Healthy Quinoa Bowls with Kale, Carrots and Tahini Turmeric Dressing

Healthy Quinoa Bowls with Kale, Carrots and Tahini Turmeric Dressing: seasonal vegan and gluten-free dinner. Delicious, well-balanced and flavorful dish.

Well, in a tiny village in the middle of nowhere where there is only one grocery store I've found fresh turmeric, but not in Hamburg with its 1,7 million inhabitants. Ridiculous, isn't it? To be fair, a lot of Danish people cross the border to buy groceries in this town, because it is much cheaper in Germany for them. But I digress...

So I found the fresh turmeric and I had no idea what I will use it for, but I had to buy it. Can you see these little worms on the picture below? That's fresh turmeric. I also got some purple carrots which are not available in grocery stores in Hamburg as well. Sometimes life is unpredictable in Germany, too 🙂

If you are wondering why do you even need fresh turmeric if you have dried one, here is the answer: fresh turmeric contains more essential oils and is more pungent, whereas dried turmeric is mostly used for its color. Moreover, turmeric has enormous health benefits, especially when used together with black pepper, which helps the body to absorb turmeric.

It has powerful anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and antiseptic effect, can reduce pain and boost metabolism. To convert dried turmeric into fresh, multiply it by 3. It mean that one teaspoon grated turmeric equals 1 tablespoon fresh turmeric root (about 1 inch or 2.5 cm of the root). With this in mind, you can use fresh turmeric for recipes that require the grated one, for example:

Vegan Pumpkin Leek Soup with Smoked Paprika and Homemade Spelt Crackers

Roasted Eggplant Sweet Potato Curry with Cheese Paratha

Vegan Pumpkin Quinoa Risotto "Quinotto"

It's still OK to use the dried turmeric in this recipe: Healthy Quinoa Bowls with Kale, Carrots and Tahini Turmeric Dressing.

Following my Tahini paste recipe, I made a dressing incorporating both turmeric and tahini paste. It was a successful combo and I recommend it to everyone who is looking for new flavors. I added a bit of garlic and Greek yogurt to balance the taste (use cashew yogurt if vegan). This dressing will not only work well with these quinoa bowl but also with salads, stir-fries and roasted veggies. It's so tasty that I recommend making a big batch of it, and store it for up to 2 weeks in the fridge.

As for the bowls, don't they look good? Healthy meets delicious and seasonal here. Kale, carrots, cashews, quinoa, turmeric, tahini... There is no single unhealthy ingredient. Kale is one of the healthiest vegetables, it is the richest source of vitamin K and contains insane amounts of other vitamins (A, E, C, B1, B2, B3 and B6 ), minerals (manganese, calcium, iron, magnesium and copper), fiber, protein, omega-3 fats and antioxidants.

Kale has anti-inflammatory, cancer-preventive, cholesterol-lowering and detoxification benefits. It provides more nutritional value for fewer calories than any other food! Those are good reasons to include kale in your diet right now, when it's in season in Europe. Carrot is another health benefit record-breaker. It contains fiber, beta carotene (vitamin A), as well as numerous minerals which help improving vision, reducing cholesterol and the signs of premature aging.

I could go on and on with this but to make it short: Healthy Quinoa Bowls with Kale, Carrots and Tahini Turmeric Dressing will benefit your health as they contain at least two superfoods (quinoa and kale). See the recipe below and get some health kick!

How to Make Healthy Quinoa Bowls

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Healthy Quinoa Bowls with Kale, Carrots and Tahini Turmeric Dressing

Healthy Quinoa Bowls with Kale, Carrots and Tahini Turmeric Dressing: seasonal healthy and gluten-free dinner. Delicious, well-balanced and flavorful dish.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Middle Eastern

Cook Time 35 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 4 servings

Calories 373kcal

Author Elena Szeliga

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

For the quinoa bowls:

• ▢ 200 grams or 1 cup quinoa
• ▢ 400 ml or 2 cups water
• ▢ salt
• ▢ 2 medium-sized carrots
• ▢ vegetable oil
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ground coriander
• ▢ 2 cardamom pods ground
• ▢ 1 tablespoon honey or agave syrup for vegan
• ▢ 200 grams or 7 oz curly kale
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic
• ▢ 1 small red chilli pepper
• ▢ 1 teaspoon fresh ground ginger
• ▢ 1 tablespoon fresh ground turmeric or 1 teaspoon dried
• ▢ a handful cashew nuts
• ▢ 1 tablespoon sesame seeds to serve

For the dressing:

• ▢ 1 clove garlic
• ▢ 1 tablespoon tahini paste
• ▢ 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• ▢ 6 tablespoons Greek yogurt or vegan cashew yoghurt
• ▢ 2 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 1 tablespoon fresh ground turmeric or 1 teaspoon dried
• ▢ salt
• ▢ black pepper

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Instructions

• Combine quinoa with water and a pinch of salt in a pot over medium heat. Bring to a boil and cover with a lid, reducing heat to low. Let it simmer for 15 minutes and then drain.
• Meanwhile, peel and slice carrots. In a wok or a large skillet, heat a lug of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add carrots and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add coriander, ground cardamom, salt, black pepper and 2 tablespoons water. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Add honey (or syrup) and simmer until the liquid evaporates, about 2 more minutes. Transfer to a plate.
• Roughly chop kale. Finely chop garlic and red chilli pepper and grind fresh turmeric (if using, wear rubber gloves!!!). Put your wok or skillet back to the stove over medium-high heat. Heat a lug of vegetable oil and add garlic, red chilli pepper, ground ginger and gound fresh turmeric (or dry). Stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add kale to the wok or skillet. Mix everything together, reduce the heat to medium-low and add 3 tablespoons of water. Cover with a lid and let simmer for 3 minutes. Uncover and stir-fry until the liquid evaporates. Add quinoa and carrots and stir-fry for 3 more minutes.
• Roast cashew nuts on a dry pan until golden.
• Make the dressing: finely chop garlic. Combine it with tahini paste, lemon juice, Greek yoghurt, olive oil, fresh ground turmeric, salt and pepper. Serve quinoa bowls with the dressing, toasted cashew nuts and sesame seeds. Enjoy!

Notes

Refrigerate the leftovers for up to 3 days. Keep the dressing in a separate airtight container or jar.

Nutrition

Calories: 373kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 56mg | Potassium: 786mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 10210IU | Vitamin C: 80.3mg | Calcium: 173mg | Iron: 5.3mg

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