Yogurt Quinoa & Raw Mango Pickle

Do you know concentrated sweeteners in any form, natural or not when combined with saturated fat, high levels of carbohydrates - release insulin, a hormone that promotes fat storage. This insulin response can lead to insulin resistance down the line, which is associated with a host of problems, including elevated triglycerides, heart disease, and diabetes. After all the festivities and the festive food high in sugar, carbohydrates and fat it is better to go for simple and nutritious easy to prepare meals. Few years back i would have settled with yogurt rice, but knowing the nutritional benefits of Quinoa which is low in carbohydrates and high in protein i replaced it with rice. This is one of the best quinoa dishes you can have, try this one out and i am sure you will go for yogurt quinoa instead of white rice in future.
Quinoa, the "mother grain," is an extremely nutritious seed. It has a protein value that is extremely high (12-18%) and the protein it supplies is complete protein, meaning that it includes all nine essential amino acids. Quinoa is easy to digest and naturally contains no gluten. It is also a good source of dietary fiber, phosphorous, magnesium, and iron.

Cooking Time ? 15 mins
Preparation Time ? 15 mins
Serves ? 2

Ingredients

Cooked Quinoa ? 1 cup
Raw milk Yogurt ? 1/2 cup
Grated & Finely Chopped Vegetables ? 1/2 cup(Cucumber, Carrot, Red & Green Bell Pepper)
Pomegranate seeds ? 1/4 cup (optional)
Chopped Cilantro ? 2 tbsp(optional)
Salt ? 1 tsp or to taste

Tempering

Oil ? 1 tsp
Mustard seeds ? 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida powder ? pinch
Chopped Curry leaves ? 1/2 tsp(optional)
Grated ginger ? 1/2 tsp
Chopped green chili ? 1(optional)

Method

1) Soak, rinse, cook quinoa and set it aside to cool.
2) Add yogurt, chopped vegetables, pomegranate seeds, chopped cilantro, salt to the cooked quinoa and combine thoroughly.
3) Heat oil in a small pan and add mustard seeds, once they stop spluttering, add asafoetida powder, green chili, grated ginger and curry leaves. Once the green chili slightly changes color, remove it and add it to the quinoa mix.

Note -  This can be given for toddlers also, if your toddler is still on mashed and soft food, do not add pomegranate seeds, chopped cilantro, chopped curry leaves, green chili and add grated whichever vegetables they can handle. I started quinoa to my daughter when she was handling only pureed and mashed foods. This is soft and mushy then rice and nutritionally much superior to rice.

Raw Mango Pickle

Know what you Eat
Mangoes are  high in prebiotic dietary fiber, vitamin C, polyphenols and provitamin A carotenoids.[11] Mango peel also contain other phytonutrients, such as the pigment antioxidants ? carotenoids and polyphenols.If you want more vitamin C, try eating a raw mango rather than a ripe one.  The fiber content in mangoes is also higher than other fruits.



Ingredients

Raw mango ? 1 (Chopped into small pieces)
Salt ? 2 tsp or to taste
Red Chili powder ? 2 tsp or to taste
Turmeric powder ? 1 tsp
Methi/Fenugreek/Vendhayam seeds ? 1 tsp
Asafoetida powder ? 1/2 tsp
Sesame oil ? 3 Tbsp
Mustard Seeds ? 1 tsp

Method

1) Dry roast fenugreek seeds till you get a slight aroma and changes dark brown in color(do not allow it to become black) and keep it aside.
2) Once the fenugreek seeds are cooled, powder them in your food processor to a coarse powder.
3) Add fenugreek powder, salt, red chili powder, turmeric powder, asafoetida powder to the raw mango and close the container and shake so that all the mango pieces are evenly well coated with the added spices.
4) Heat oil in a small pan and once it is hot add the mustard seeds, once they stop spluttering transfer the contents to the cut mango container. Mix well and leave it for 4 to 5 hours so that all the flavors marinate well.
Note ? This pickle will be good for 4-5 days, but can?t be kept for a longer time.

Event Participation

1) The yogurt quinoa goes to Food for 7 stages of life-Cooking for Infants and Toddlers hosted by RV. This dish is very appropriate for Toddlers between 2-3 years of age.

2) The Yogurt Quinoa & Tindora (Little Gourd Curry) goes to Show me your lunch box hosted by Divya.

3) This Yogurt Quinoa & Tindora(Little Gourd) curry also goes to Wholesome lunch box event hosted by Coffee and Vanilla.