How to Cook Quinoa

Quinoa cooked and ready

Quinoa is a healthy grain which is low in fat and gluten free. Many people have been replacing rice with Quinoa due to its health benefits and low calories. It is much easier to prepare than rice and so filling too. As soon as I discovered this grain, I started loving it. I made so many recipes with Quinoa and blogged about them too. I sometimes replace rice with quinoa and eat as usual with dal, chutney and curd. 

In this post, I am mainly going to focus on stove-top method. Here is how I cook Quinoa:

Here is what we need:

1 cup dry Quinoa 2 cups Water The above measurement yields 3 cups of Quinoa. Method: Wash quinoa well under running water. I use a fine mesh strainer to wash quinoa which is quite handy. Take a bowl and add washed quinoa along with water. Keep the flame on high. Bring it to a boil. When Quinoa boils over, turn down the flame to low setting and simmer for 15 minutes. I usually set up a timer so that I won’t forget to turn off the flame. When all the water gets absorbed and quinoa is cooked well (after those 15 min) turn off the flame and leave it for 5 minutes to allow quinoa to settle well. Then fluff the cooked quinoa with a fork and serve. Enjoy!

Alternatively, Quinoa can be cooked in a pressure cooker with the same ratio (1quinoa-2 water). Just place quinoa in a bowl, cover and cook for 3 whistles. That's it!

Here are some yummy recipes you can do with Quinoa:

Quinoa Cabbage Pulao	Quinoa Vermicelli Upma	Quinoa – Methi Pulao
Brown Rice - Quinoa Dosa	Quinoa – Besan Dosa (Crepes)	Quinoa Dosa
Quinoa Pongal	Quinoa –Spinach Upma	Quinoa Chutney Powder
Quinoa Halwa	Quinoa-Coconut Payasam