This fabulous vegetarian dish could be served as an appetizer, a side or even part of a main meal accompanied with a  garden fresh salad or roasted vegetables.Do bring it to your dinner table the next time around and I’m sure it will please even a staunch carnivorous dinner guest.

Quinoa has come a long way in the last couple of years when it became quite the rage around one’s kitchens. It has slowly moved up from being stocked in the health food isles to the regular shelves in most supermarkets.

I recently hosted a virtual cooking class and called it ” Quinoa Goes To Hollywood”. It was a fun session where the participants used simple cooked quinoa and twisted up two traditional Indian recipes, one  into a Curried Quinoa (the original recipe being Poha, which is curried flattened rice) and Potato Quinoa Patties which is the Aloo Tikki (classic Potato patty that got a makeover)

I for one quite enjoy cooking with Quinoa and while the obsession continues, I’d been looking at something exciting other than my usual Quinoa salad and Pilaf ,as quite frankly was getting quite tired of the same old recipes. Oh well, last week I decided to ditch the usual Quinoa repertoire and gave it a face lift.

Well then, the boiled Quinoa went along with some mashed potatoes ,chopped parsley and some crumbled feta And here is what it got turned into: These wonderful and easy to put together Potato-Quinoa Cakes. Great fresh inspiration to a bowlful of cooked Quinoa.

Since Monday’s are Meatless at home,these vegetarian cakes have become quite a hit with the family and has now turned out to be a serious go-to recipe in my kitchen.This recipe works great with both the white and coloured quinoa.

Some Tips On Cooking Quinoa:

• Ensure you rinse the Quinoa well under running to get rid of the bitterness
• Quinoa can be cooked on a stove top.
• Add the rinsed Quinoa to a pan and add exactly 2 cups of water or broth to 1 cup of Quinoa.
• Bring the Quinoa to a boil on medium-high heat for about 15-20 minutes (uncovered)
• Now remove the pan from the heat and cover with a lid for about 10 minutes.
• Uncover it and fluff it with a fork.

What To Serve With Potato Quinoa Patties:

• Coriander-Mint Chutney
• Cucumber-onion-tomato salad
• Hot Dipping sauce

How To Serve Potato Quinoa Patties:

• As an appetizer with a chutney
• Use them as a filling in pita pockets with a salad and dipping sauce
• Serve them as a main main meal with a garden salad
• Hot Soup and Potato quinoa patties is our fav

Quinoa Benefits:

• Quinoa contains large amounts of flavonoids. These are plant antioxidants with numerous health benefits.
• Rich in Proteins and high in fibre.
• Gluten free and a great option for those with gluten sensitivity and intolerances.
• Quinoa has a low glycemic index and hence great for controlling blood sugar levels.

What I enjoy about this recipe here is there is just a small amount of the binding ingredient which is the cornflour and no eggs or breadcrumbs! These could be prepped up earlier and even frozen for what I call “fright nights”,when one just does not know what to cook. We all have one of those, don’t we?

This is a great Vegetarian and Gluten free recipe and works great with a salad on the side and best served with a green coriander chutney or any dipping sauce.

 

Simple Ingredients Needed For This Recipe:

• Cooked Quinoa

• Boiled mashed Potatoes

• Chopped Cilantro Or parsley

• Chopped red onion

• Chili powder or paprika

• Cumin powder

• Salt to season

• Corn starch

• Crumbled paneer (cottage cheese or feta: optional)

• Oil to shallow fry

 

Some More Vegetarian Inspiration From My Kitchen

Roasted Pumpkin Salad          Falafel Salad Bowl

 

Oven Roasted Carrots              Pumpkin Hummus

          

Recipe For Potato Quinoa Patties:

Quinoa And Potato Tikki (Traditional Aloo Tikki or Potato patties with Quinoa)

 

(Traditional Aloo Tikki is a Potato patty with spices and takes on a new form here with the addition of Quinoa and cottage cheese, you may omit the stufiing and make this into a vegan meal if you like.)

(Makes 8-10 patties)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 medium potatoes (boiled & mashed)
• 285 grams cooked Quinoa
• 1 small white or red onion (finely chopped
• 1-tablespoon fresh cilantro (finely chopped)
• ¼- ½ teaspoon teaspoon red chili powder
• ¼ teaspoon roasted cumin powder
• ½ teaspoon chaat masala (optional)
• 1 small green chili (finely chopped- optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• ½-1 teaspoon corn flour (for binding or more if needed)
• 120 grams crumbled Paneer (cottage cheese) or feta cheese (optional)
• Vegetable Oil to shallow fry the patties

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mash the boiled potatoes well and add the cooked Quinoa to the mix.
2. Next add in the chopped onions, finely chopped cilantro and chopped green chilies and mix well.
3. Now mix in the chili powder, roasted cumin powder, chaat masala, salt & pepper and the corn flour and combine well till all the ingredients are well incorporated.
4. Add some oil to moisten your palms.
5. Take a small amount of the mixture in your palm and gently flatten the mixture and then make a hollow in the center and add a small amount of the crumbled paneer or feta in there
6. Fold the sides over and re shape into round flat patties
7. Place a frying pan on medium heat and add a couple of tablespoons of Oil and let the oil heat.
8. Put the patties into the frying pan and shallow fry till golden brown on either side.
9. Remove the patties and place on a paper towel to drain off the excess oil
10. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.