How to Make Curried Chicken and Quinoa Salad

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah)is the seed of a leafy plant easily grown throughout the world in even the roughest soil conditions. This tiny, flat, oval-shaped gem expands three to four times its size when cooked and can be substituted for most any grain.

It is a protein and vitamin rich staple food and an important supplement to many vegetarian diets. This recipe is a variation of the recipe that can be found in The Flexitarian Diet written by associate and friend Dawn Jackson-Blatner.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 4 chicken breasts, diced
• 1 Tbsp tamari sauce
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
• 2 tsp + 1 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• 2 Tbsp dried cranberries
• 2 Tbsp seedless raisins
• 6 green onions, chopped
• 1-1/2 cup canned garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

1. Heat olive oil over a medium flame. Add diced chicken breast, 1 tsp curry powder and tamari sauce. Cook well until all pink is gone. Remove from flame and set aside.

2. 
    
   Quinoa

   Using a strainer (not a colander), rinse the uncooked quinoa with warm water thoroughly to remove the naturally-occurring saponin coating that may cause a bitter flavor. Drain.

3. In a pot, bring water to a boil over medium high flame. Add quinoa and 2 tsp curry powder. Simmer covered for 10 minutes or until quinoa is translucent. It will appear to break open into little spirals.

4. Mix together cooked quinoa with chicken, carrots, cranberries, raisins, green onions and garbanzo beans. Serve hot or cold. Makes 3-4 servings. Great as a side dish or main entree.

Tips & Warnings

• Quinoa can be found in health food stores and most major grocery stores.
• Omit the chicken for a vegetarian version.
• You can also try this recipe with brown rice.
• Try this recipe with your own variations of dried fruits.
• Quinoa can not be rinsed in a colander as the seeds are too small and you will lose them all down the drain.

Resources

• The Flexitarian Diet by Dawn Jackson-Blatner
• The Whole Grain Cookbook
• Awesome Rice Dishes
• Balance Work & Home Life With Me as Your Life Coach

[langleycornwell]

on 6/11/2009 Wow, this sounds great. I love Quinoa. Thanks for the recipe.

[labellefleur100]

on 6/2/2009 Sounds delicious! Thanks for the recipe! 5* rcmd