Quinoa Dosa

 

Quinoa - "Mother of Grains" originated in the Andean region of South America, where it has been an important food for 6,000 years. 

It's name is the Spanish spelling of the Quechua name. Quinoa has light, fluffy texture when cooked, and is mild, slightly nutty flavor makes it alternative to white rice or couscous.

Quinoa Greens

 Quinoa can serve as high-protein breakfast food. Unlike rice or wheat, and like oats, quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it an unusually complete protein source among plant foods.

 It is a good source of dietary fiber and phosphorous and is high in magnesium and iron. Quinoa is gluten-free and considered easy to digest.

Saturday mornings are the laziest mornings of the week. I didn't have mood to do any long process breakfast, but still wanted to eat something that will make everyone happy, especially my Anush. I did try Quinoa pilaf but it didn't seem to excite him or shoj and I too didn't want to make it as a breakfast. He likes dosa's so thought of making it with quinoa. Here it is.....they both liked it so much.

Ingredients:

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2 Cups Quinoa

2 green chili's

1/2 inch ginger

1/4 cup Rice Flour

1/2 cup grated Carrot

1tsp Eno (Fruit Salt)

1 tbsp Salt

2 cups water for soaking quinoa

Oil/ Ghee to spread on dosas

Method:

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1. Soak Quinoa with water for about 20 mins. Grind it in a mixer with green chili's, ginger and rice flour to a dosa batter consistency.

2. Wash, peel and grate the carrots.

Quinoa dosa batter

3. To the batter add salt, Eno, and grated carrots and mix well and set it aside for a min.

4. Heat the skillet and pour a big spoonful of batter and makes dosa by adding oil/ghee.

5. It is good to eat just like this without any chutney (Peanut Chutney)/sambar/podi


Sending this dosa recipe to the event hosted by Dil Se.- for the event : Show me your Dosa!

Salmon Cutlets

 

Salmon is a popular food, classified as an "Oily Fish", considered to be healthy due to the fish's high protein, high Omega-3 fatty acids, and high Vitamin D content. 

The inspiration behind this recipe is my kid, Anush. He loves to eat fish so wanted to make this for him which is less spicy. This recipe can be modified to make it more spicier.

Ingredients:

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2 Atlantic Salmon fillets

1 tbsp Curry Powder

1 tsp Salt

2 tsp Pepper Powder

1/2 tsp Cumin Powder

1 Egg

1/4 cup Bread Crumbs (I choose Italian whole wheat and white bread stuffing mix)

Olive Oil for pan frying

Method:

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1. In a food processor add all the ingredients and coarsely grind it. Keep it aside in a bowl. Make small balls.

2. Take a skillet add 1 tsp olive oil and when the pan is medium hot, place 4 balls of the above mixture and press it a little bit to make patties. Cook them 3 mins on each side or cook until done.

3. Serve this with Ketchup.

Note: Variation to make it more spicy add extra pepper powder, red chili flakes.

Carrot Cake with Apple Sauce

 

The Carrot name came from the Greek word karōton, originally from the Indo-European root. Carrots are rich in dietary fibre, antioxidants, and minerals. 

Carrots can be selectively bred to produce different colors

I never knew that carrot roots are so useful. Ethnomedically, the roots are used to treat digestive problems, intestinal parasites, and tonsillitis or constipation.

I browsed a lot of recipes to find carrot cake without using much oil but i didn't find much or a recipe that would satisfy me. Here in this recipe I tried to use unsweetened apple sauce instead of vegetable oil which made be feel so happy to bake and eat it without any guilt.

Ingredients:

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1 cup (100 grams) pecans or walnuts coarsely chopped

3/4 pound (340 grams) raw carrots (about 2 1/2 cups finely grated)

2 cups (260 grams) all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

4 large eggs

1 cup 300 grams) granulated white sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1tbsp vegetable oil or canola oil

1 cup apple sauce/ crushed pineapple

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Method:

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1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Butter or spray 10 inch round cake pan and grease bottom of pan with butter and flour. 

2. Peel and finely grate the carrots. Set aside.

3. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and ground cinnamon. Set aside.

4. In bowl of electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the eggs until frothy (about 1 minute). 

5. Gradually add the sugar both white and brown and beat until the batter is thick and light colored (about 3 - 4 minutes).

6.  Add the oil and apple sauce/crushed pineapple and then beat in the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat just until incorporated.

Carrot Cake

7. with a large rubber spatula fold in the grated carrots.

8. Pour the batter in the two prepared pan and add the chopped walnuts/pecans over the top and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.