Quinoa Patties

Quinoa has started getting very popular as high protein vegetarian grains.... I got a chance to try a recipe when my friend who moved gave me a box of these grains. As I have never eaten or even seen it before, I googled information about it and how to cook it..... Interesting trivia on quinoa can be found here.... Last week, I opened the box and finally decided to use.........so thought of making this recipe with some other vegetables in the fridge.

Ingredients:

• quinoa -- 1 cup
• bread -- 2 slices
• beetroot -- 1 small
  
• carrot -- 1 small
• broccoli -- 4/5 florets( half a head)
• garlic -- 4 cloves
• coriander leaves -- 1 small bunch
• onion -- about 1/2
• green peas -- about 1 cup
• lemon juice -- about 1 tbsp
• powdered spices -- coriander powder and tandoori masala powder (about 1/2 tsp each)
• salt and pepper -- about 1 tsp each
• butter or oil -- about 2-3 tsps
• water -- 2 cup

Recipe:

• Boil about 2 cups of water and add salt. Add quinoa and cover the pot and let it simmer on medium heat till the water is absorbed by the grains. About 15-20 minutes. The grains will fluff up. Add 1-3 tbsps of water if needed. Keep it aside to cool.

• Prep the vegetables and make bread crumbs in a food processor. Grate the broccoli, carrot and beetroot. (I boiled the beetroot prior to grating). Chop onions, peel and grate garlic. Defrost the peas and heat them in the microwave for about 1-2 minutes.

• Take all the prepared vegetables in a large bowl. Add the powdered spices and season well with salt and pepper. 

• Add quinoa and mix well.

• Add breadcrumbs, coriander leaves and lemon juice. Mix well with a spoon.

• Take about 2 tbsp mix in your hands and roll them in a ball and flatten to patties. Use up all the mix to make patties and keep them flat in a plate.

• Refrigerate the patties for an hour. I kept them in the freezer for 10/15 minutes.

• Heat a pan and brush the bottom with a tsp of oil or butter. Arrange the patties in a single layer and brown the bottom on medium heat. Flip the patties after 3-4 minutes and brown the other side.

• Serve hot with ketchup, mint chutney or tartare sauce. 

Quantity:

• Makes about 15 -20 patties 
• 2-3 patties are good for a serving size along with a salad or rice or pasta.

Notes:

• I found the binding part a bit difficult with breadcrumbs made with  just 2 slices of bread.... can increase the bread slices to about 4 or 5
• You can add potato, paneer or even egg instead of bread crumbs. 
• The refrigerating helps keeping the shape.
• Instead of using indian powdered spices you can use cheese and mixed italian herbs too.
• I preferred the ones, I sauteed with butter for obvious reasons...  :)