (optional)

oil for griddle cooking

Preparation

1. Combine the ingredients and mix well to form a thick batter
2. Heat a well-seasoned cast iron skillet to medium, with a light drizzling of oil
3. Drop a dollop of the batter, flatten a bit, allow to cook till browned; flip and brown the other side
4. Serve warm with Mint-Cilantro Chutney

Mint-Cilantro Chutney:
10 mint leaves, finely chopped
½ cup chopped cilantro
1 small serrano chili, chopped (optional, adjust to taste)
1 Tbsp Tahini paste
¼ teaspoon tamarind paste
¼ teaspoon agave nectar

Combine the ingredients in a blender, and process to a fine paste, adding water if needed for the chutney consistency.

Quinoa & Orange with Roasted Beets & Sweet Potatoes

Oven roasted beets and sweet potatoes have that hearty appeal which goes well with this simple quinoa salad. There's been a bit of a beetroot obsession going on lately.

I prefer to bake the beets and sweet potatoes separately. Sweet potatoes are done in about 15 to 20 mins in a 425 °F oven. Beets take up to 45 minutes depending on how big the chunks are. Lightly toss them in olive oil before cooking in the oven.

Ingredients
1 medium beetroot, cut into chunks and roasted
1 medium sweet potato, cut into rounds and roasted
1 orange, peeled and cut into chunks
1 cup quinoa, cooked in stock
Feta, crumble as needed
A few fresh romaine hearts leaves

Lay the lettuce leaves on a plate. Combine the rest of the ingredients and spoon into the lettuce leaves. Enjoy!

Arugula Quinoa Citrus-y Salad

I tend to sound like a broken record at times here - but, I do love the rice cooker. I use it a lot and not just for cooking rice. Anything from cous cous to polenta, millet, kasha, steamed veggies, kichdi, and quinoa, I trust my rice cooker to help out. Of course, the first few tries of any new item is experimental, until I figure out the amount of liquid needed and whether one regular cycle is enough etc.

Quinoa comes out perfectly in the rice cooker. I buy quinoa in bulk. Per cup of dry quinoa, I use 1 cup of liquid - either stock or water. Typically, I soak the quinoa in warm water for about 5 minutes and drain the stuff that floats to the top. Rinse and repeat washing a couple of times. And then I am ready to measure out the water and cook it in the regular cycle of the rice cooker. And to keep the grains from getting clumped and sticky, I like to add a small amount of olive oil (or any favorite oil). Rice cooker is particularly helpful for making flavorful brown rice and pilaf (pulao/pulav), of course.

The Berry Sweet Citrus Dressing is something I came up with for this salad as I was in the mood for it. This recipe here yields about half a cup of this delicious dressing. I tend to dress the salad on the conservative side for serving; however, I also serve extra dressing on the side.

Berry Sweet Citrus Dressing:
2 Tbsp Raspberry Red Wine Vinegar (I use Pompeian™)
1 tsp agave nectar
1 Tbsp fresh orange juice
1 tsp black raspberry jam
1 tsp sambal oelek (less if preferred)
½ tsp Italian seasoning herbs
⅛ tsp salt (optional)
⅛ tsp smoked paprika powder
½ tsp freshly grated ginger
4 Tbsp Olive Oil

Simply whisk all the ingredients together, taste and adjust as preferred.

For the salad:
¼ medium red onion, sliced thin
¼ medium red pepper, sliced thin
1 or 2 sweet mandarin oranges, peeled and sectioned
¼ cup julienned cooked beets
2.5 oz Arugula, cleaned and ready to use
1 cup cooked quinoa, cooled to room temperature
Slivered almonds (optional)

Toss the salad ingredients together, reserving the beets, almonds, and the orange slices as topping.

Spinach, Quinoa, Onion Sprouts, Beet and Carrot Salad

It seems like I've been making the usual staples and some of the simplest foods lately. The home-garden is just beginning to establish again. It has been a very wet Spring, too chilly and overcast, but, hopefully the plants will do all right this Summer and gift us with their bounty.

