Have you entered to win your own Shun Ken Onion 8″ Chef’s knife in my drawing? There aren’t that many entries once you take out the folks who didn’t follow the directions, so enter and you’ve got a good chance of winning!
I hate cold dairy-based salads. Dishes like potato salad, macaroni salad, and egg salad actually give the willies, to the point that I can feel my skin crawling under my sweater. I mean, ICK. Who thought up such a disturbing kind of dish? Sorry if you’re actually a fan, but man, I can’t handle them. Yikes.
A few weeks ago, my friend Lisa’s son turned 13. We had a great potluck party where everyone brought a dish from some random corner of the earth, and one guest brought a curried quinoa salad. I was skeptical, of course, because it was a cold salad – I watch it with disdain from across the room, but the bright colors kept me intrigued. I love quinoa, so finally decided to open my mind a bit and give it a try.
This cold salad, as it turns out, was delicious. There was no mayo involved, so my stomach didn’t perform the requisite flip-flops after the first bite. I spent the next day tracking down the bringer of said salad on Facebook, who was kind enough to share the recipe. And you, dear Internet, should try it out.
This cool summer recipe is not only insanely tasty, it’s super healthy too. Quinoa, being a whole grain, is high in fiber and actually contains more calcium than milk. It’s also an almost perfect balance of all eight essential amino acids, making for a great mega-shot of protein.
If you’re feeding this to kids, you might leave out the pepper to reduce the overall heat which, though mild, might turn off young’ins. Adding more mango will increase the level of sweetness, if you’re looking for something fruitier.
Curried Quinoa Salad Recipe
Serves six as a side or four for lunch.
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lime juice
2 teaspoons yellow curry powder
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1-1/3 cups uncooked quinoa
2 mangoes, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch chunks
1 fresh serrano chile, seeded and minced
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
1/2 cup salted roasted cashews or peanuts, chopped
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together yogurt, lime juice, curry powder, ginger, salt, and pepper. Slowly add oil, whisking until fully combined.
- Rinse quinoa in a bowl for three minutes, using fingers to agitate grains. Quinoa has a coating of bitter saponin that needs to be removed before cooking, and agitating while rinsing will help remove it.
- In a 5-quart pot, bring four cups of water to a boil with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Add in quinoa and cook for 15 minutes, until grains are cooked through but still just a touch crunchy. Pour into a sieve, rinse with cold water, and let sit to drain for 15 minutes.
- Once quinoa is fully drained, mix with curried yogurt and remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Serve at room temperature.
Some posts from other bloggers you might be interested in:
- Savory Quinoa Salad (sweet tarte)
- Quinoa Salad with Tomato, Feta and Parsley (theperfectpantry)
- Life, Death and Quinoa (teaandcookies)
- Curry Rice Salad Recipe (simplyrecipes)
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I’ve never tried qinoa. Where can I get it? Can I make it in a rice cooker?
You can indeed make it in a rice cooker, and it usually cooks up really well that way. I think I used 1 part quinoa to 1.75 parts water, but I don’t remember exactly. Let me know how much water you use!
Oh, this looks yummy and it’s nicely gluten free! Going on my list of recipes to try this summer. I have all the ingredients except for the yogurt. Putting that on Saturday’s shopping list. THANKS! (PS–the knives I won from you earlier in the year are GREAT!!!! We LOVE them! THANKS!)
I’m so glad you like the knives! They were a really sweet set and I have to admit I was a little sad to see them go.
Did you enter the contest to win the Shun?
Oh wow yours looks amazing–I love mango and curry and I’ve been really into cooking with quinoa lately!
I was all excited by the no-dairy rant (and the quinoa – love it!) and then saw the yogurt. Wonder if full-fat coconut cream would work instead…
I’ve made this successfully with soy yogurt – in fact, some folks like the less-tart flavor better!
And actually, now that I think about it, coconut cream would go really well with the curry and mango. If you give it a try, report back and let me know how it goes.
I really like quinoa salads and this recipe looks wonderful! Perfect for a summer picnic or get together.
It travels and keeps well too – we ate it for a week afterwards.
I really like quinoa salads like this. I am going to have to try a curried one.
Yum Delish!!! I made this for supper tonight – snicked a bit just now and I know my family will love it! I usually make a Greek-type quinoa salad, great but getting a bit boring. Great soccer night meal for all of us. This will go into our summer rotation for sure. It will be going as our dish to our friends’ Canada Day BBQ – beautiful to look at too. Thanks!
Glad you liked it! It’s definitely a great on the go picnic dish, and the colors are fabulous.
Loved it! Had to make it without mango (allergy for a guest) and subbed in papaya. Mango flavor is certainly key. I also doubled the recipe and found the amount of quinoa was kind of out of control. Dialed that back a bit and it was fine. Looking forward to making it again with the mango. Thanks for having this gluten free option ready to go. So refreshing!
Haha! I did the same thing when I first made it – doubled the recipe and ended up with a month’s worth of quinoa. Holy hypoallergenic whole grains, Batman.
Next time you go without mango, I’m maybe try something with a little tang in it’s place, like mandarin oranges or maybe even strawberries. Mango definitely makes it, but I think other tart fruits would work well, too.
Glad you liked it, my dear.