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Monday, November 29, 2010

Quinoa Pongal


Opting for a healthier choice, I have been replacing rice with cracked wheat for years now and somehow we don't miss the flavor of rice that much in those dishes. Recently, quinoa has been our newfound love. When cooked, quinoa is somewhat similar to cracked wheat in texture and flavor and so this grain is a perfect choice in many south Indian style preparations such as this pongal.

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa
1/2 cup moong dal
6 cups water (I added 3 cups milk + 3 cups water)
1/8 tsp turmeric powder (optional)
1 Tbsp peppercorns
Salt to taste
For tadka: 3 Tbsp ghee (quantity can be increased to enhance the taste), 1 tsp peeled and grated ginger, 1 Tbsp cashews (optional), 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1/4 tsp crushed pepper, few curry leaves

Method:
Depending upon the time factor, I choose to cook pongal either in a sturdy/nonstick pot or a pressure cooker. This time, I chose to cook the quinoa pongal in a sturdy pot.
The moong dal can be roasted till it turns light golden brown before adding it to the pot. However this step is entirely optional. My MIL used to prepare an awesome pongal with out roasting moong dal and so, naturally I skip this step.
 
One more look at the cooked quinoa pongal.

Wash the quinoa and moong dal thoroughly and drain the water. Add the washed quinoa & moong dal, turmeric powder, peppercorns to the pot and also add about 3 cups of water / milk and keep cooking on medium flame. Keep stirring in between and also add the remaining water as needed while the cooking progresses. Cook till the quinoa and the dal are done and add salt. It can be cooked further to attain a creamy consistency if desired. The consistency of the cooked pongal can be thick, creamy or a little watery depending upon one's preference.
Now heat ghee in a small pan and add the grated ginger. When it starts to turn brown, add the remaining tadka ingredients and saute for a few more seconds. Remove from heat, add it to the cooked pongal and mix well.
Ours was served with sambhar and chutney.


I am sending this to Kiran's CWF event, guest hosted by Priya Mitharwal of Mharo Rajasthan's Recipes this month with the theme Quinoa.

Post a Comment

13 comments:

Unknown said...

this grain is so versatile...love the pongal! tempting!

Priya Suresh said...

Simply delicious and healthy pongal..very inviting..

R said...

wow luv the innovative recipe!

harini-jaya said...

We have also started to enjoy quinoa and I am sincerely amazed at its versatile nature! Sure pongal would have tasted awesome!

Sangi said...

healthy pongal n ur pics look really great...

Satya said...

Healthy and tasty pongal suma.

Kurinji said...

healthy n innovative pongal.

Veggie Hut said...

Very Healthy!

Gayathri Kumar said...

Very innovative. Looks yummy!

Unknown said...

What a great looking pongal. Please do send it to my CWF - Quinoa event.

KamalKitchen said...

great use of quinoa..also have to try pongal using dalia.

thanks,
pb at http://kamalkitchen.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Very creative use of quinoa. Half the time I seem to overcook it, but looks like you made it perfectly!

shruthi said...

Hi suma, nice recipe, we can add sabhudana and make it instead of quinoa alva. looks delicious.. anyways.