Cilantro Quinoa Khichdi

I hadn't made any Quinoa dinners lately and Tony is a huge fan. He mentioned a few days ago that he'd like some. Then one of my friends on FB posted a picture of a Quinoa and Lentil pilaf that she'd tried for her family. I figured I needed to make that today. I also had a head of white cauliflower that I needed to use this weekend. So I ran a Google search for Quinoa and Lentils and came up with the perfect recipe which used all 3 ingredients that I had on hand. Here's the end result :) Cilantro Quinoa Khichdi

A Khichdi (Kh-itch-dee) is a mildly flavored preparation of lentils and rice, the ultimate comfort food. Variations of the same basic theme (lentils, rice, vegetables) can be found across the entire Indian Subcontinent. Today's preparation excludes the rice, and includes Quinoa instead to up the protein content and lower the carbohydrate content.  

Cilantro Quinoa Khichdi

Adapted from: Food and Wine - Red Quinoa and Lentil Pilaf

Prep Time: 30-40 min

Ingredients (6 Servings): 

1. 1 cup Masoor Dal (whole red lentils, with skin - also called Brown Lentils)
2. 1.25 cup Quinoa
3. 1 Head of Cauliflower, shredded (~2 cups)
4. 1 Large Yellow Onion, diced (~1 cup)
5. 1/2 cup fresh Cilantro leaves (Stems removed)
6. 1 tbsp Garlic
7. 1 tbsp Cumin Seeds
8. 1 tbsp Ground Cilantro Seeds
9. 1-2 tsp Ground Mustard 
10. 1 tsp Onion powder
11. 1 tsp Garlic powder
12. 1 tsp Turmeric
13. Salt and Pepper, to taste
14. Hot Sauce (optional)

Directions:

Rinse lentils in water and transfer to a pressure cooker. Add 3 cups of water (or home-made vegetable broth), for 1 cup of lentils, add turmeric and 1 tsp salt. Pressure cook under high pressure for at 20 minutes. Allow steam to dissipate on its own. Once all the pressure is dissipated, open, drain lentils and save the excess broth for use later. Cover and set aside. Meanwhile rinse out quinoa in running water (until the water runs clear) and transfer to a stock pot. Add 2.5 cups of water, for 1.25 cups of quinoa. Add 1 tsp each of Garlic and onion powders and 1 tsp salt. Bring to a boil and then simmer uncovered until quinoa is cooked through and most of the excess water has evaporated. Cover and set aside. 

While the lentils and quinoa are cooking, in a pan large enough to hold everything, add a thin layer of water. Add minced garlic and saute until aromatic. Then add minced onions and a couple of pinches of salt and cook until excess water evaporates and onions are translucent (~3-4 minutes on medium-high). Add cumin seeds, coriander and mustard powders at this stage, toss well and add shredded cauliflower. Reduce heat to medium and cook this mixture together until the excess water has evaporated. Taste test this cauliflower onion mixture for spices and salt and add more of the same 3 spices and salt, as needed, to taste. At this stage, the mixture should taste 'over' spiced. Remember that you're still going to be adding 1 cup of lentils and 1.25 cups of cooked quinoa. Once the mixture is spiced to your taste, add fresh cilantro leaves (saving a couple sprigs for garnishing) and toss well. The warm cauliflower/onion mix will imbibe the essential oils and flavors from the cilantro leaves as they wilt with the heat. Once ready, toss lentils with the cauliflower/onion mix and the add quinoa and toss everything together. If the mixture appears too dry, add some of the saved lentil broth to add moisture to the dish. Serve warm, with freshly cracked black pepper, and more fresh cilantro leaves for garnish.

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving)*: Calories 201 (Fat Calories 24)
Total Fat 2.6 g; Carbohydrates 39.8 g; Fiber 10.0 g; Sugars 1.9 g; Protein 11.6 g

* Nutrition facts are provided for the water option as vegetable broth calorie content can vary tremendously.

  

Asian Spiced Wilted Kale Salad w Onions and Mushrooms

Here's another variation of my Wilted Kale Salad recipe. This one is spicy and amazing! It uses a Sweet Red Asian Chilli Sauce. I used "Huy Fong" Sambal Oelek Chili Paste which is super spicy (to me!).

Asian Spiced Wilted Kale Salad

Prep Time: 5-7 min

Ingredients (4 Servings):

1. 1 bunch of Kale, stems removed, and leaves coarsely chopped (about 4 cups)
2. 1 medium Yellow Onion, julienned (about 2/3 cup)
3. 1 cup quartered Cremini mushrooms
4. 1 tbsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
5. 1 tsp Rice Wine Vinegar
6. 1 tbsp Asian Chilli Sauce (Huy Fong Sambal Oelek Chili Paste) 
7. Salt and Pepper, to taste.

