Friday 7 March 2008

Chilean quinoa croquettes

Polish: komosa ryżowa
Aymara: jiwra, supha
Mapunzugun: künwa, dawe, sawe, zawe
Quechua: kinwa , kiuna, kuchikinwa
Chibcha: suba, pasca
Lithuanian: bolivinė balanda
Russian: рисовая лебеда, киноа
Swedish: mjölmålla
Norwegian: perumelde
Greek: κινόα

Quinoa is a pseudocereal (just like buckwheat and amaranth) and was cultivated in South America even 5.000 years before. Together with potatoes, it was a staple food in Andean region before Incan Empire. Incas called them "mother of all grains"; until today in many countries quinoa has an alternative name: peruvian or incan rice (German: Inkareis / Perureis, Polish: ryż peruwiański, Spanish: trigo inca, arroz del Perú). Scientists say that without quinoa there would be no human being possible to live in the Altiplano. The mystery of its power is that quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it an unusually complete food. Try these Chilean quinoa croquettes (croquetas de papa y quinoa), they are really worth it!

1 cup cooked, mashed potatoes
1 cup cooked quinoa*
1 egg
1/2 cup chopped onions
a handful of parsley
a pinch of cummin, salt and pepper

1*. You don't need any advice how to cook and mash potatoes, don't you? :) About quinoa: take about 1/2 cup dried grains, wash them well under running ater or soak for some hours (cause it contains bitter-tasting saponins) and cook with 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup milk for about 5 minutes, after that time reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes until the grains are transparent. Don't add salt!

2. Whisk the egg, drain quinoa, chop parsley finely. Combine all the ingredients, now it is time to add salt too; form croquettes, and fry them (no need to sprinkle with flour before frying)



4 comments:

Bea said...

Bardzo czesto gotuje cos z quinoa, chetnie wiec nastepnym razem pomysle o tym przepisie :)

Ewa said...

Bea, witaj!
Ja te kotleciki bardzo lubię. Jesli zdecydujesz się je wypróbować, daj znać czy i Tobie smakowały. Ciekawa jestem, jakie potrawy przyrządzasz z quinoi.

juando said...

ewa....i need ur help...hit me back if u are there!!...thanks!!

Ewa said...

Juando, what happens?