I was bored of making old-fashioned rotis (traditional Indian bread) the other day and since my latest obsession is Quinoa, I decided to experiment with it in not-so-straighforward ways (my other experiments include quinoa upma, quinoa-fish cutlets...hopefully I'll write those up someday :))
But I had to share this one delightful way to use quinoa (which incidentally is the richest vegetarian source of protein).
Quinoa Rotis (Prep time : 20 mins for 8 rotis which includes kneading the dough)
Whole wheat floor (atta) : 3 cups
Quinoa seeds (rinse well to remove saponins) : 3/4th cup
Water (preferably cold)
Procedure
Wash the quinoa well in water and cook them damp (add a bit more water if needed, ~ 4tbsp) in the microwave for about 4 mins till the quinoa seeds become translucent-ish (I don't bother cooking them fully, I like the nutty texture in my rotis). Add the quinoa to your wheat flour after it has cooled a bit and add just enough water to knead some nice dough. Incidentally the best consistency for dough is that which doesn't stick to your hands or the bowl / mixer you used to knead it in, but isn't too tough / dry at the same time.
Roll out the dough balls like you would for rotis. The advantages of using quinoa in this are
a) for whatever reason, the rotis roll out much faster and smoother...I don't know how to explain it but it's like the quinoa studs provide the brakes for roti-rolling which are beyond one's control, but it works!
b) the rotis cook much faster than traditional chapatis
b) quinoa-studded rotis look rather pretty ;)
c) nore nutrition-packed power I say, now who wouldn't want that :))
Points to note:
The quinoa-rotis will not rise like traditional chapatis do BUT that doesn't mean they're not cooked...they taste just fine and in fact don't even get hard if you let them sit out for a while (of course, I recommend covering the rotis with foil/cloth if you're going to eat them later).
I'll put up pics later, but believe me y'all, this one makes roti-making so much easier for the body and soul :)
Try it and let me know what you think!
