We have tried different things with the nutrition-rich quinoa, but I wanted to figure out how well it lends itself to a sweet dish. Quite surprisingly, its nutty flavor passed the test with flying colors! I should confess that I needed a good amount of vanilla extract to mask its smell which put me off a bit, but the added flavor did the trick and it tasted great!


Ingredients (serves 4):

quinoa - 1 cup
milk - 4 cups
sugar - 1 cup
cocoa powder - 2 tbsp
ghee (clarified butter) - 4 tbsp
sliced almonds - 3 tbsp
vanilla extract - a few drops

Method:

Cook quinoa in 2 cups of milk. Cool and pulse in a food processor with 2 cups of milk, to form a smooth paste - well, as smooth as possible (it is difficult to grind whole quinoa to a completely smooth paste). Heat sugar with 1/4 cup water. Once it dissolves, add quinoa paste. Dissolve cocoa powder in a little milk and add to the quinoa-sugar mixture. Add vanilla extract and cook for a few minutes until the mixture thickens. Mix in the ghee and 2 tablespoons of sliced almonds. Stir until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan. Decorate with the remaining sliced almonds and serve warm.