Lemony Quinoa

I had a lovely bag of quinoa that needed cooking; I thought to make Lemony Quioa just like the classic Lemony Rice! It was an immediate hit! So here it is. 

Lemony Quinoa makes for great picnic food along with the fabulous Non-Dairy "Yogurt" Rice.

Notes:

Leftover plain cooked quinoa maybe used to make lemony quinoa.

Instead of cooking the cashew pieces, purchased roasted cashews maybe sprinkled on top of the prepared lemony quinoa just before serving.

Ingredients:

1 cup Quinoa

2 cups Water

1/2 tsp Salt

1-2 tsp Oil

2-3 Tbsp raw Cashew pieces

2 dried Red Chilies

1/2 tsp Brown Mustard Seeds

1 Tbsp Urad Dal

1 Tbsp Chana Dal

1 stem fresh Curry Leaves, sliced into a chiffonade

1/2 tsp Turmeric

1-2 Lime/Lemon, juiced

Salt, as needed

Method:

Soak the quinoa in plenty of water to cover; wash and drain the quinoa in a fine sieve.

Bring two cups of water to a boil; stir in the quinoa and salt and bring to a boil again.

Stir well, simmer gently for 10 minutes, turn off heat, cover and let sit  undisturbed for an hour preferably.

Heat the oil in a wide skillet or kadai (Indian Wok) until hot.

Add cashew pieces and stir; add red chilies, the mustard seeds, and the dals and cook until the dals turn pinkish and the mustard seeds start popping.

Tip the curry leaves in and cover quickly until the crackling subsides.

Stir in the turmeric into the spices in the skillet and turn off the heat.

Add the cooked quinoa into the wok/skillet along with juice from one lime/lemon and fold in to mix well.

Taste for seasonings; add more lime/lemon juice and salt according to your taste. The quinoa should be a little on the lemony side at first; the flavors mellow as the rice absorbs all the flavors.

Serve warm or at room temperature with fried/roasted papadams (crisp lentil wafers) or other accompaniments as desired.

Enjoy!!