Quinoa Tabouleh Salad

Quinoa is a whole grain super food full of protein and fiber. It has been famous from the past 9-10 years. If you have already tried quinoa with your staples like Dal and Curry...you must have been bored. Try this new angle of quinoa, the Tabouleh Salad...light, yet capable of stopping tummy rumbling for hours. Most of the ingredients for this Tabouleh are usually in our kitchens.

 Ingredients:
* 1 cup cooked Quinoa
* 1/2 cup cucumber ( chopped)
* 1/4 cup spring onions ( chopped)
* 1/2 cup mildly salted black olives ( chopped)
* 2 Roma ( Hybrid) tomatoes ( chopped) or whole Cherry/ Grape Tomatoes (if you like)
* Parsley, Cilanthro, Dill leaves for garnishing
* 1/4 Tbsp finely chopped garlic ( optional)
* 1 tsp olive oil
* Sea salt, Black pepper, Freshly squeezed lemon juice for taste

Making:
In a wide bowl, pour lemon juice and salt, mix well. Then put chopped parsley and tomatoes, add toss. Add the remaining ingredients and toss again. This salad should be served at room temperature or cold if you like. And so quinoa should not be hot or warm from cooking. You can refrigerate and store this salad, in a bowl with lid, for upto 3 to 4 days, however keep tossing the ingredients once a day for freshness. You can replace Quinoa with Softly cooked Barley, Sago too.

--Pratyusha