We just threw some onion seeds on the ground saved from last year and a beautiful bunch of onion sprouts have come up, which we've been topping salads with and layering in sandwiches.

I cooked the quinoa with some fresh mint leaves from the garden. The dressing is my favorite Agave Nectar + Sambal Oelek:

1 Tbsp Sambal Oelek
1 Tbsp Agave Nectar (more if preferred sweeter)
1 tsp freshly grated ginger (less if preferred)
3 Tbsp Pomegranate red wine vinegar
8 Tbsp Olive oil (more or less)
salt to taste

Layer the spinach leaves, grated carrots and beets, quinoa, onion sprouts, cranberries, almonds or walnuts, drizzle some dressing and enjoy.

Mushroom in Red Wine Sauce with Bean Thread Noodles

Some baby bella mushrooms with pearl onions came together in a rich-flavored simple sauce for this dish, served with mung bean thread noodles.

Cook bean thread per package directions, or serve with rice sticks, or just plain jasmine rice; or with quinoa, or even brown rice.

Ingredients
pearl onions, peeled
baby bella mushrooms, chopped if to big
2 Tbsp canola oil
salt to taste
water as needed

For garnish: cilantro and spring onions

For the sauce:
½ cup red wine (I used some Gato Negro Shiraz I had handy)
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp oregano powder or 1 Tbsp crushed dried oregano (+/-)
½ tsp cayenne pepper powder
1 tsp brown sugar or 1 Tbsp Agave nectar
1 Tbsp minced garlic

Preparation

1. Heat the oil in a pan, sauté the pearl onions and mushrooms a bit, remove from pan, keep aside
2. In the same pan, add the tomato paste and garlic, sauté till tomato paste turns rich red and aromatic, add the spices, wine, and half to one cup of water, cover and allow to simmer and reduce a bit
3. Toss back in the mushrooms and pearl onions, simmer together to desired sauce consistency; add water as needed

Brown Rice Vegetable Soup

The weather being chilly and wet, I've been making soups, casseroles, breads for dinners. Soups are a good way for me to use up leftover barley or quinoa or rice , along with a favorite combination of vegetables and spices.

Thai soup spices is my default flavoring, but, this recipe has a tomato base with a small amount of evaporated milk for creaminess. We had harvested the last of cherry tomatoes from the home garden a while back.

And now that cold has set in, we harvested the green tomatoes as well, which probably wouldn't turn ripe red anymore...

Ingredients
Vegetables: baby corn, snap peas, bell peppers, onions, cherry tomatoes, carrots, lima beans
1½ to 2 cups cooked brown rice
6-8 cups water or vegetable stock
2 Tbsp lemon juice
¼ to ½ cup evaporated milk (optional)

½ medium onion finely diced
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 Tbsp sambal oelek
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp brown sugar (more if preferred)
2 Tbsp canola oil
salt to taste

Preparation

1. Heat the oil in a pan, add the onions, garlic and tomato paste, stir and cook till onions are translucent and tomato paste turns darker and aromatic, then add sambal oelek and brown sugar
   
2. Add the vegetables, stock, brown rice, some salt, stir well, cover and allow to simmer till it all comes together
3. Stir in the lemon juice, taste and adjust flavors if preferred; off-heat stir in the evaporated milk for a creamier texture
   

Opo Squash, Zucchini, and Pumpkin in a light sauce

There is something about the combination of delicate almost watery Opo Squash with meaty semi-sweet pumpkin that I find irresistible. This probably stems from consuming a lot of Olan, a South Indian delicacy that is my mom's specialty.

We had harvested some zucchini and pumpkin from our home-garden and the combination of these reminded me of my mom's Olan very much, especially along with Opo Squash.

The kids don't enjoy it much - they'll take a bite to satisfy me and because we made it a rule to try the dish, grimaces and nose-wrinkling notwithstanding, every time I put something in front of them.

