Lunch Idea: Quinoa, Spinach Saag with Steamed Veggies & Tomato Chutney
This is another post from my lunch ideas category, where I share my everyday lunch ideas with you along with meal prep and cooking tips so that you can easily make wholesome lunches at home.
It’s a simple and delicious meal of quinoa, steamed vegetables, spinach saag, and tomato chutney. If I’m not having dal or beans, chutney adds protein to my plate.
Quinoa
Quinoa is a versatile and nutritious grain that complements various flavors and dishes. I find quinoa bland and like to pair it up with flavorful curries and chutneys. Cooking quinoa is simple, especially with my rice cooker quinoa recipe. It turns out light and fluffy every time.
Spinach Saag
This spinach saag recipe is my favorite way to enjoy spinach. Using this base saag recipe, you can make restaurant-style saag at home. Here, I used only base curry and served with steamed veggies, but you can add cooked chickpeas, beans, paneer, or tofu to make it more filling.
Tomato Chutney
Instead of dal or beans, I made tomato peanut chutney. This tomato chutney recipe is simple to prepare and tastes fantastic with various dishes.
Steamed Veggies
Using this quick and easy recipe, I steamed my veggies in the Instant Pot without a steamer. Please see the recipe card for detailed instructions.
Cooking tips
With years of practice, I made this meal in an hour. Don’t worry if you’re starting; I’ll share the tips and tricks I used to make it quickly from scratch.
- Start with cooking quinoa; while the quinoa is being cooked, we can make other side dishes. I usually use my rice cooker to cook rice, millet, and quinoa. I even cook basmati rice using a rice cooker.
- I roast the peanuts and keep them ready to use them in various dishes. If you do not have roasted peanuts, roast them and keep them aside. I use my OTG to roast the peanuts. It saves time, and the peanuts are roasted evenly.
- While the peanuts were in the oven, I steamed the veggies in the Instant Pot and made the spinach saag using a stovetop.
- I made some extra tomato chutney to serve with breakfast tomorrow.
- I made an additional serving of quinoa to prepare a speedy dinner.
I hope this idea inspires you to experiment with your lunch routine. Check my Indian Vegetarian Lunch Ideas post for more inspiration and tips for easy lunch prep. As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts and any variations you try! Happy Cooking!
Recipe
How to Steam Veggies in Instant Pot without a Steamer
With this detailed recipe, learn how to steam the veggies using an Instant Pot without a steamer.
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Ingredients
- 2 cups vegetables I used carrots and beans
- 2 tablespoon water
Instructions
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Chop the veggies into 2-inch pieces.
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Add the chopped veggies to the Instant Pot inner pot. Then add 2 tablespoon of water.
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Close the Instant Pot with its lid, seal the vent, and pressure cook the veggies for ‘0’ minutes on high pressure.
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Once the Instant Pot finishes cooking, carefully release the pressure immediately. Otherwise, the veggies might be overcooked.
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Drain the water from the veggies and use them.
Notes
- If veggies are chopped into small pieces, they will become mushy as we pressure cook them.
- Layer the veggies and do not overcrowd them.
- We are using the pressure cook option and setting it for 0 minutes. We just want the pressure to build up. If we increase the pressure cook time, veggies might be overcooked.
- I just used 2 tablespoon water, and almost no water is left. You can use the leftover water in other recipes if you use more water.
- Pressure cook time will vary as per the veggies used. 0 minutes will work for veggies like carrots, beans, corn, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and sweet potato.
Nutrition
Calories: 116kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 6gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0.2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.4gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.1gSodium: 86mgPotassium: 386mgFiber: 7gVitamin A: 9242IUVitamin C: 19mgCalcium: 46mgIron: 2mg
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