Veggie Protein Bowl with Barley

Quick, easy and healthy recipe is all this is!

You can cook cook and assemble this in 15 minutes or under!

If you were to cook barley while making this recipe then you will have to allow yourself additional 20-25 minutes to cook barley itself.

I often eat this as a workday lunch and most of the time I make it hot during lunch itself!

Ingredients:

Cooked barley

Some small paneer/cottage cheese cubes(to make it Vegan, you can substitute with firm tofu)

Veggies medley - cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, beans, snowpeas

Some salt and pepper to season

Some soy sauce

Schezwan sauce

Some coriander to garnish

Method:

1. Heat some ghee or oil in a non-stick skillet.

2. Add the veggies medley and saute for a minute on high heat.

3. Season with salt and pepper and saute for another minute.

4. Add paneer cubes and saute for a minute until they are just warmed through.

5. Then add a dash of soy sauce and 1 table spoon of schezwan sauce.

6. Turn off the heat and assemble as follows:

     - Fill the bottom of the bowl with warm cooked barley.

     - Top it with the paneer and veggie mixture.

     - Garnish with some coriander.

     - Don't wait for anything and JUST EAT! :)

Barley and Feta salad

This is a crowd pleaser - specially when the party involves people who want to eat healthy yet pretty looking food!! :)
It's very easy, low prep. It can be made one day ahead and assembled right before you eat.

             This is a salad interpretation from a friend of mine - you can jazz up 

the salad by adding beans, peas, peppers,

 corns and any other vegetables of your choice.

Ingredients:
1 cup pearl barley
Chopped cucumber
Chopped tomatoes
Chopped spring onions
Chopped cilantro(big bunch)
Chopped mint
Chopped almonds
Small chopped green chilly(optional)
Handful of small black currents
Pomegranate seeds
Crumbled Feta cheese

Olive oil
Lime juice
Salt
Pepper
Sumac(optional)
Pomegranate juice/water(optional)

Method:
1. Soak the barley in water for 15-20 minutes. Put the water boil on side.
Tip: You can cook the barley one day ahead and store in the fridge. You can use the cooked barley for the entire week's lunch as well!

2. After 20 minutes, put the soaked barley in boiling water and cook for 20-30 minutes(until done). Note: Do not add salt or oil as I have heard it makes the grains tough.

3. To make the dressing, whisk olive oil, salt, pepper, lime juice, sumac and pomegranate water/juice.
Note: I used the water that was collected after thawing the frozen pomegranate seeds. If you are using fresh ones, you may use the juice as well.

4. In a salad bowl, mix chopped onions, tomatoes, cilantro, mint, almonds, chilly, feta cheese, black currents and cooked barley. Add the dressing and mix again.

5. To serve, garnish with pomegranate seeds.

Enjoy!