Quinoa & Red Lentil Soup

Today's recipe is about the little seed that I talked about in my last post. I was so obsessed with this tiny grain until I finished the pack. There are too many recipes for quinoa to try yet. Quinoa has a nutty flavor when cooked ad that makes it suitable for any kind of recipe you want to try.  

This soup tastes more like a kichadi to me than a soup. Initially, the idea was to make a soup. But when I saw lentils in the ingredients, I thought, why not make a kichadi out of it. That way my little boy can also have it. When he had a bowl of this before his school, I was satisfied that he got a good amount of protein for the day.

Ingredients: 1. Quinoa - 1/2 cup 2. Red Lentils - 3/4 cup 3. Water - 5 -6  cups 4. Ghee - 1 tablespoon (Optional) 5. Oil - 1 tablespoon 6. Mustard - 1 teaspoon 7. Saunf - 1 teaspoon 8. Onions - 1 chopped finely 9. Ginger - 1 inch grated 10. Tomato - 1/2 chopped finely 11. Curry leaves - few 12. Cilantro - few 13. Carrot - 1 chopped 14. Peas - 1/2 cup 15. Salt - per taste 16. Turmeric - 1 teaspoon 17. chilli powder - 1 teaspoon / per taste Method 1. Heat oil in a pressure cooker and once it is hot, add mustard, saunf and curry leaves.  2. After it splutters, add onion and ginger, saute it for a minute and add tomatoes. 3. Let the tomatoes cook for sometime. Add salt, turmeric and chilli powder. 4. Add the rest of the ingredients and pressure cook it till 1 whistle. 5. Open the pressure cooker after all the pressure releases and check for the consistency. I preferred a little thick like kichadi. If you feel it is too thick you can add hot water and make it a little thinner.