Aarti Paarti Episode 9: South Indian Coconut Quinoa

Y'all know I love quinoa. Remember oh so long ago I made that sage-y version? This one is even more delicious, with the lovely mother grain cooked in coconut milk and tomatoes, flavoured with mustard, cumin and fenugreek seeds.

Oh, and Bren's dad let me borrow his ukulele this weekend, and I learned how to play a song already! You'll be able to hear it in the video.

Here's the recipe in case you need it:


You'll need:
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
2 tbsp vegetable/canola oil
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 fenugreek seeds
6 dried or fresh curry leaves
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 15oz can whole tomatoes, chopped, juices reserved
1/3 cup fresh coconut (you can get frozen shredded stuff at the Indian shops)
1 15oz can lite coconut milk
1/2 cup tomato juice (from the canned tomatoes)
Handful cashews
2 cups broccoli florets
salt and pepper

1) Warm oil in a saucepan until shimmering
2) Add cumin and mustard seeds. They should sizzle upon contact. Cook for 30 seconds or so, until they're done spluttering.
3) Add turmeric, fenugreek and curry leaves. Cook 30 seconds
4) Add chopped tomatoes and shredded coconut. Cook 5 minutes, until tomatoes break down a bit.
5) Add tomato juice and coconut milk. Season, and bring to a boil.
6) Add quinoa and cashews. Stir, then turn heat down to a simmer, cover and cook about 10 minutes until nearly almost cooked, but still soupy.
7) Add broccoli in one layer over the top of the quinoa. Add more water if it's too dry. Cover and cook 5 minutes until broccoli is tender. Serve!

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aarti