Quinoa Zucchini Casserole

I have no idea what to call this dish. It is not a typical casserole in any way. There are people who call pretty much anything a casserole that has vegetables and is not a dessert and is baked, but as per the definition, it is meat or vegetables or both baked in a creamy sauce which has some flour as a binder. Since I didn't know what my creation is to be called, I am calling it a 'Casserole'. It was just an experiment and it came out very good and in fact I am going to be making this as a regular food since it can be served as a one pot meal.

Ingredients:

• Quinoa - 1/2 cup cooked and cooled
• Whole wheat flour - 1/2 cup
• Salt - 1 tsp or to taste
• Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp or to taste (Optional)
• Baking powder - 1/2 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Zuccchini - 1 medium grated
• Tomato - 1 small
• Vegetable oil - 4 TBSP
• Silken tofu - blended and measured 1/2 cup (You could use yogurt or sour cream if you don't like tofu)
• Water or milk - 4 TBSP (I used water)
• Choice of herbs - 2 TBSP fresh I used mint (You could use cilantro, basil or combination)

Method:
In a large bowl, put grated zucchini, chopped tomato, oil, tofu, water, herbs, quinoa. Mix well with a spatula. In another bowl, mix wheat flour, salt, chilli powder, cumin, baking powder. Stir to mix well. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir to mix. Batter will not be very smooth. Preheat the oven to 375 F if using aluminum pan. I was using a glass 8" square dish so preheated to 350 F. Grease the pan lightly with vegetable oil spray. Pour the batter and smooth the top. Bake in the oven for about 40 - 45 minutes or till set and a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean. The edges will have started browning. Remove from the oven and let it cool on the wire rack. This can be served hot or warm. I cooled it so that I could cut it to a nice piece. It is kind of hard to cut into a piece like a cake when still hot. This tastes really good. Since the spices were very mild, I served the adults (me and my husband) with some tomato chilli sauce. Kids ate with ketchup.

I am sending this to Madhuram's 'Whole Grain Baking - Quinoa'.
Here is another picture which was taken in the night with yellow light - straight from the oven.

Variations:
You can experiment with other vegetables but baking time will vary since zucchini has so much of water. You could make it with spinach, onions, combination of other vegetables.
Happy Baking!! Pin It