Curried Quinoa Cakes with Minty Pea Dipping Sauce

These fun, dippable cakes feature not only the protein-packed super grain quinoa, but also nutritious chickpeas and flavorful curry powder. This recipe comes to us from our friend Chef Hollie of JoyFoodly.

Serves 4

Cooking Tip of the Week: Fresh peas are usually only available in the spring, but frozen peas are a fine substitute. Just let them come to room temperature before blending them in this recipe.

Food for Thought: Curry powder is a seasoning used in Indian dishes. Although many of these dishes are spicy, the main ingredients in curry powders are cumin, coriander and turmeric, which are mild. Hot curry powder also includes dried chili peppers for heat. Some curry powders use the dried leaves of an aromatic tree appropriately called the curry tree! Look for curry powder in the international foods aisle.

Family Dinner Conversation Starter: What is something you couldn’t live without?

Ingredients:

• Quinoa Cakes
• Quinoa, 1 cup
• Chickpeas, 15 oz
• Plain Yogurt, organic, 1/2 cup
• Curry powder, 3 tsp
• Cayenne, 1/4 tsp
• Cilantro, 1 cup (packed)
• Salt, 1 1/2 tsp
• Egg, 1
• Gluten free quinoa flour (or regular all purpose flour), 1/2 cup
• Coconut oil, 2 tablespoons (divided)
• Minty Pea Dipping Sauce
• Shelled green peas, fresh (or frozen), 1 cup
• Plain yogurt, organic, 1/2 cup
• Mint, fresh, 1/2 cup (packed)
• Salt, 1/4 tsp

Directions:

Note: Chef Hollie includes all of the preparation steps in her recipes, so while this recipe may look long, it will actually save you time in the end! 

Prep:

Together: Take 5 minutes to get out all your ingredients, measuring and cooking equipment needed, and place them on a cookie sheet within easy reach.
Kid: Wash all produce.
Adult: Preheat oven to 425F.
Adult: If using fresh peas for the dipping sauce, blanch them (submerge in boiling salty water for 30 seconds to 1 minute) before adding to the blender. If using frozen green peas in place of fresh, allow them to come to room temperature before placing in blender.
Together: Cook quinoa according to the package instructions. Let air dry on a cookie sheet.
Kid: Drain chickpeas and rinse.
Adult: Rough chop cilantro.
Together: Make the minty pea sauce by placing all ingredients in a food processor or blender and pulse until chunky. Set aside.

Cook:

Together: Mix together chickpeas, yogurt, curry powder, cayenne, and cilantro in a food processor or blender.
Kid: In a bowl, mix the cooked quinoa and chickpea-yogurt blend, along with one egg and the quinoa flour.
Together: Using a 1/3 cup measurer, make 8 portions. Roll each into a ball with your hands. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet to rest for 30 minutes in the refrigerator, which will allow the patties to come together.
Adult: Preheat a nonstick pan. Add one tablespoon coconut oil. When hot, add four of the patties to the pan. Gently press down with a spatula. After 2-3 minutes, flip each patty and let cook another 2 minutes on the other side. Place on a cookie sheet and set aside while you cook the remaining 4 patties in an additional tablespoon of coconut oil.
Adult: Place all 8 patties in the oven for 5-7 minutes to finish cooking.
Kid: Serve with minty pea sauce on the side and additional chopped cilantro or mint, as you desire.