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Sweet Quinoa Kispiña (Steamed Quinoa Flour Bites)
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Sweet Quinoa Kispiña (Steamed Quinoa Flour Bites)

QuinoaModernInternationalSnackFlour (atta)Vegetarian

Prep 20 min · Cook 60 min · Serves 8

Make

Ingredients

  • quinoa flour — 2 cups (the Spanish edition says coarse quinoa flour)
  • sugar — 3 tbsp
  • water — 1 1/2 cups (boiled)
  • cinnamon — 1 pinch
  • oil — 2 tbsp
  • raisins (no quantity in the source)
  • grated coconut (to taste; mixed in with the flour, sugar and cinnamon (Spanish edition))
  • water, for steaming — 4 cups
  • clean dry straw (barley or oat straw in the source; it lines the steamer and is not eaten)

Method

  1. Mix the quinoa flour, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl, adding grated coconut to taste.
  2. Pour in the oil and the boiled water and work everything into an even dough that stays fairly dry.
  3. Shape the dough by hand into whatever shapes you like and press raisins into each piece.
  4. Bring the 4 cups of water to the boil in a large pot. Lay the straw over the water and set the kispinas on top, keeping them clear of the water.
  5. Steam for an hour or longer; a bigger batch needs more time.

Water and timing

Water: 1 1/2 cups of boiled water for 2 cups of quinoa flour, and 4 cups in the pot for steaming — as both the English and the Spanish edition of the FAO book give.

From: FAO, International Cookbook for Quinoa (2014), PDF p. 140 (printed p. 111); FAO, International Cookbook for Quinoa (2014), PDF p. 140 (printed p. 111)

Tips

  • General practice: if you have no straw, a steamer basket or an idli stand also keeps the kispiñas out of the water.

Fresh atta: grind small, use soon

  • Millets keep for months as whole grain; flour is best ground as it is needed, because it turns rancid. (FAO, Sorghum and millets in human nutrition (1995))
  • Bajra changes fastest: its grain stores for months, but its milled flour has a very short shelf life. (ICAR-IIMR scientists, Food Chemistry Advances (2023) (DOI 10.1016/j.focha.2023.100190))
  • In an Indian study, untreated bajra flour stayed within the quality limit only about 2 days at room temperature. (ICAR-IARI, Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences (2016))
  • Ragi flour keeps better than foxtail, barnyard or bajra flour (it carries less fat). (Planta (2024), review)
  • Keep atta closed and cool: bajra flour kept best in polythene and worst in gunny sacks; grains should be dry and in airtight containers. (Chaudhary & Kapoor, J Sci Food Agric (1984); ICMR-NIN Dietary Guidelines (2024) (DOI 10.1002/jsfa.2740351113))
  • Going off shows first as smell and taste — sour, musty or dusty, then bitter. (Lai & Varriano-Marston, Cereal Chemistry (1980))

So: buy the grain, grind a week’s worth at a time — less for bajra in summer.

Adapted from FAO, International Cookbook for Quinoa (2014), PDF p. 140 (printed p. 111), written in our own words.