Directions:

Rinse kale in cold water, drain and set aside. Line a large skillet with water. Add ginger-garlic paste and rice wine vinegar. As soon as the water begins to boil, add the julienned onions and cremini mushrooms. Toss well and add Kale. Cover, reduce heat to medium low. Within a couple of minutes, the kale will turn bright green and begin to wilt. Keep covered for 2 additional minutes. Remove lid and and the chilli paste. toss really well. Transfer to a salad bowl, garnish with freshly cracked black pepper, and add salt (to taste). Serve warm.

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving ): Calories 51 (Fat Calories 5)
Total Fat 0.5 g; Carbohydrates 10 g; Dietary Fiber 1.9 g; Sugars 1.1 g; Protein 3.0 g

East-Indian Dressing/Stuffing

Masaledaar Dabalroti or Masala Bread was something my mom used to make for us kids when we were growing up. It was one of those dishes that must have been improvised on a hot summer day when either my mom, or one of my aunts, didn't feel like making chapatis for the kids, but had sliced bread handy. Traditional Thanksgiving Dressing or Stuffing is very similar to its Indian counterpart, so it was relatively easy for me to Indianize it for my Thanksgiving. The cool thing about this recipe is that you can eat it any time of the year.

East-Indian Stuffing

Ingredients:

1. 1 loaf of White or Wheat bread, air dried overnight; cut/torn.
2. 1/2 loaf of 12-Grain bread, air dried overnight; cut/torn.
3. 4 tbsp Earth Balance non-dairy butter (optional).
4. 2 Large Yellow onions, diced, ~3 cups (cut/refrigerate on previous evening!) 
5. 1 big bunch of Celery, diced, ~3 cups (cut/refrigerate on previous evening!) 
6. 4 links Field Roast Italian (vegetarian) sausage links (optional)
7. 1/4 cup fresh Parsley, coarsely chopped. 
8. 8-10 fresh Sage leaves, coarsely chopped
9. A spring of fresh Rosemary, chopped
10. 1 tbsp Better-Than-Bouillon Vegetable Seasoning. 
11. 2-3 cup Vegetable Broth
12. 2 tbsp Garam Masala
13. 1 tsp Cinnamon powder
14. Salt and Pepper, to taste 
15. 1/4 cup raisins, or pine nuts, or chopped walnuts/pecans (optional). 

Directions (2-3 hours before Dinner):

In a large pan, or dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat and add chopped onion and celery and cook until translucent. If using vegetarian sausage, saute the sausage first in a separate pan, and transfer to the dutch oven in which the stuffing will be prepared. Depending upon how greasy the sausage is, adjust the amount of butter, or skip it altogether. Then add celery and onions until translucent, mix in sausage, add spices, mix well. If using cubed bouillon, add to 1 cup of broth and microwave for 2 min to help dissolve the cube. To the pan with celery and onions, add cubed bread, a little bit at a time and mix well using a sturdy wooden spatula. Add nuts or raisins (I generally skip the nuts and raisins if I'm using sausage). Moisten with vegetable broth, mix well. Add more bread, and broth until all ingredients are well combined. Transfer to a buttered lidded casserole dish and let sit in the oven, at 250 F until ready to serve. Bake uncovered at 350 F for about 15 min for a crisp crust just before serving. Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves.

I used a crock-pot to keep the dressing warm this year. Instead of transferring to a casserole dish, I transferred the prepared stuffing to the crock and let sit on warm until I was ready to serve dinner. 

Squash Fajitas

At our local Mexican restaurant I have ordered the same thing (with only slight modifications) for the last 6 years that I've been in Ohio - Lunch Vegetable Fajitas. I've gone through a period of adding grilled chicken to it. At other times, I've asked for the refried beans to be held, and at others the rice. Almost always, the quantity of vegetables is enough that I ask them to hold the tortillas. During my chicken days, friends and colleagues and even clients, who've been to this restaurant with me, have asked me why I don't just get the 'chicken fajitas' instead of the 'vegetable fajitas with chicken' - the reason was simple - the vegetarian dish came with zucchini, summer squash, tomatoes and mushrooms vs. the chicken fajita, which came only with peppers and onions. Being the veggie fan that I am .. it always made sense to get the dish which had the most veggies for me. 

Squash Fajitas

I tried today to replicate this dish at home and it was quite surprisingly - super easy :)

Prep Time: 10 min

Ingredients:

1. 1 small Zucchini, sliced
2. 1 small Summer squash, sliced
3. 1 Yellow Onion, sliced
4. 1 tsp Garlic powder
5. 1-2 tsp Cumin powder
6. 1/8 cup Vegetable broth
7. Salt & Pepper, to taste

Directions:

Line a large skillet on medium-high heat with vegetable broth and add garlic and cumin powder. Once the broth comes to a boil, add the vegetables and mix in. Cook on medium-high heat for a couple minutes until the onion becomes translucent and the squash are slightly cooked, and is all but gone. Serve hot with warm tortillas.