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Healthy Eating: Chinese Quinoa Pulao

Chinese Quinoa Pulao

Have you been craving for some delicious chinese food? Well, we’ve got an exciting recipe for you! Satisfy your cravings with this delicious Chinese Quinoa Pulao recipe that’s a healthy twist on fried rice!  

What You Will Need 

  • Quinoa – 1 cup 
  • Water – 2 cups 
  • Salt to taste
  • Black pepper powder – 1 tsp 
  • Soya sauce – 1 tsp 
  • Red chilli sauce – 1 tsp 
  • Oil/Ghee – 2 tsp
  • Mixed vegetables (carrot, green beans, cabbage and capsicum) – 2 cups 
  • Chopped onion – 1 medium 
  • Chopped garlic pods – 3 
  • Chopped green chilli – 1 

How To Prepare

  1. ,Heat a pan with one tsp of oil/ghee
  2. Add soaked, rinsed and strained quinoa. 
  3. Let it roast for a minute on a medium flame and keep stirring it. 
  4. Now add two cups of water to it and salt to taste. 
  5. Once it starts boiling, turn the flame on low, cover and cook it for 10 to 15 minutes. Keep checking to prevent burning. 
  6. After 15 minutes, switch the flame off and keep it covered for 5 minutes so it gets steam cooked. After 5 minutes check if the quinoa is cooked and not sticking to the pan.
  7. Next we take another pan and add a spoon of oil to it. Once the oil is heated, add 2-3 garlic pods and chopped onion. 
  8. Slowly add chopped vegetables, a little salt and cover it for a minute till all vegetables are cooked but still crunchy. 
  9. Now add 1 tsp soya sauce, one tsp red chili sauce and half tsp black pepper powder. Give it all a mix. 
  10. Finally, add the cooked quinoa and stir it all well. Your Chinese Quinoa Pulao is ready! 

Please Note: Quinoa has high quantities of saponin coatings on the outside of the kernel which is bitter to taste. So it’s very important to rinse it well after soaking it for at least 10-20 minutes. 1 cup of dry quinoa will give almost 3 cups of cooked quinoa.

Highlights of the Chinese Quinoa Pulao Recipe  

  • It is a good one pot meal consisting of proportionate carbs, protein, fiber and fat.
  • It will give you a healthy satiety for your cravings for restaurant style Chinese food, without any guilt.
  • Suitable for balanced dinners, for weight loss, diabetics, PCOS and muscle builders as well. 
  • This dish is excellent for vegetarians as they have to rely upon good sources of plant protein and quinoa is complete protein as it has all the essential amino acids which the body is unable to make itself

We hope you try and enjoy this delicious Chinese Quinoa Pulao recipe! Do leave your thoughts and feedback in the comments below! For more Healthy Recipes, check out Healthy Reads or you can ask a GOQii Coach directly by subscribing for personalized coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

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All Natural Amla Murabba: A Recipe To Level Up Your Health!

amla murabbaAmla, Amalaki or Indian Gooseberry is one of the most important part of many Ayurvedic medicines. It is a powerhouse of not just antioxidants and vitamin c, but also a good source of calcium, iron, phosphorus, carotene, vitamin B and fiber. Available for consumption in various forms like churna, juice, candies, pickles and supplements, benefits of this superfood are innumerable.

This is a highly recommended food for common problems like hair fall to severe health concerns like helping in preventing the formation of cancer cells. The list of benefits is endless but commonly it is a great remedy for boosting immunity, improving gut health and liver function, preventing pancreatitis, balancing hormones, lowering blood pressure and reducing arthritis related pain due to inflammation.

Many of you have eaten Amla Murabba which is whole Amla simmered in sugar syrup, flavored with cardamom and saffron. Amla Murabba is such an invaluable preserve that you can’t afford to miss it! But what about the people who don’t have time for a long process of making Amla Murabba or are trying to discard white sugar completely from their diet? For them, I have a fantastic and hassle-free, all natural recipe! It can be made with just 2 ingredients, however, you can always add some more flavors to enhance the taste and of course, the nutritional benefits as well.

What You Will Need

  • Amla – 500 gms
  • Raw organic honey – 250 gms or more
  • Rock salt – ¼ tsp
  • Black pepper powder – ¼ tsp
  • Saffron – 3-4 strands
  • Cardamom powder – ¼ tsp

How to Prepare 

  1. Wash and completely wipe the Amla dry 
  2. Grate the amla, discarding the seeds and add all the flavoring ingredients like salt, saffron, cardamom and black pepper to it. 
  3. Fill this mixture in a glass or a ceramic container (just like traditionally used for pickles or any other preserves) and pour the raw organic honey over this mixture.
  4. As the honey makes its way to the bottom, make sure it completely covers the amla mixture. You can add more honey if you wish to. 
  5. Cover the container and keep it in sunlight for 4-5 hours for approximately 10 days. You can eat this mixture right away but keeping it in sunlight increases its shelf life. 
  6. After 10 days your all natural Amla Murabba is ready.

