Ingredients
- ▢½ cup quinoa
- ▢1.5 tablespoon oil – any neutral tasting oil
- ▢⅓ cup finely chopped onions or 1 small to medium-sized
- ▢½ teaspoon finely chopped ginger or ½ inch ginger
- ▢1 teaspoon chopped green chilies or 1 to 2 green chilies – chopped
- ▢1 dry red chili – stem and seeds removed, optional
- ▢1 pinch asafoetida (hing) – optional
- ▢7 to 8 curry leaves
- ▢½ teaspoon mustard seeds
- ▢½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ▢½ teaspoon urad dal (husked and split black gram)
- ▢½ teaspoon moong dal (yellow mung lentils)
- ▢⅓ cup finely chopped carrots or 1 small carrot
- ▢¼ cup finely chopped french beans 5 to 6 french beans
- ▢⅓ cup green peas – frozen
- ▢1 cup water
- ▢salt as required
- ▢2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)
Instructions
- Take the quinoa in a fine mesh strainer and rinse well in running water. Drain the water and set aside.
- Heat the oil in a pan. Keep the heat to a low. Add mustard seeds.
- Once the mustard seeds begin crackling, then add cumin seeds, urad dal and moong dal or chana dal.
- Stir often and fry on a low heat until the urad dal and moong dal turn golden.
- Then add finely chopped ginger, chopped green chilies, dry red chili and a pinch of asafoetida (optional). Fry on low heat for about half a minute.
- Next add finely chopped onions and curry leaves.
- Stir and sauté on a low to medium heat till the onions become translucent and soften.
- Then add finely chopped carrots, finely chopped french beans and frozen green peas. Mix well.
- Sauté on a low heat for two minutes.
- Then add the quinoa and mix very well again.
- Sauté for a minute or two on low heat.
- Add water and mix again.
- Add salt as per taste. Check the taste of the water and add more salt if needed.
- Cover the pan with its lid and simmer on a low heat till the quinoa seeds are cooked, softened, look translucent and fluffy.
- Once or twice you can stir the quinoa while the seeds are being cooked.
- When all the water has been absorbed and the grains appear translucent and cooked well, remove the lid and switch off the heat.
- Add the chopped coriander leaves.
- Give a quick stir and serve vegetable quinoa upma hot or warm with a few lemon wedges or coconut chutney or lime pickle
Notes
- Quinoa to water ratio: For one measure of quinoa, I add double the amount of water. I always cook quinoa covered in a pan and this proportion works very well for me.
- Rinsing quinoa: Always rinse quinoa seeds whether they are pre-rinsed or the regular variety. Rinsing helps in removing the bitterness that comes from saponin present on the seeds. Agitate or rub the seeds while rinsing.
- Veggie variations: Feel free to add vegetables like chopped broccoli, shredded cabbage, finely chopped or shredded carrots, green peas, chopped snap peas, frozen corn, grated beets or chopped bell peppers.
- Gluten-free variation: To make a gluten-free recipe, either skip adding asafoetida or use gluten-free asafoetida.
- Scale: Easily scale up the recipe to make a serving of four.
