January 12, 2010

Coconut Curry Quinoa

 

That's fun to say, huh? Coconut. Curry. Quinoa. Coconut Curry Quinoa. Now five times fast!
This dish is so easy, amazingly healthy and delicious in the extreme. Give it a try. You'll love it!

2 C water
1 C quinoa*
1/8 C oil (I used sunflower)
1 block firm tofu, drained and cut into small squares
1 medium white or yellow onion, diced
2 stalks fresh kale, chopped
1 large carrot, diced
1 large zucchini, diced
1-2 large cloves garlic (to taste), minced
1 can coconut milk
1 Tbsp red curry paste
1 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp fresh or dried parsley
2 tsp fine sea salt
1-3 Tbsp fresh or bottled lime juice, to taste
  • Combine water and quinoa in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until soft and water is not present at the bottom of the pan. Usually about 15 minutes.
  • In a large skillet or saute pan, place oil and carrot. Saute over medium heat for a few minutes, then add the onions. After one or two minutes add the zucchini. Once it's moderately soft, add the kale. Kale only needs to cook about 30 seconds. The idea is to add the longest-cooking veggies first.
  • Add tofu, coconut milk, curry and all spices except lime juice.
  • Add cooked quinoa and stir. Allow to simmer only a few minutes, until everything's nice and hot.
  • Serve it up in a bowl and sprinkle bottled lime juice over the top, or squeeze the juice of one or two lime slices over the top. Delicious! And it feeds an army, so get ready for leftovers and midnight snacks too!
Here's my daughter enjoying the batch I cooked up this afternoon...

 So good you don't need a spoon. Just use your hands!

*Bankrupt Vegan Tip: I've noticed the little one pound bag of quinoa that Target sells runs at almost $12. WOW! That's expensive. But my local health food store sells organic quinoa in bulk for only $4.49 per pound. Nutritional yeast is a lot cheaper in bulk too. If you haven't already, I suggest you look around in your town for a health food store that supplies dry goods in bulk (most of them do). You will save a ton of money!

4 comments:

Blai said...

just ate quinoa for the first time tonight (black beans, garlic, scallions, lime, & cilantro) we bought it in bulk as well... who the heck needs packaging especially with crazy prices like that. i'll have try your recipe soon!

JAS said...

i get zucchine at the farmer's market when it is season and cook it down and freeze it. it is nice to pull it out for a recipe like this one and know that you are eating something local, regardless of it being frozen.

Jennifer M. said...

That's a really good idea! Which Farmer's Market do you go to?

Cassie - Vegan Fox said...

This sounds delicious! Curried Quinoa, what a great idea! Glad to hear that you are working to remove sugar from your diet, we prefer it that way, as well :)