Minty Quinoa

           I have been neglecting my blog for more than a week now, my parents and sisters had come over, lots of cooking but couldn't find time to check on my blog. Well, today's recipe is yet another simple and healthy preparation with quinoa (I have a packet with me that I had brought with me from the US). But for those who can't find quinoa, you can do the same with couscous too, also the other day I found a packet of quinoa (of course imported one ) at Nilgiris in Chennai. Now coming back to the dish, it gets its flavor from the mint leaves and tastes great with any raitha or plain yogurt too..

Need To Have

• Quinoa - 1 cup
• Mint Leaves - 2 cups
• Potato - 1 medium cubed
• Capsicum - 1 small chopped
• Tomato - 1 chopped
• Green Chillies - 2 
• Chopped Ginger - 1 teaspoon
• Cloves - 2
• Cinnamon - 1" piece

Method
          Cook the quinoa as per the instructions on the packet and cool it. Grind the green chillies and ginger. Also grind the mint leaves coarsely without adding water. Heat some oil, add the cinnamon and cloves, once the cloves start spluttering, add the potatoes, saute for about 5 minutes, then add the chilli-ginger paste, saute for another 2 minutes. Now add the capsicum, keep mixing for another 3 minutes, add the coarsely ground mint leaves, salt, saute for another 5 minutes. Then add the chopped tomatoes, mix, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Switch off, allow it to cool down, then mix in the cooked quinoa.
Sending it to Zesty South Indian Kitchen for the Hearth And Soul Blog Hop event.

Note
You can mix in the quinoa when the minty potato mix is still hot, but you should take care not to make it mushy, try to fold it in gently, leave it for some time like in the case of briyanis, then serve it.
Also, though it might look sticky, as it cools down, it actually becomes dry.
Do not overcook the quinoa.
Can also add some cooked peas or chickpeas.