Quinoa Upma

Growing up Upma was not my favorite by any means. But I have grown to like it because I am the "boss of the house" now and I cook things the way I like it 😎😎

And Quinoa is something which I make and eat but not in the top 10 of my favs. But this dish definitely pushed Quinoa into the top 10 spot. Its super delicious and healthier than a regular upma.

So certainly give it a try.

Quinoa Upma (Quinoa stir fried Indian style)

Potato Quinoa Upma

Ingredients

1. 1 cup quinoa washed well and cooked according to package direction
2. 1-2 tablespoons peanuts
3. 1 tablespoon oil, fresh lemon juice
4. 1 teaspoon each of chana dal, ural dal
5. 1/2 teaspoon each of mustard seeds, cumin, salt, turmeric
6. 1/2 cup sliced onions
7. couple of dried red chillies
8. cilantro for garnishing
9. 1 medium small potato cubed small (optional)

Cook the Quinoa according to package directions with 1/2 teaspoon salt

If using potatoes, peel it and cube it to 1 cm cubes and microwave covered for 2 minutes (just to cook it faster)

In a pan heat the oil and add the peanuts and fry for a minute. Add the mustard seeds and cover the pan and let them splutter. Add cumin, urad dal, chana dal and the dried red chillies broken into 2-4 pieces and fry for a minute. Add potatoes if using and fry all of them for 5 minutes. Add onions and mix well and fry for 3-4 minutes. Add cooked quinoa along with salt and turmeric and mix well. Cover and cook for 2 minutes. Add lemon juice and cilantro and stir to combine and enjoy

Salmon with Gnocchi foil packet

 This is one of the fancy looking foil packets dinners which comes together super fast and taste great and clean is minimal if any.

Salmon with Gnocchi foil packet (salmon and gnocchi baked in a foil with other vegetables)

Salmon and gnocchi foil packet dinner

Ingredients 

1. Shelf stable gnocchi packet
2. 4 salmon fillets (I had salmon with skin on, you can use the skinless salmon fillets also)
3. Cherry tomatoes cut in half breadthwise divided
4. Asparagus7-8 per packet, trimmed
5. 2 tablespoons olive oil, lemon juice divided 
6. 1-1.5 teaspoons salt, lemon pepper divided

Pre heat oven to 375 degrees.

Dab the salmon dry and sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Lay this side down in the middle of a silver foil.  Add gnocchi, tomatoes and asparagus to the sides of the salmon. Sprinkle with the rest of the oil, salt and pepper. Close the foils tightly like a packet. No air vents.

Put all the packets on a baking tray and bake for 25

Minutes. Carefully open the packets ( be careful of the steam). Fold the foil down wards. Broil the salmon and gnocchi for 5 minutes.

Serve with a wedge of lemon or lime

Note: make the packets directly on a baking sheet so that the chance of them getting ripped is nil

Dill Tuna Melt

 This is the most easiest lunch you will make for those few days you are "Working from home " (Roll eyes)
I am stuck at home...working from home ... 

Dill Tuna Melt

Dill Tuna Melt

Ingredients:

1. 1 pouch deli style tuna salad
2. 2 slices sourdough bread
3. 2 slices 1/4 inch thick mozzarella cheese
4. 2 tablespoons fresh dill chopped
5. spicy mustard or Horseradish sauce
   
   Toast the bread on one side if you want. Spread the tuna on the bread, sprinkle with dill and add the mozzarella slices. Add the spicy mustard or horseraddish sauce. Add the top of the bread. Either toast on a griddle for 3-4 minutes on each side or in a panini maker for 3-4 minutes until golden brown and crisp. Enjoy with a side of chips
   
   Even though I served it with chips, the sandwich was delicious as is. I ended up not eating the chips

Mushroom Palak Paneer Rice

 

Mushroom Palak paneer is a very popular dish in my household, as everyone loves the paneer as well as the mushrooms and I like it because they are eating palak (Spinach) without fussing about it.

You can make the curry itself and serve it with  roti/paratha or make a cup of rice and mix it with the curry and serve it 

Mushroom Palak Paneer Rice

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups basmati rice cooked
2. 1/4 lb or about 2 cups of paneer cubed
3. 3 cups frozen or 1 big bunch of chopped spinach
4. 1/2 teaspoon cumin, turmeric powder
5. 1 teaspoon salt, chilly powder, tomato paste, coriander powder
6. 1/4 cup finely chopped onions
7. 2 tablespoons oil
8. 1 medium garlic chopped fine (don't grate it)

