Grain, lentils and pickled vegetable Salad

Grain and Lentil Salad

 

 

Aren't healthy salads a treat when they taste good too? Here's one with a variety of grains, including lentils, quinoa, wild rice, and bulgur wheat. 

In a pan heat 3 tbsp olive oil
Add
1 1/2 cup each of 
brown lentils
bulgur  or cracked wheat
quinoa
wild rice

Mix well and add 6 cups of meat broth or chicken stock.
Add to the pot
2 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp cinnamon powder
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp ras el hanout
1 tsp salt
1 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp freshly crushed garlic

Bring everything to a boil and lower the heat. Allow it to cook through. Once the liquid has evaporated, cover and steam for another 20 minutes. 
Overturn all the grains onto flat cook sheets and allow them to cool. 

Squeeze fresh lemon all over. 

Before serving, assemble it with a cup of each of your three favourite pickled vegetables. 
mushrooms, beetroot, and red pepper. 
Keep approximately 1/2 cup of liquid from these, like the oil and vinegar. 
Toss

Also add 2 cups of your favourite piece of cooked meat in squares, like sausage 

1 cup pecans or walnuts, broken 

Sprinkle all over 1 cup of finely chopped herbs like mint, parsley, corriander, etc. 

1 1/2 cups goat cheese, crumbled 

1 cup fried onions, crisp 

Optionally 
1 cup kalamata olives
1 cup artichoke

Tips
The idea is to keep the cooked grains whole and not mashed up. Keep it moist and glistening with olive oil. taste for salt. 

The different choices are to give it the perfect taste, texture, and colour. 

Add your favourites to make it perfect.

My published cookbooks are available for sale through myself and on Amazon.

The World of Parsi Cooking: Food Across Borders is a 3 award winning book. It has been self published in July 2019 and will be going into its second print in 2022. 

The Art of Parsi Cooking; reviving an ancient cuisine was published in 2016 by Austin Macauley and continues to be available through amazon book depot book depository and from the publishers.

For more delicious salads and recipes
Niloufer's Kitchen : Moroccan Cuisine http://amzn.to/NKMoroccan

Fruity nutty Quinoa

Quinoa Fruit and Nut

Eating healthy is always challenging. The dry fruits and nuts complete your daily nutrition for the day. Grill a piece of salmon or chicken to eat with this. It makes a delicious and filling lunch, brunch or even a late hearty breakfast. It can be eaten cold or warm, but it is best at  at room temperature. 

1 cup Quinoa
2 cups of vegetable stock
1 clove garlic
Salt to taste.
1/4 cup each
dates
apricots
figs
pine nuts
sunflower seeds
raisins
flaked almonds
pistachios

In a pan boil together the quinoa, vegetable stock,salt and the garlic. When the liquid has boiled down and the top of the quinoa visible, lower the heat, cover and simmer for 35 minutes. Remove from the flame. With a fork fluff up the cooked quinoa mashing in the clove of garlic which will be very soft.
Let it cool for about 15 minutes and mix in the dry fruits and nuts.
Serve at room temperature.

Tips

Quinoa generally comes in 4 colours.  
I prefer the white one to mix in the colourful assortment of fruit and nut.

Soaking them overnight before cooking it takes away the tad of bitterness the outside of this ancient grain can sometimes have. If you do not have the time soak them for a few hours and drain. 

You can read more on Quinoa at http://www.nilouferskitchen.com/2014/02/quinoa-resurrection-or-epiphany.html


Make your own delicious vegetable stock recipes available at
Niloufer's Kitchen: Soups http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GEH9PDQ

For more Quinoa recipes from the blog visit
http://www.nilouferskitchen.com/2014/02/quinoa-kichri.html
and
http://www.nilouferskitchen.com/2014/02/quinoa-prawn-salad.html


Photo credit Nafeesa Jalal

Quinoa & Prawn Salad

Raw Quinoa Grains

In a saucepan, bring all of the ingredients to a boil. 
2 cups of quinoa. 
4 cups of chicken or vegetable broth, adding salt to taste. 
Bring this to a rapid boil, allowing the liquid to evaporate until the grain is visible. 
Cover, reduce to a simmer, and leave for 30 minutes to steam. Quinoa is a grain and may need 5 minutes extra, but not less. 

Fluff it up with a fork while warm and place it in a large bowl. 

Toss in a mixture; 
1 diced cucumber
1 ripe avocado, diced
1 red pepper, diced
sprinkled with salt and a squeeze of lemon.

2 cups of sautéed Moroccan prawns. 
Click on http://amzn.to/NKMoroccan for the recipe and more. 
This link is also available on my e-cookbook page on this blog. 

Sprinkle this with sumac powder or lemon zest and finely chopped coriander or parsley and serve warm. 

Tips
Soaking them overnight before cooking takes away the tad of bitterness the outer shell of this ancient grain can sometimes have. If you do not have the time, soak them for a few hours and drain. 

Chopped black or green olives can be added. 

A handful of cherry tomatoes, finely chopped parsley or coriander leaves, crunchy celery, or even finely chopped kale leaves can be substituted.


My published cookbooks are now available on Amazon 

The Art of Parsi cuisine; reviving an ancient cuisine

The World of Parsi Cooking: Food Across Borders.

