Browse Tag by Minerals
Dinner, Lunch

ChiQuin Biryani

Biryani, be with any type of meat and/or vegetables is very popular during special occasions across the India subcontinent, and of course amongst immigrant Indian families across the world.

Traditionally, we have always enjoyed chicken biryani at home, such as the Eid (feast) after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan (Eid-ul-Fitr or Feast of Fast breaking) or 60 days later for Eid-ul-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice). Mum’s also made it for birthdays, family gatherings and so forth, and I have enjoyed it at weddings, engagements and other events.

As much as I love this speciality dish, I wanted to modernise it for my health and fitness needs. Therefore, I used only fresh ingredients (mum likes using frozen garlic and ginger), swapped the olive oil for coconut oil and used quinoa instead of rice! (I know what you’re thinking, I should rename this blog Spiced Up With Quinoa!).

You will need 3 saucepans for this, 2 medium sized ones and one large one, which you can line with aluminium foil like we do at home for easy washing.

INGREDIENTS

Chicken Mix

2 chicken breasts

100g lentils

100g soya yoghurt (you can add any type of yogurt; I am lactose intolerant!)

1 onion

1 red onion

1 tomato

4 cloves of garlic

1 cm of ginger

1 cm haldi (turmeric)

1 long red pepper (didn’t have this available at the time!)

1 long green pepper

1 long red chilli

1 long green chilli (didn’t have this available at the time!)

1 spoon dried coriander

1 teaspoon red chilli powder

1 pinch of saffron

Coconut oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 litre of filtered and boiled water

1 tin of chopped tomatoes (you can use fresh if you wish but it’s quicker and easier to use a can!)

 

Quinoa

200 g quinoa

Coconut oil

400 mL of filtered water, boiled

Salt

ChiQuin Ingredients
ChiQuin Ingredients

INSTRUCTIONS

Chicken (saucepan 1)

  1. In a saucepan on ¾ heat, melt 2 tablespoons of coconut oil (put the water on to boil);
  2. Slice and dice in the onions, and stir regularly until the mix starts to bronze;
  3. Add the garlic (I cut the garlic knobs up, press them in a garlic crusher and add them directly into the saucepan) and ginger to the saucepan and stir;
  4. To the mix, add one freshly chopped tomato, 100g soya yogurt, dried coriander, turmeric and a half a teaspoon of salt (feel free to add gharam masala);
  5. Chop in the chillies and peppers (if you want your dish less spicy, add the chillies in with the other vegetables in point 7);
  6. Cook this mix while stirring gently until the water evaporates (points 1-6 should take 5 minutes cooking time);
  7. Begin preparing the quinoa;
  8. Cut the chicken breasts into cubes, add to the saucepan and cook until all raw bits disappear, stir gently;
  9. Turn the heat down to a quarter, add salt to taste, cover with the lid and leave the mix to cook for about 10 minutes;
  10. You are now ready to mix with the quinoa!

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

 

Quinoa (saucepan 2)

  1. In a saucepan on ¾ heat, melt 1 tablespoon of coconut oil (boil 500 mL filtered water);
  2. Add in the quinoa and mix with the coconut oil (helps to keep the quinoa grains separated);
  3. Add in 200mL boiling water and a ½ teaspoon of salt;
  4. Allow the quinoa to simmer, turn the heat down to a quarter, and cover with the lid;
  5. Check on it 3 to 5 minutes later and gently turn the quinoa over with a plastic or wooden spoon to ensure you keep your quinoa seeds in tact;
  6. Allow the quinoa to simmer until the quinoa is cooked (add more water if needed) and all the water has evaporated;
  7. You are now ready to mix with the chicken!

Preparation time: 1 minute

Cooking time: 15 minutes

 

ChiQuin Biryani (saucepan 3)

  1. Spread 1/3 quinoa at the bottom;
  2. Spread 1/2 lentils over the quinoa;
  3. Spread 1/2 of the chicken mix over the lentils;
  4. Spread remaining 1/2 lentils over the chicken;
  5. Spread remaining 1/2 chicken mix over the lentils;
  6. Spread remaining 2/3 quinoa over the chicken;
  7. Cook on half heat for 15 minutes, and check the chicken with a knife to see if it has almost cooked through;
  8. Transfer onto an elevated gauze or saucepan (to stop the bottom quinoa layer from burning) for 15 minutes on 1/4 heat;
  9. Check to see if chicken has cooked and the mix is to your liking;
  10. You are now ready to eat!

Preparation time: 2 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Serves up to 2-4 people –I made enough biryani to last us another day!

Let me know how you get on and please feel free to provide feedback!

 

Chiquin Biryani
ChiQuin Biryani
Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch, Snack, Teatime

Super Soya Yoghurt

Super Soya Yoghurt

When one is on the type of restricted diet that I am because of my acid reflux, IBS, and lactose intolerance, and leads a very active lifestyle encompassing my quest for a 6-pack where I attend the gym 5 times a week and dance salsa several evenings a week, one has the absolute need for highly nutritious food for needs to replace the forbidden food! I can’t have dairy so milk and Greek Yoghurt are out! I can’t have refined carbs so cereals, bread, rice and pasta are also out!