Please Note: Make sure everything from your hands to the Amla to the glass container are all dry. Any moisture is unfavorable for this kind of a preserve.

Highlights of the Amla Murabba  

  • Honey was used as a food preservative in ancient times. It works as a preservative because the high concentration of sugar in honey forces the water out of any yeast or bacteria cells that could otherwise contaminate the food. Along with that, honey itself has innumerable health benefits.
  • This recipe requires no cooking, hence, all the benefits of Amla are well packed which otherwise get destroyed during cooking.
  • Keeping it under the sun helps incorporate powerful benefits of sunlight as well in this recipe.

Hope you are as excited as I was after finding this recipe. Do try it and let me know your feedback in the comments section below! 

Want to try more healthy recipes? Check out Healthy Reads or ask a GOQii Coach by subscribing for Personalised Health Coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

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Tasty and Nutritious Recipes Using Moringa Leaves Powder

recipes using moringa powderMoringa has pretty much become a household name by now. Commonly known as Drumstick, this south Indian staple has made its way to the Top 20 Superfoods today. It has been praised widely for its health benefits. A fun fact about it is that almost all parts of the tree are used in different dishes or as a part of different herbal medicines but its leaves are the richest in nutrients. In western countries, dried leaves are sold as a supplement in powder or capsule form.

I was aware of the incredible benefits of this tree but a few days back, a headline on the last page of a newspaper grabbed my attention. It said that some self-help groups from South India made few food products using Moringa leaves. When these were fed to malnourished children, their nutritional status improved a lot in just three months. So I decided to give it a try.

Taste Test

Generally, I love using fresh leafy green vegetables but as Moringa wasn’t available in my locality, I had to buy a pack of Organic Moringa leaves powder from the GOQii Health Store. I have eaten drumsticks in many vegetables & curries but I’ve never used or eaten its leaves – hence, I had no idea about its taste. When I opened the pack and tasted a pinch of that powder, I didn’t like it. I honestly didn’t. It tasted like henna or Mehndi powder. I realized that it is easy to eat it as it is. So, I started thinking of different ways to use it without compromising on taste.

Recipes Using Moringa Leaves Powder

The good part about these recipes using Moringa leaves powder is that I ensured it didn’t affect the taste much while enjoying all the goodness it had to offer.

1. Green Smoothie

What you will need:

  • Banana – 1 medium
  • Apple – ½ medium
  • Kiwi – 1
  • Almonds – 7-8 (soaked overnight and peeled)
  • Oats powder – 1 tbsp
  • Flaxseed powder – 1 tsp
  • Chia seeds – 2 tsp (soaked)
  • Spinach leaves – handful
  • Organic Moringa leaves powder – 2 tsp
  • Coconut/Plain water – 1 glass

How to prepare: Add all the ingredients except ½ glass coconut/plain water in a blender and blend till you get a smooth mixture. Pour in the rest of the coconut water and pulse again for a while. Your super healthy and filling green smoothie is ready.

2. Cheesy Moringa Uttapam

What you will need for batter:

  • Semolina (Sooji) – ½ cup
  • Oats powder – ¼ cup
  • Rice flour – ¼ cup
  • Curd – ½ cup
  • Salt to taste
  • Lemon juice – ½ tbsp.
  • Organic Moringa leaves powder – 2 tsp
  • Coconut crush – 1 tbsp

For topping:

  • Onion, Tomato and Capsicum – 2 tbsp each finely chopped
  • Green chilly – 1 chopped
  • Green coriander – 2 tbsp chopped
  • Grated cheese – 1 tbsp
  • Oil – 1 tsp for shallow frying

How to Prepare:

  1. Combine all the ingredients for the batter in a big mixing bowl and add water gradually while stirring to make a dosa batter of desired consistency. Keep it aside for 15-20 minutes.
  2. Heat a nonstick pan and pour the Uttapam batter over it.
  3. Immediately sprinkle a few drops of oil on the sides and add the chopped vegetables. Let it cook from one side.
  4. You can cover the pan so the vegetables steam properly. Once done, turn it over and cook for another 2 minutes.
  5. Flip it again and sprinkle cheese over the veggie side and cover it.
  6. Turn the flame off after a minute and let the cheese melt with the help of the steam inside.
  7. Your Uttapam is ready! Enjoy it with green, coconut or tomato chutney.

