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CHOW: Recipes: Indian Quinoa Salad

Indian Quinoa Salad Recipe

From: The Real Food Daily Cookbook: Really Fresh, Really Good, Really Vegetarian , by
Makes: 6 servings

One of my favorite grain dishes incorporates garam masala, an exotic blend of warm spices, such as cinnamon, cloves, coriander, and cardamon. This exotic spice blend is used in the colder regions of northern India to accent grains and vegetables. Serve this dish cold or at room temperature as a salad, or warm as a side dish.

Game plan: The salad will keep for 2 days, covered and refrigerated.

INGREDIENTS
  • 2 cups quinoa
  • 4 cups water
  • 2 teaspoons garam masala
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 cup currants
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • 3 stalks celery, finely diced
  • 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
  • 5 scallions (white and green parts), thinly sliced diagonally
  • 1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Rinse the quinoa well and drain. Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the quinoa and stir constantly for 10 minutes, or until the moisture evaporates and the quinoa is fragrant, dry, and golden.
  2. Combine 3 cups of the water, 1 teaspoon of the garam masala, and the salt in a large, heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add the toasted quinoa and return to a boil. Cover and decrease the heat to medium low. Simmer gently without stirring for 15 minutes, or until the liquid evaporates and the grains are tender.
  3. Meanwhile, bring the remaining 1 cup water to a simmer in a small saucepan. Remove from the heat, add the currants, and soak for 20 minutes, or until plump. Drain well.
  4. Heat sesame oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the celery, bell pepper, and remaining 1 teaspoon garam masala. Sauté for 2 minutes, or until the vegetables are crisp-tender. Add the scallions and sauté 1 minute longer, or until just wilted.
  5. Using a fork, gently toss the celery mixture, currants, and almonds into the quinoa. Serve at room temperature, or cover and refrigerate until cold.

This recipe, while from a trusted source, may not have been tested by the CHOW food team.

    Write a review | 10 Reviews
POST A COMMENT |10 Comments

COMMENT

  • I too just tried this and agree it's quite delicious. I didn't have currents or almonds so I used raisins and cashews. Sprinkled a bit of garam masala on at the end. Tomatoes are in season so I added some fresh tomato wedges on the side.

  • Just tried this and it's delicious, but next time I'll use more water to cook the quinoa, and less salt.

    Adjustments I made: I used toasted chopped cashews in place of the almonds, skipped the currants, and added a few cumin seeds to the stir-fry portion.

    Chocabot is correct that garam masala is often sprinkled on at the end, much like salt.

  • foody dudey, you're generally correct about cooking spices to release their fragrance, however i think garam masala is often added at the end or even sprinkled on top of food

  • This salad is thoroughly not bad and very healthy. My boyfriend loved it. It's certainly easy to make. The recipe got cred from me for asking you to toast the quinoa. Some recipes make that optional and it's a mistake. Toasting imparts great flavor. I would agree it's a long way from authentic Indian, but it's good in its own right.

  • oops! the links got messed up. trying again

    if you folks are into indian food, watch some great indian recipe videos at www.ifood.tv/taxonomy/term/30,1161
    you can also see a quinoa salad video at http://www.ifood.tv/node/1751

  • if you folks are into indian food, watch some great indian recipe videos at ifood.tv
    you can also see a quinoa salad video

  • Why are there currants in this recipe. For iron? I have been cooking Indian food for 30 years and have been to India and have never seen currrants or raisins in the food. They are a very British addition, I think.

  • this sounds great, especially since I am always looking for ways to use up the currants in my freezer that we pick in the summer, but then I realized they must have meant "dried" currants. Why are currants never listed as dried currants? Any other fruit would never be listed as such. I still want to try this though, sounds YUM.

  • Sorry, I should have read the complete recipe before posting. I see that part of the spices are fried. This new format of the board does not allow editing /deletion, or I would have deleted my original reply.

  • I'm surprised that the garam masala is not fried in this recipe, as usually in Indian cuisine, the spices are fried in oil or ghee and not used raw.