But I am a man! I need fibre! I need sugar! I need roughage! And I don’t want to have to reduce myself to raw carrot and sugar snap peas all the time (I do enjoy them but come on, every single day?!) for a snack when I want and need something filling!

Enter my Super Soya Yoghurt! I created this initially with porridge but after speaking to my PT who suggested removing the oats and dairy, I decided to switch to simply using soya (which he disagrees with!). This dish takes about 10 minutes to put together because I have all of the ingredients in separate tubs (yes, I am THAT particular!) and packs a serious nutritional punch encompassing all of what we need! We have a plethora of vitamins, minerals, healthy carbohydrates/sugars, fibre and protein, that’s what makes this yoghurt super!

I tend to have this has a small meal when I don’t want to have cooked food, usually late afternoon or evening, and with a cup of Spicy Masala Chai, it definitely hits the spot!

My collection of Dried Fruit, Nuts, Seeds, Spices!
My collection of Dried Fruit, Nuts, Seeds, Spices!

INGREDIENTS

250 mL Soya Yoghurt

Natural Forever Bee Honey

Dried Fruits

1 teaspoon Dried Cranberries

1 teaspoon Pitted Dates

1 teaspoon Banana Chips

1 teaspoon Apricots Whole Pitted

1 teaspoon California Seedless Raisins

1 teaspoon Sultanas

1 teaspoon Currants

1 teaspoon Dried Blueberries

4 Prunes Whole Pitted

4 Sun Dried Mango

4 Dried Apple Rings

4 Diced Pineapple pieces

8 Diced Papaya pieces

Nuts

4 Whole Cashew Nuts

4 Brazil Nuts

4 Walnut Halves

4 Pecan Halves

8 Macadamias

8 Hazelnut Kernels

4 Almonds

Seeds

1 teaspoon Pine Kernels

1 teaspoon Pumpkin Seeds

1 teaspoon Sunflower Kernels Hulled

1 teaspoon Brown Linseed

Spices

Sprinkle of ground Cinnamon

Sprinkle of ground Nutmeg

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Add all the dried fruit, nuts and seeds in a bowl.
  2. Pour in the soya yogurt.
  3. Squeeze on the natural bee honey.
  4. Sprinkle the ground cinnamon and nutmeg on top.
  5. Mix it up and dig in!
My Super Soya Yoghurt
My Super Soya Yoghurt

Preparation time 10 minutes

Eating time 10-15 minutes

Let me know how you get on and please feel free to provide feedback 🙂

Dinner, Lunch

Spicy Green Prawns

Spicy Green Prawn Curry With Quinoa

My mum’s prawn curry has to be one of my all-time favourite dishes that I look forward to every month! We tend to limit the amount of prawns we eat because of the high level of LDL cholesterol in prawns but once or twice a month we can’t go wrong!

I looooove the delicious sauce my mother makes, it is absolutely divine, and back when I was eating chappati, I could have 1 or 2 easily by dipping then piece by piece into the sauce and devouring, without even having touched the prawns! Mum usually adds potatoes but I felt that wasn’t enough for what I wanted to achieve.

I believe in serving you up the tastiest, healthiest, most nutrient-rich and of course spicy, food as possible to help you continue to make fitness gains without compromising on taste! Who said Indian food was unhealthy?! As you may already know, I am off the chappati and my mission is to create spicy, tasty, healthy, complex-carb rich food without the need for refined carbs, which block my plumbing and, well, I really am not going back to that painful place! Therefore, protein-rich pillau quinoa, with the method we use to cook pillau rice, is the way forward for me and for you if you want!

Now my mother uses fresh unpeeled and uncooked king prawns which I love because their shell adds to the gorgeous sauce, however, being someone who doesn’t like to get his hands dirty whilst eating (call me lazy and particular if you wish!), I decided to go for the easier option of shelled and cooked prawns!

 

 

The delicious vegetables!
The delicious vegetables!

 

INGREDIENTS

Spicy Green Prawns

1 onion

1 red onion

3 spring onions

4 cloves of garlic (I love garlic in my food!)

1 cm of ginger

1 cm haldi (not tamarind as I say in the video, my apologies!)

1 red chilli

1 green chilli

1 long red pepper

1 long green pepper

1 medium cauliflower

2 heads broccoli

1 carrot

150g cooked king prawns/300g fresh king prawns

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

1 tablespoon dried coriander

1 litre of filtered and boiled water

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

200ml of filtered water, boiled

 

INGREDIENTS

Pillau Quinoa

100g quinoa

1 onion

4 cardamom seeds

8 cloves

8 black pepper seeds

200ml of filtered water, boiled.

