Saffron Quinoa with cashews, raisins and dried cranberries! An easy vegan and gluten-free side dish for the Holidays!

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 5 minutes
  • Cook time: 25 minutes
  • Total time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 3 as a side
  • Category: Sides
  • Cuisine: Middle Eastern

Ingredients

  • 1 cup quinoa (185 grams, raw)
  • 1/4 teaspoon saffron strands
  • 1 cup water (8 oz, divided)
  • 1.5 tablespoons oil (divided)
  • 1/4 cup whole cashews (raw, unsalted)
  • 2 tablespoons golden raisins
  • 2 tablespoons dried cranberries
  • 1 inch cinnamon stick
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 4-5 whole green cardamom pods
  • 3-4 whole cloves
  • 1 small yellow onion
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Method

  1. Heat up 1/4 cup (2 oz) water in a pan, there's no need to boil it but just warm it up. Then add 1/4 teaspoon saffron strands to it. Let it sit like that while you do the other steps. This will really bring out the color of the saffron nicely. Also, rinse quinoa under a strainer for 1-2 minutes.
  2. Press the sauté button on the Instant Pot. Once it displays hot, add 1 tablespoon oil and then add cashews, raisins and cranberries to the pot. Cook until cashews start turning light golden brown and raisins and cranberries plump up, stir often. This takes around 1-2 minutes. Remove the roasted nuts and raisins in a bowl and set aside.
  3. To the pot, now add remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil and then add the whole spices- cinnamon stick, bay leaf, green cardamom pods and cloves. Sauté few seconds until the spices are fragrant.
  4. Then add the chopped onion and cook 2 minutes until onions softened.
  5. Add the rinsed quinoa, remaining 3/4 cup (6 oz) water and the 1/4 cup (2 oz) prepared saffron water. Total liquid is 1 cup (8 oz). Add salt and stir.
  6. Close the pot with the lid and press the manual or pressure cook button. Cook on high pressure for 2 minutes with the pressure valve in the sealing position. Let the pressure release naturally. Open the lid and fluff the quinoa with a fork.
  7. Transfer saffron quinoa to serving plate. Top with the fried cashews, raisins, cranberries and serve!

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.