Lentil-Quinoa salad

I have been always fond of Lentils. Lentil soup, as we say it in our language, Daal, is an integral part of my diet. But I was never exposed to the idea of Lentil salad until I first tested Mediterranean cuisine! I have been to Egypt couple of times and among the various things I enjoyed over there, Egyptian food was simply heart warming! Simple, yet it has tasteful combination of spices and vegetables.

Couple of weeks back P and I were talking about healthy dinner options and the idea of making a Lentil-Quinoa salad struck me. Till date Quinoa is not so common in India. And that shouldn't be a surprise because historically Quinoa was first domesticated in South America. I was reading about the history of Quinoa and found out that the Incas had a high regard for Quinoa. Traditionally, each year the king used to plant the first tree! This seed has an impressive journey for the last 500 years! With the Spanish invasion in South America, Quinoa was replaced with cereals and cultivation of Quinoa was suppressed. From 1970 onwards Quinoa cultivation again gained momentum.More on this can be found here

So finally I made this Lentil Quinoa salad and tried to infuse both Mediterranean and South American style. For the last two weeks we are eating this salad for our dinner. Assembling the different ingredients might take some time, but at the end we were happy souls! There could be lot variations for this salad, the more the merrier!

Recipe for Lentil -Quinoa salad ( serves two)

Ingredients :
Unhusked red Lentils -1 cup
Chick peas- 1/2 cup
Quinoa - 1 cup

Embellishment/toppings
Tofu - 25g ( for marinade : Tomato Ketchup - 2tsp, Soya Sauce- 1tsp, garlic paste-1/2 tsp and bread crumbs)
Boiled eggs - 2
Avocado -1
Asparagus
Carrot peels -
Chopped onion
Chopped cucumber
Chopped tomatoes
Roasted nuts
Dried cranberry
Lemon juice
Parsley sprigs

Spices :
Rocksalt
Roasted cumin powder : 1 tbsp
A pinch of Oregano
A pinch of Rosemary
Roasted seasame seeds
Chilly flakes

Method :
Soak red lentils and chick peas for 6 hours. Wash them thoroughly and boil them in salted water for about 20 mins. They should be soft. Boil Quinoa in a separate pan ( see the packet for instructions, I had to boil them for about 10 mins). Mix together the lentils, Quinoa in a big bowl , add lemon juice and cumin powder. Check salt and leave it refrigerated.

In the meanwhile prepare a marinade for Tofu. In a bowl mix together tomato ketchup, Soya sauce and garlic paste. Cut the Tofu in small cube and marinade them for half an hour. Coat the marinated Tofu with bread crumb and fry them.

The embellishments make the salad interesting. I did add boiled eggs, sliced Avocados, grilled Asparagus, roasted peanuts, handful of cranberries and chopped carrot, onion, cucumber. But you may add according to your liking and make it even more interesting.

The last part is assembling. Add your favorite toppings with the Lentil Quinoa salad. Add the spices. We like it cold. Did you notice this is almost a no-oil meal ( except the fried Tofu)?

Eat healthy and enjoy!