Quinoa - what is it? You will receive the answer to this question from the materials of the presented article. We will also tell you about the properties of this product, what and how to cook from it.
Quinoa - what is it?
The word quinoa comes from the Latin chenopodium quinoa. Its other Russian names sound like “rice quinoa”, “quinoa”, “quinoa” and “movie quinoa”. It is a cereal that grows on the slopes of the Andes in South America.
Quinoa, the recipes with which will be discussed below, has an ancient origin. This ingredient was Indians' main staple food, along with potatoes and corn.
Where does it grow?
About that, quinoa - what is it, we told. However, I also want to tell you where such a cereal grows.
Quinoa has been cultivated for quite some time exclusively in the Andes. But due to its high nutritional value, as well as its adaptability to the mountain climate, this cereal product began to spread in other parts of the world. Today, experts are actively working on the cultivation of quinoa in the Himalayas and Tibet. Also, this culture spread along the coasts and territories conquered from the jungle.
Quinoa: beneficial properties of the product
The fruits of the cereal plant contain a complete vegetable protein. It includes almost all the essential amino acids. It should be noted that the amount of protein in quinoa is much larger than in rice, wheat and corn. This fact allows the use of dishes made from rice quinoa to provide the mentioned element to people who voluntarily refused meat, that is, vegetarians. Quinoa lunches are also recommended for use with significant mental and physical stress.
What else is rich in quinoa? The beneficial properties of this product are known to many. Thus, fiber, which is found in cereals, helps cleanse the body of toxins and normalize weight. It should be said that micro and macro elements contained in quinoa are extremely necessary for people with cardiovascular diseases.
Scope of application
Quinoa, whose properties were described above, is very often used for making cereals. In terms of taste, this dish resembles unhealed boiled rice quite strongly.
In addition to cereals, this cereal is used for the manufacture of flour, from which pasta, bread and other flour products are subsequently made. By the way, when you add ordinary drinking water and granulated sugar to it, you get a wonderful soft drink.
Now you know quinoa - what it is. As a rule, grains of the presented culture are used for cooking various dishes after a long soaking or rinsing of the bitter saponins contained in them. Quinoi seeds often produce a nutritious ingredient that is very close to peanut butter.
More recently, experts have developed an economical and fairly quick way to dry extract saponins. In industrial production, fungicides and good fertilizers are obtained from it.
Possible harm
Quinoa, whose price is quite high (about 100 Russian rubles per 100 g), is sold in almost every modern store. It should be noted that such a cereal culture can not only contribute to improving well-being due to the large number of useful elements, but also harm health. So, the fruit shells contain saponins. If they enter the bloodstream, then a person can be very poisoned. That is why cereals should be soaked for a long time and washed thoroughly before eating.
It is impossible not to say that pediatricians highly recommend not including dishes from this cereal in the menu of young children (under 2 years old). This is due to the fact that at this age the walls of the intestine are insufficiently formed so as not to let saponins pass into the blood.
Obstacles to the use of this cereal can be kidney disease, as well as gout.
Quinoa: recipes for various dishes
As mentioned above, there are many recipes where you can safely use the presented product. It makes delicious and nutritious cereals, salads, soups, casseroles, main dishes and even desserts.
So let's look at how quinoa is used in cooking. How to cook this product at home?
Making a delicious and nutritious salad
Dishes from such a cereal crop are made very quickly and easily. To make a salad yourself, we need:
- drinking water - about 1 liter;
- Kinoia - 2/3 glasses;
- table salt - use at discretion;
- large fresh meaty tomato - 1 pc.;
- fresh juicy cucumber - 1 pc.;
- sweet pepper - 1 pc.;
- red sweet onion - 1 medium head;
- crushed allspice - apply to taste;
- freshly squeezed lemon juice - a large spoon;
- Refined olive oil - about 30 ml.
Product Preparation
Before preparing a quinoa salad, rinse the cereal well, keep it in clean drinking water for several hours, and then place it in a pot with boiling water, salt and cook over low heat until completely soft. Next, the product must be discarded in a colander, shake well and set aside.
As for fresh vegetables, they must be washed, cleaned of unnecessary elements, and then chopped into small cubes.
The process of forming and serving
After processing the main components in one container, you need to combine a tomato, sweet pepper, boiled cereal, cucumber and onions. Further, all products must be flavored with pepper, salt, lemon juice and olive oil. In this composition, the ingredients should be mixed with a large spoon, put in a salad bowl and immediately presented to guests.
If you wish, then in such a dish you can add chopped radishes, canned corn or green beans.
Making a delicious quinoa side dish
Quinoa porridge can be prepared on water, milk, vegetable or meat broth. If such a dish is planned to be served as a side dish, then it is better to use one of the last two ingredients.
So, we need:
- quinoa - a full glass;
- vegetable or meat broth - 3 glasses;
- salt and allspice - use as you wish.
Cooking process
Now you know what a product like quinoa is. How to cook it at home in the form of a tasty and satisfying side dish? To do this, put the groats in a sieve, and then rinse thoroughly. In addition, it is recommended to soak this product in cool water. This will deprive him of toxic substances, which can not only contribute to poisoning, but also give the whole dish an unpleasant bitter taste.
After preparing the cereals, it must be laid out in a deep bowl, and then pour meat or vegetable broth, salt and pepper. After boiling the ingredients, they should be closed with a lid and cook in the same way as ordinary rice.
After waiting for the softness of the grains, the pan must be removed from the stove and kept, wrapped in a towel, for ¼ hour.
Correctly serve to the table
Having prepared a delicious side dish of quinoa groats, it should be distributed on plates and served hot to the table. As a rule, such porridge is presented along with fried or boiled meat, as well as with red or white fish. In addition to the finished dish, you can make a salad of fresh vegetables and herbs, seasoned with olive oil or sour cream.