Salt

Olive oil

 

INSTRUCTIONS

Spicy Green Prawns

  1. In a saucepan on ¾ heat, add 3 tablespoons of olive oil (put the water on to boil for the quinoa);
  2. Slice and dice the onions (hold back the green leaves of the spring onions until the end), garlic (I cut the garlic knobs up, press them in a garlic crusher and add them directly into the saucepan) and ginger and add to the saucepan to sauté. Stir regularly until the mix starts to bronze;
  3. To the onions, add in the tin of chopped tomatoes, dried coriander, tamarind and a half a teaspoon of salt and chop in the chillies (if you want your dish less spicy, add the chillies in with the other vegetables in point 7);
  4. Allow to simmer and continue to stir gently until the water evaporates;
  5. Slice the carrots, and cut the broccoli and cauliflower into manageable chunks;
  6. Add the boiling water to the saucepan and then add in the carrots, broccoli and cauliflower (and stir gently for a couple of minutes);
  7. Turn the heat down to a quarter, taste the soup and add salt and pepper to taste;
  8. Cover with the lid and leave the mix to cook for about 10 minutes;
  9. Add the prawns and chopped spring onion leaves and cover for 5 minutes;
  10. Feel free to add any coriander to finish and you are ready to eat!

 

Pillau Quinoa

  1. Begin making your quinoa preparations at point 6 of cooking the spicy green prawns;
  2. In a saucepan on ¾ heat, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil (put the water on to boil);
  3. Slice and dice in the onion and stir, sauté until the onions caramelise;
  4. Add in the spice mix of cardamom, black pepper, cloves and cinnamon sticks;
  5. Add in the boiling water and a ½ teaspoon of salt;
  6. Add the quinoa and stir gently. I gently rinse the quinoa first in lukewarm water and then drain it before adding it to the saucepan;
  7. Allow the quinoa to simmer, turn the heat down to a quarter, and cover with the lid;
  8. Check on it 3 to 5 minutes later and gently turn the quinoa over with a plastic or wooden spoon to ensure you keep your quinoa seeds in tact;
  9. Repeat step 8 until the quinoa is cooked and all the water evaporates;
  10. You are now ready to eat!

 

Spicy Green Prawn Curry With Quinoa
Spicy Green Prawn Curry With Quinoa

 

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Eating time: 15 minutes

Serves up to 4 people

I made enough curry to last us another day and my mother and I like to eat our quinoa fresh!

Let me know how you get on and please feel free to provide feedback 🙂

Dinner, Lunch, Soup

Spicy Winter Soup

Spicy Winter Soup

During the winter months, we are particularly prone to picking up colds and chest infections. For me, winter is THE season to ensure my diet is nutrient rich to help stave off those nasty bacteria and viruses! To do this, keeping warm is absolutely essential, and there is nothing better at raising the body temperature than a hot’n’spicy winter soup!

Soups are a great way of getting vitamins and minerals quickly into your body. The nutrients from the plethora of ingredients seep into the water which packs a powerful nutritional punch!

So, onto my Spicy Winter Soup for up to 4 people!

I have some favourite ingredients which you will see over and over again in my main dishes and those are onions, red onions, spring onions, garlic, ginger and of course chilli! Give me those ingredients, and depending on the order in which I use them, I can cook you an Indian, Italian or Turkish dish!

INGREDIENTS

1 onion

1 red onion

3 spring onions

4 cloves of garlic (I love garlic in my food)

1 cm of ginger

1 large tomato or 6 cherry tomatoes

1 red chilli

1 green chilli

1 long red pepper

1 long green pepper

1 Parsnip

1 Leek

1 Sweet Potato

1 Carrot

1 Chicken Breast

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

1 litre of filtered and boiled water

 INSTRUCTIONS

  1. In a saucepan on ¾ heat, add 3 tablespoons of olive oil (put the water on to boil in a kettle);
  2. Slice and dice the onions (hold back the green leaves of the spring onions until the end), garlic (I cut the garlic knobs up, press them in a garlic crusher and add them directly into the saucepan) and ginger and add to the saucepan to sauté. Stir regularly until the mix starts to bronze;
  3. Chop in the tomato(es) and cook until they soften;
  4. Cut the chicken breast into cubes, add to the saucepan and cook (and stir!) until all raw bits disappear;
  5. Chop in the parsnip, leek, sweet potato and carrot and add them to the boiling water for 5 minutes;
  6. Chop in the chillies and peppers (if you want your soup spicier, add the chillies with the boiling water);
  7. Taste the soup and add salt and pepper according to your preference;
  8. Cover with the lid and leave the soup to simmer on a medium heat for around 10 minutes;
  9. Add the chopped spring onion leaves and cover for 5 minutes;
  10. Feel free to add any coriander to garnish and you are ready to !
Spicy Winter Soup Ingredients
Spicy Winter Soup Ingredients
Onions, garlic, ginger, chillies
Onions, garlic, ginger, chillies
Chopped Chicken!
Cooking Mix
Chopped Peppers and Chillies
Add in the tomatoes
Soup with Vegetables
Add boiling water and chopped vegetables
Simmer for 10 minutes
The last bit before we can finally eat!
Spring Onion Green Leaves

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Eating time: 5-10 minutes

Serves up to 4 people

Do let me know how you get on and please feel free to provide me with your feedback!

In the meantime, enjoy your Spicy Winter Soup!

Slurp up your spicy soup!
Slurp up your spicy soup!