Quinoa Vegetable Pulav

Quinoa grain is high in protein content and also has a good source of phosphorous, calcium and iron. It is very useful especially for Vegetarians and Vegans who are lactose intolerant. It's pronounced as 'Kinwah' and is now readily available in many stores. I remember when I initially looked for it, had to check around two or three places before I could find it. Below recipe is a simple and quick one pot meal idea. This can be served as breakfast or used instead of rice Pulav/ Pilaf for main course. During days leading to Diwali it's hard to find time to prepare full-fledged meal. Quinoa Pulav comes handy during these times.

Prep Time - 5 min | Cooking Time: About 15 to 20 min| Serves : 4

Ingredients:

Quinoa - 1 Cup
Vegetable Broth/ Water - 2 Cup
Salt - 1 tsp.
Frozen Soy/ Edamame - 1/2 Cup
Frozen Corn - 1/2 Cup
Bell Pepper chopped - 1 cup
Fresh Basil Leaves - 4 leaves chopped fine

Method of Preparation:

~ Place Quinoa in a microwave safe bowl. Gently wash the grain with cold water couple of times. Drain the water.
~ Now add the vegetable broth, salt and all the vegetables.
~ Microwave in batches of 5 minutes twice and mix.
~ Then start microwaving in sets of 2 or 3 minutes depending upon the amount of water in the pulav.
~ Once all the liquid is dried up, add chopped basil and let it stand covered for a minute or so.
~ Fluff it with fork and serve it up with your favorite raita or pickle.

Note:
1. This is a microwave version, but you want to do the same on stovetop. Just continue to boil until all the liquid is dried up. Cover and let it sit for few minutes until fluffy.
2. For quicker version I used frozen vegetables which get cooked during microwaving of quinoa. You can separately saute the vegetables in a pan and add it to the cooked Quinoa. In this case Quinoa cooks within 10 minutes in microwave.

Sending this to following events,
Bon Vivant #10 - Festive Feasts happening at my space @Sumee's Culinary Bites.

Lets Cook #21 - Potluck @Tickling Palates
Jagruti's Celebrate Navratri & Diwali hosted @Simply.Food