Quinoa Kichri

Quinoa Khichri 

Khichri, Khichdi, and Khichuri are derived from a Sanskrit word simply meaning "rice and lentil". 

It has many variations and is popularly referred to as a comfort food. The texture is generally wet rather than dry, similar to a risotto. It is often seasoned with clarified butter or pure ghee. From the Greeks to the Persians, it was a favourite of the Mughal Emperor Akbar! 

The Egyptians and their neighbours add vegetables to it, while the Indian sub-continent likes to serve it with yoghurt or other forms of curry. The people of Maharashtra living on the Arabian Sea, however, tend to add shrimp to their Khichri. 

It is generally the simplest and healthiest form of solid food introduced to babies. It is affordable as a self-contained complete meal, making it the food of the masses. Many cultures dedicate a meal of khichri during their week of wedding festivities.

A serving of a simple Quinoa Khichri

Gluten-free people will appreciate the quinoa khichri. It has lots of nutrients and digests easily. 

In  a pot measure
1 cup quinoa
1 cup red split masoor lentils, washed and drained
1 cinnamon stick

salt to taste 

Add 3 cups of chicken or vegetable broth and bring this to a boil. Lower the flame and allow this to cook until the liquid is reduced and you can see the top of the grains.

Simmer for 30 minutes, covered. 
Fluff with a fork and serve.

Tips
Soaking them overnight before cooking takes away the tad of bitterness the outer shell of this ancient grain can sometimes have. If you do not have the time, soak them for a few hours and drain. 

The stock may have enough salt already, but add a little first. 

If desired, season with black peppercorns, cloves, bay leaf, and crushed fried onions, just as you would for khichri. 

If you want to eat this as a side to a grilled piece of chicken or fish, add a touch of lemon zest, orange zest, finely chopped parsley or any favourite fresh herb for flavour. 

Alternately, add chopped black or green olives, mushrooms, nuts; the choices are endless.

Eat this with a yogurt based kudhee if you wish or other foods like Patio and Sas.
Healthy eating!!

For more on Parsi Food recipes and its origin read my cookbooks
The Art of Parsi Cooking; reviving an ancient cuisine and The World of Parsi Cooking Food Across Borders.

Try a Prawn Qunioa Salad 
Read more about the grain Qunioa





Comment from Tamizan Esmail on fb....

btw, i made the quinoa kichdi and it was fantastic! Even better than regular! thanks Niloufer

Quinoa: A resurrection or an epiphany?

The Grain of the Gods 

It has become a common household word. Its reemergence has made it so popular that the esteemed United Nations decided to award it its own "Year". Quinoa was designated as the crop of the year in 2013. 

The positive from that publicity is awareness of this ancient grain, which is available across the globe for all of us to enjoy. Its taste, variety, nutritional value, and health benefits make it a tad interesting. It is gluten-free and is a good substitute for the gluten-heavy rice. 

The word Quinoa, originating from the Spanish language, is pronounced as KI-Nwa or kee-nu-wah by the rest of the world. It is grown on tall stalks across the continent of South America. Colorful little beads with a slight pop that bursts in one's mouth when eaten. The choice is wide; white/ivory/pearl or red/purple/pink/orange and black/grey. 
Quinoa grows in abundance in South America and originated in the rugged mountains of the Andes 4000 years ago. I cannot help but wonder what political motive left us starved of this amazing grain for the past decades. Time to catch up then.

Unlike rice, quinoa is rich in nutrients, but it is cooked similarly to rice. Flavoured with salt and spices, it can be cooked in water or vegetable stock/chicken broth. A good substitute for wheat and rice, it has more health benefits than both. It also contains the same Omega fats as fish oil, which help our brain cells grow. These fats do not seem to lessen once cooked. 
Important minerals like manganese, phosphorous, copper, magnesium, fiber, folate, and zinc also make up its DNA. These anti-inflammatory agents make it sound like a multi-vitamin! 
With some personal experience, I can reassure you that these above mentioned minerals help your aging, creaking bones from stiffness and achiness. 
Interestingly, it is the saponins in the outer casing that are the best source of anti-inflammation. But being bitter in taste, this is removed when processed, much like the husk of the grain of rice. 

Making this magical gem of a grain an integral part of your daily diet may help you reduce your risk of diabetes, cholesterol, cardiovascular diseases, and colon cancer. 

Soaking them overnight before cooking takes away the tad of bitterness the outside of this ancient grain can sometimes have. If you do not have the time, soak them for a few hours and drain them. 

Recipes to follow soon for all of you to try and test out. Do not hesitate to share your thoughts about this beautiful tiny drop of a gem.

You can read my two published cookbooks on Parsi Cooking.

The Art of Parsi Cooking reviving an ancient cuisine and The World of Parsi Cooking: Food Across Borders. 

For cooking this grain in home made stock download
Niloufer's Kitchen: Soups
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GEH9PDQ

For recipes with Quinoa from the blog click
http://www.nilouferskitchen.com/2014/02/quinoa-kichri.html
and 
http://www.nilouferskitchen.com/2014/02/quinoa-prawn-salad.html



Images from Google.