Cilantro Quinoa Pulao

Quinoa has become such a popular substitute for rice. We directly substituent rice with quinoa and have everything with quinoa - sambar, rasam, kottu, kuzahmbu, curry, gravy, yogurt, spice powders... you name it. I also (like several others) directly substitute rice with quinoa in flavored rice dishes like pulao/pulav/pilaf etc. 

Coriander/cilantro rice is quite popular in India. There are several variations to it, of course, but it basically involves flavoring and cooking rice with an aromatic mixture of ground cilantro, spices, and coconut. So, that's where my inspiration came while making this dish. This dish is essentially cilantro pulao with quinoa instead of rice, and flavored with coconut oil instead of vegetable oil, because coconut oil has managed to sneak in to the coveted list of health foods.

Ingredients (serves 2-4):

1. 1 cup uncooked quinoa
2. 1/2 cup chopped cilantro / coriander leaves
3. 1 inch block of ginger
4. 2 cloves of garlic
5. 1/3 cup shredded/grated coconut
6. 1 dry red chilly or 1 green chilly
7. 1 tablespoon coconut oil
8. 2 pods of green cardamom
9. 3 cloves
10. 1 inch piece of cinnamon
11. 1 medium onion, sliced
12. 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
13. 1 teaspoon salt, or as needed
14. 2 tablespoons of peanuts

Preparation:

1. Grind the coconut, ginger, garlic, and coriander leaves with a couple of tablespoons of water to form a coarse paste.
2. Heat coconut oil in a medium sauce pan. When hot, add cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and peanuts and fry for a minute until you can smell the spices. Add onion and saute on low-medium heat for 5 minutes. 
3. Add carrots and saute for another 5 minutes. (add more vegetables as you like)
4. Add the ground cilantro-coconut mixture and fry for another couple of minutes
5. Add quinoa and salt and mix well. Add 2 cups of water and stir well and let it come to a boil. When it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes with the saucepan closed until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is cooked
6. Remove from heat, garnish with more cilantro if you like and serve.

Serve warm. Enjoy!