In a pan heat 1 tablespoon of oil and fry the paneer pieces for about 5 minutes. Take out the paneer pieces and take about 3 or 4 cubes and crumble them and set them all aside.
In a pan heat the remaining oil and add the cumin and fry for a couple of minutes. Now add onions and fry till they become tender. Add mushrooms and fry for 5 more minutes. Add spinach and all the other ingredients, stir to combine and simmer for 6-8 minutes. Add paneer pieces back to the pot and simmer further for 5 more minutes. Garnish with cilantro, serve with roti or serve with rice along with bottle gourd sour curry. Add the cooked rice and mix well. Cover and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Garnish with Cilantro if desired and enjoy

Greek Quinoa Meatballs

 So...meatballs. The dish which can be made a million ways. And this is one of the recipes with different ingredients in it. Its super delicious. This is the second time I made this and has become one of my fav recipes.

Greek Quinoa Meatballs (Meatballs with greek seasoning and quinoa)

Greek Quinoa meatballs

Ingredients:

1. 1 lb lean ground meat
2. 1/2 cup quinoa cooked to package directions and cooled
3. 1/2 cup grated onion (squeezed out of as much water as possible)
4. 1/2 cup whole fat plain yogurt
5. 1 cup frozen spinach thawed and squeezed out of water
6. 1 tablespoon each of dried basil, oregano, garlic powder
7. 1 teaspoon salt, red pepper flakes
8. 1/2 teaspoon each of black pepper

Mix all the ingredients together with a light hand. Make 20-24 meatballs. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes. Flip the meat balls midway.

Enjoy as an appetizer or serve with your favorite bread as a meatball sandwich or with spegetti

Simple meatballs

Brown Sambar Rice

 Sambar brown rice or Brown sambar rice!!! thats a very big question....what to call this recipe. This is Sambar rice but made with Brown rice. Its super duper delicious.

Brown Sambar Rice (Brown cooked with spices)

Sambar brown rice

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup brown rice
2. 1/2 cup masoor dal or lentils
3. Juice from a small golf ball sized tamarind soaked in 1 cup hot water
4. 1 tablespoon ghee
5. 1 medium small potato cubed into 1 cm cubes
6. 1 medium carrot cubed into 1 cm cubes
7. 1/4 cup chopped green beans
8. 1 teaspoon each of salt mustard seeds, urad dal, cumin, 2 dried red chillies, few curry leaves, grated ginger

Ingredients for Sambar Powder:

1. 1 tablespoons each of chana dal, toor dal, moong dal
2. 1 teaspoon cumin

Soak the rice and lentils in water for 30 min to 2 hrs. Cook the rice and dal with 2 cups of water + tamarind juice + salt

Toast the ingredients for sambar powder and grind them into powder.

In a pan heat the gheet and add the mustard seeds. Cover and let splutter. Add all the other ingredients in # 9 (except salt) fry for a minute. Add the vegetables and fry for 5-7 minutes. Turn the heat to high and add the cooked rice and dal and Sprinkle the sambar powder and mix to combine. Simmer covered for 2 minutes. Enjoy with appadam, pickle and Scrambled egg

Mongolian Beef Ramen

 Since I was short of time and this week is a celebrations week at home, I did not want to eat out more than what we are already doing. SO I found this recipe and had all the ingredients and I made it. MMMM....it turned out to be super delicious

Mongolian Beef Ramen

Mongolian Beef Ramen Noodles

Ingredients

1. 4 packages instant ramen, flavor pack discarded
2. 1 tablespoon each of canola oil, sesame seed oil (optional)
3. 1 lb. sirloin steak, sliced against the grain. (I used Milanesa steak cut into long strips)
4. 2 tablespoon cornstarch
5. 1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
6. 2 cloves garlic, minced
7. 1 teaspoon minced ginger
8. 1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
9. 2 tablespoons lightly packed brown sugar
10. 1 cup low-sodium chicken  broth
11. Pinch red pepper flakes
12. 1 large head broccoli, cut into florets
13. 1 carrot, peeled and cut diagonally
14. 3 scallions, thinly sliced
15. Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

Cook ramen noodles according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat canola oil. Toss beef with a pinch of salt and black pepper and cornstarch. Add to skillet and cook until seared about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.

Reduce heat to medium-low. Add sesame oil to skillet and stir in garlic and ginger. Cook until fragrant, 1 minute then add soy sauce, brown sugar, and broth. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the sauce is thickened, 3 to 5 minutes.

Add broccoli and carrots then cover the skillet with a tight-fitting lid and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.

Return beef to skillet and stir until completely coated in sauce. Stir in cooked ramen noodles and scallions. 

Garnish with toasted sesame seeds before serving.

Another great Ramen noodle recipe is Thai Peanut Ramen noodle .

The best recipe when you want a quick and wholesome lunch/dinner