Quinoa and Mushroom cutlets

Everybody is so obsessed with eating healthy food now a days, even me. I am a food junkie, I will eat everything, I lay my hands on.But now a days, I eat in moderation and on the road to weight loss.So here is one very very healthy recipe for you and your family.I was asking my sister the other day is they get quinoa in India,cos I have never had quinoa in India. But once I discovered quinoa there was no going back. It is loaded with protein, it fills you up and you will not be hungry for a long time.It does not have any specific taste so it yields well to any flavor you put into it.We all see all the chefs talking all the time about quinoa on TV, its nothing just an edible grain. When its cooked it has a little bite to it and kinda pops in the mouth.I do a variety of dishes with quinoa.Today I decided to do Quinoa and mushroom cutlets / cakes for evening snack time.

                        

                         

                         

                         

I always blend the vegetables I put in, as they act as a binding agent and plus you can taste the onion and the mushroom in every bite. You can also add cooked and pureed carrot.

You do not have to stick to the recipe, you can be creative.

Quinoa and Mushroom cutlets  Makes 6-7 small cutlets

Quinoa - 1/2 cup

Onion chopped - 1/2

Mushroom chopped - 1 cup

Garlic chopped - 4

Green chili - 2 or according to taste

Pepper powder - 1/2 tspn

Egg yolk - 1 (separate white and yolk)

Bread - 1 slice

Coriander chopped - 3 tspn

Bread crumbs / panko - 1 cup for coating (optional)

Water - 1 cup

Oil for frying

Salt to taste

Preparations:
Cooking quinoa:

Bring the 1 cup of water to boil and put the quinoa and close the lid and let it cook.It will take around 20 - 25 minutes to absorb all the water.Once cooked keep aside.

Separate the egg white and yolk.We will be using only the yolk.

Preparing fresh bread crumbs

Place the bread and the coriander in the mixer and blend just for one round.Just one buzz is enough to crumble the bread. These are the fresh bread crumbs we will be using in the mixture.The purpose of using these bread crumbs are that it will absorb the excess moisture from mushroom and onions.

Cooking Method:

Heat a pan with little oil and fry the onions and garlic, along with green chili, until caramelized.

Add mushroom and pepper,cook for another 5 minutes.

Blend the mixture in the mixer.

Add the mushroom mixture,the fresh bread crumbs and the egg yolk to the cooked quinoa.(Do not add water)

Add salt according to taste.

Form patties / cakes / cutlets as you call it.

Dip in the bread crumbs and pan fry it with some oil.DO NOT deep fry.

Enjoy with ketch up and some fresh onions for some crunchiness.

Substitutions:

If you do not eat egg, you can substitute the egg yolk by increasing the bread slices to 3 when making the fresh bread crumbs.

Note:

Quinoa usually uses 1:2 ratio, the same as rice and water for cooking. So when you increase your serving size  by 1 cup of quinoa use 2 cups of water for cooking it.

You can use the fresh bread crumbs we make, for the final crumb coating. Just make the fresh bread crumbs with 5 slices of bread and you will have extra for coating.

The final dipping in the bread crumbs are just to give extra crunch, so you can skip this and cook without the bread crumb coating. 

Do not deep fry bcos there is a lot of moisture in the patty it will tend to fall apart when you put in oil.So pan fry with some oil.

The uncooked mixture will stay up to 2 days in the fridge.

Enjoy the healthy snack.