3. Moringa Multigrain Masala Paratha

What you will need:

  • Bajra flour – ½ cup
  • Maize (Makka) flour – ½ cup
  • Moringa Leaves powder – 1 tbsp
  • Potato – 1 big boiled and grated
  • Salt to taste
  • Chaat masala – ½ tsp
  • Red chilly powder – ¼ tsp
  • Coriander – 2 tbsp fresh and chopped
  • Ajwain powder – ¼ tsp
  • Hing powder – 1 pinch
  • Ghee – 1 tsp

How to prepare:

  1. Combine all the ingredients except ghee in a big mixing bowl & make a soft dough using warm water.
  2. Keep this dough aside for 15-20 minutes to rest.  After 15-20 minutes, heat a tawa on medium flame.
  3. Divide the dough in 4-5 equal portions and roll each one. Place one round ball of dough onto a flat surface and start patting it into a flat round shape using your hands.
  4. Use a rolling pin to gently flatten the paratha. If the paratha keeps breaking while flattening, you can also place the dough between two plastic sheets or parchment paper and flatten it out using a rolling pin.
  5. Place the paratha on the hot tawa. When the paratha is slightly cooked, flip it over to cook the other side. You will see small brown spots starting to appear.
  6. Put ghee on both sides. Turn the flame to low and cook till it turns to a light brown shade.
  7. Shallow fry the paratha till it is completely cooked and your Moringa multigrain masala paratha is ready!

Surprising Uses of Moringa Leaves Powder

This article was all about how you can eat Moringa leaves powder but you’ll be surprised to know that there are some other uses like making scrubs and face packs as well, so your skin can get a healthy dose of nutrition!

  • Mix 1tsp Moringa leaves powder with 2 tbsp thick curd and 2 tbsp oats powder. This makes a wonderful body scrub for sensitive skin.
  • Mix 1 tsp Moringa powder with 1 tbsp Multani mitti. Add 1 tsp of honey and rose water each for a face pack that can give you glowing skin.
  • Mix 2 tsp Moringa powder, 1 tsp curd and 1 tbsp tomato juice for a tan removal face pack.

These were just my experiments to get the benefits of Moringa leaves in powder form. Try them and let me know if they work for you. Is there a way you use Moringa? Share them with us in the comments below.

For more awesome facts on food and nutrition, check out other articles on Healthy Reads or ask an expert by subscribing for Personalised Health Coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

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Healthy Eating: Vegetable Quinoa Pulao

vegetable quinoa pulao

Quinoa is a gluten-free superfood that has been gaining a lot of popularity in the past few years, and it is actually pronounced as Kveen Vaa. Quinoa, though popular as a grain, is actually a seed. It has a nutty flavour and lacks the sweetness & stickiness of rice. It is easier to cook than rice and you will love the taste. Although it is not as economical as rice, it is definitely worth a try! So let’s learn how to prepare super healthy and simple Vegetable Quinoa Pulao!

What You Will Need:

  • Quinoa (wash and soak for 30 min) – 1 cup
  • Onion (chopped) – ¼ cup
  • Cauliflower (chopped) – ¼ cup
  • French Beans (chopped) – ¼ cup
  • Carrots (chopped) – ¼ cup
  • Corn Kernels – ¼ cup
  • Green Peas – ¼ cup
  • Spinach – 2 tbsp
  • Coriander – 2 tbsp
  • Ginger Garlic Paste – 2 tbsp
  • Bay Leaf – 1
  • Cinnamon Stick – ½
  • Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp
  • Turmeric, red chili powder, coriander seeds powder, garam masala as per taste
  • Salt as per taste
  • Oil – 1 tbsp

How to Prepare:

  1. In a pan, heat oil and fry the bay leaf and cinnamon stick. Then, allow the cumin seeds to sizzle.
  2. Add the chopped onion along with ginger garlic paste and roast it well until slightly brown.
  3. Now, add all the other vegetables along with turmeric, red chili powder, coriander seeds powder, garam masala and salt. Sauté them well for 4-5 min.
  4. It is time to add the soaked quinoa (discard the water), give it a quick stir and cook it for 2-3 minutes. Now add 1.5 to 2 cups of water.
  5. After a boil, cover the pan with a lid and cook for 5-10 min until done. Mix the contents using a fork and not spatula to give it a Pulao consistency.
  6. Serve it hot with curd or raita.

Highlights of the Vegetable Quinoa Pulao

  • This absolutely easy recipe gives you everything required for a balanced meal.
  • It is high in protein and contains sufficient amount of all essential amino acids.
  • 100% satiety with the fiber content it has in limited portion size.
  • Fun Fact: A cup of Quinoa will provide twice the protein and about 5gm more fiber than the same amount of white rice.

Hope you try this awesome Vegetable Quinoa Pulao recipe and share your experience in the comments below! Click here for more healthy recipes, or get them directly from a GOQii Coach by subscribing for Personalised Health Coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr 

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