It is the simplicity of this dish that I find reflects the inherent qualities of the vegetables - no rich curry, no strong spices, just simple flavors. Of course, feel free to experiment and adjust/add flavors to taste, as always. Instead of pumpkin, can use any mildly sweet winter squash like butternut or acorn squash.

While similar to my Olan recipes, this recipe can me made into a thin soup with vegetables chopped up tinier, and using chicken stock instead of vegetable, if preferred. [Incidentally, looking back at my very old recipes, gosh! what terrible pictures! I must update them with better ones soon :)]

Ingredients
½ Opo Squash, peeled, cored, and diced
1 medium zucchini,  cored and diced
As much pumpkin  or winter squash as preferred, diced or cut into chunks
Additional vegetables: cauliflower, broccoli, Chinese long green beans (optional)
vegetable stock, enough to cook the veggies
¼ to ½ cup plain low-fat milk (for a richer, slightly different flavor, can use light coconut-milk)
spices: freshly ground black pepper, turmeric
1 Tbsp coconut oil (or any other preferred oil)

Preparation

1. Heat the coconut oil in a pan, add the turmeric, then vegetables and stock, cover and simmer till vegetables are cooked but not mushy; I like the smell and flavor of coconut oil in this dish as I use milk instead of coconut-milk to finish
2. When water is all but absorbed and veggies are cooked, turn off heat,  stir in ground black pepper and milk, adjust flavors. The amount of milk depends on how runny we want the finished dish to be. For a soupy consistency, add more, naturally.
3. Garnish with cilantro and spring onions if preferred and serve warm with brown basmati rice, or plain cooked quinoa, or roti; or enjoy it as-is.

Curried Quinoa with Vegetables

Quinoa salads, quinoa as rice substitute, quinoa stew are just a few of the simple ways to incorporate this nutritional powerhouse into daily diet. If buying in bulk, and it is not pre-rinsed, then, soaking and rinsing a couple of times removes the bitter-tasting saponins. Sometimes, I don't mind the bitter flavor, so, I don't rinse as much and just cook it as usual.

Quinoa makes a great substitute for rice for me, as I love to eat rice. Plain hot basmati rice. A lot of it. Between wild rice, barley, quinoa, bulgur, brown rice and cous-cous, I have learnt not to miss plain white rice as much anymore.

Much like rice, quinoa can be cooked on stove top with 2 parts water/stock for one part quinoa. When water is all absorbed and gone, simply fluff and serve.

This recipe of Curried Quinoa with Vegetables is just one possibility: add favorite vegetables and cook them together with quinoa. Or simply cook the plain quinoa, allow to cool a bit, toss with raw salad ingredients; or add to stir-fried or sautéed vegetables.

In this recipe, I cook the veggies and quinoa together, adding a bit more water to account for cooking the veggies.

The Adzuki beans & asparagus salad recipe can be modified to replace bulgur with quinoa. Or, for that matter, the Barley Salad recipe can be adapted to use quinoa instead of barley, leaving all other ingredients the same.

Ingredients
1 cup quinoa, soaked and rinsed
2 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
2-4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 medium onion diced finely
favorite vegetables: red cabbage, bell peppers, carrots, green beans, cauliflower, broccoli, turnip greens, chards (or greens of any kind)
other additions: cooked adzuki beans or lima beans or chick peas or any other favorite kind of beans
3 cups water or vegetable stock (more or less, adjust to added ingredients)
1 Tbsp Madras curry powder
salt to taste
1 tsp olive oil
4 Tbsp lemon juice (more or less)

Garnish: chives, spring onions, toasted nuts

Preparation

1. Heat the oil in a pan, add the onions, ginger and garlic, sauté a bit
2. Add in the veggies, quinoa, water, stir well, cover and cook over medium heat till quinoa is done
3. Stir in the lemon juice and garnish with favorite herbs and toasted nuts if preferred