Quinoa Cottage Cheese

Quinoa cottage cheese is a delightful, satisfying, and nutrient-packed meal. This paneer quinoa dish is a delicious choice for any time of day!

Quinoa and cottage cheese complement each other in taste and nutrition, offering a simple yet powerful way to enhance your diet. This cottage cheese with quinoa breakfast bowl is too good to start your day! Give it a try and enjoy the benefits of this wholesome duo!

Protein is an important part of our diet as it provides the building blocks (amino acids) needed to repair and build muscle tissue, making it essential for active lifestyles. Cottage cheese and quinoa, together make a nutritious, high-protein combination for balanced meals. For more high-protein recipes, try out the high-protein hummus recipe, quick and easy cottage cheese avocado toast for breakfast, and mixed paneer where cottage cheese is cooked with a variety of vegetables to create a rich and festive vegetarian delight.

Ingredients

This high-protein quinoa bowl is a quick and easy recipe to prepare. You need the following items to get started:

1. Quinoa - I use tri-color quinoa for this recipe. Feel free to use any. Rinse quinoa well in a fine sieve before use.
2. Cheese - Use fresh cottage cheese for the best results. I fry it for better texture and taste, but you can skip this step if you prefer it raw.
3. Butter - I use salted butter to fry paneer (cottage cheese). If butter isn’t your preference, replace it with oil.
4. Peanuts - These bring crunch and add extra nutty flavour and texture to this quinoa cottage cheese bowl.
5. Seasoning - Cumin seeds, salt, pepper, garam masala, and lemon juice.
6. Spring onions or any greens for garnishing.
   • Learn how to make weight-loss green vegetable soup using spring onions and calabash.

See the recipe card for quantities.

Cook quinoa

Cook quinoa in a rice cooker or on the Cooktop. If using a rice cooker, add salt and twice the water as quinoa. Turn off the rice cooker when the quinoa is done. Let it cool completely before proceeding (image below).

Fry cottage cheese

Melt butter in a frying pan over low heat. Fry the large slices of cottage cheese on all sides until they turn slightly brown, as shown in the image below. Transfer them to a dish. Once cooled, slice them to your desired sizes.

Combine quinoa and cottage cheese

In the same frying pan, add cumin seeds and sauté until aromatic. Then, fry the peanuts until they turn slightly reddish-brown. Add the cooked quinoa and stir-fry for a minute. Next, add the fried cottage cheese (paneer), lemon juice, salt, pepper, and garam masala. Mix well and cook for another 2-3 minutes on low heat.

Serving Ideas

1. Serve this warm cottage cheese quinoa with red chili chutney for spicy flavor, tomato-onion chutney for tanginess, green mint cilantro chutney, or olive-avocado chutney for a burst of refreshing herbiness.
2. Quinoa and paneer also taste delicious when served with cooked mixed vegetables.
3. Mix in cucumber beet salad, nutty green salad, chopped onions, cherry tomatoes, and avocado for added crunch and freshness.
4. Feel free to experiment with grilled chicken and stir-fried vegetables to create a more filling dish.
5. Instead of peanuts, add lemon rice paste to the quinoa and cottage cheese for an aromatic, spice-infused, flavorful dish mimicking South Indian-style lemon rice.
6. Pair it with pickled cauliflower or onions to add a tangy twist to the quinoa.

Storage

It stays fresh for 3-4 days in the fridge when stored in an air-tight container

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If you make this tri-colour quinoa recipe with cottage cheese, please comment or share a picture of your quinoa paneer version on Instagram with the hashtag #tipsnrecipes!