Chili con Elote -Chili with Corn | Mexican comfort for chilly nights

Now that its raining at nights, I thought I better prepare something that will keep us full and warm. I was thinking of good ol' chili when Aunt Google showed me chili with corn or Chili con Elote. I was under the impression that chili sin carne or meatless chili which has corn was the ultimate. But curiosity made me try this 'sweet corn only no other veg' chili  from here and it hit the tastebuds like anything.  Seriously its easy to prepare and goes well as a soup or with rice and/ or breads.

Ingredients:

Onion: 1 chopped (almost 1 cup)

Garlic: 1 medium size chopped

Green Bell Pepper : 1 medium :chopped into bite size pieces

Vegetable Stock / Water: 2 cup +/-

Tomatoes: 1 cup chopped 

  OR

Tomato Paste : 2 tbsp

Fresh/ Frozen Sweet corn : 2 cups +

Cooked Red Kidney Beans: 3 -4 cups

Paprika / (Mexican) Chili Powder: 1/2 -1 tsp

Cumin Powder: 1/4 tsp

Oregano: 1 tsp + 

Salt: as per taste

Oil: for sauteing

Preparation:

Saute onion and garlic in oil until transparent and aromatic. Add in green pepper pieces and saute for another 2-3 minutes. Add in the spice powders, little salt,corn and tomato chopped/ tomato paste along with water/stock and bring to boil. Also add in the cooked beans mashed coarsely.

Reduce heat and let it simmer for bout 20-30 minutes till it thickens a bit and reaches your choice of consistency. Do taste test and adjust the salt and spices.

Serve as a soup, side with bread/roti/rice and also as tortilla filling or bread spread or even as a dip if you grind it coarsely

A simple spicy gravy or curry if you prefer so. I liked it as a soup as well. An easy one too if you have cooked beans sitting in the fridge waiting to be used. No hassle of chopping other vegetables too. You can refer the other varieities of chili - sweetpotato and chocolate if you prefer to add veggies or go different from the usual.

Mexican Cemita Buns | We Knead to Bake #30

'Cemita' in Spanish refers to sandwich or the bread it is served in. Cemita buns are sandwich rolls/ buns from the city of Puebla in Mexico. These are brioche like egg -rich burger buns and a popular street food in Mexico. The cemita rolls are served with avocado, cheese and salsa rojo or your choice of accompaniments. 

We baked the cemita buns this month for We Knead to Bake by Aparna. The  recipe is adapted from Serious Eats - and ofcourse it was seriously perfect.

Ingredients:

All Purpose Flour: 2.5-3 cups (I used 2.5 cup + 2-3 tbsp)

Cream: 1/2 cup

Milk: 1/2 cup

Eggs: 2 (1 pkd tbsp of Ener G + 4 tbsp of water)

Instant Yeast: 1 tsp

Salt: 3/4 tsp

Sugar: 1.5 tbsp (4.5 tsp)

Milk : for brushing

Sesame seeds: 1/3 - 1/2 cup 

Coarse sea salt: sprinkling (optional)

Preparation:

Combine flour (2.5 cups), cream,milk, eggs, yeast, sugar and salt in a big bowl of processor. Process until a sticky dough that rides around the blade is formed about 45 seconds. Add extra flour in tbsps if too sticky.

Transfer to a large bowl - optionally greased (I didn't) - cover and let it rise for about 3-4 hours until 1.5 times the original size

Flour the working surface and also flour the dough and transfer the dough to the counter. 

Lightly press down the down and shape into a thick rope shape. Cut this into equal 6 portions with a scraper or knife.

Shape into smooth rounds by stretching tops to form a skin. and arrange these on a lined baking sheet  with an little space between them. Cover and  let these proof for 45 minutes or so until they have risen a bit.

Brush with milks and sprinkle the top with generous amount of sesame seeds -I used black and white. Lightly press the seeds down into the dough. Bake at 230C/450F for about 15 minutes until done and tops turn golden brown.

Cool completely on a wire rack before using. Mine was done in 12 minutes and it looked perfect. I waited for half an hour or so before consuming one just like that and yup it worked. 

It was like regular sandwich bun regarding to texture. Maybe eggs might add extra richness as I had used egg replacer.  I am very happy with how the  buns turned out.

Lets hope over to Aparna's  and see who all enjoyed baking cemita buns.

Homemade Sour Cream & Ranch Dip

Some of you who are in US might be wondering how come I am posting a homemade version of something that is very easily available there. But in India it has not yet become an ordinary routine stuff though its definitely available in speciality stores at high prices.Basically sour cream is nothing but "mildly soured cream". More plainly it is fermented regular cream or milk cream to which the bacterial culture has been introduced. If you are one of those who make your yogurt at home then you might get it. You add yogurt/sourcream/lemon juice/vinegar to heavy cream to ferment it in the refrigerator and voila you have got sour cream. A very basic recipe.

I had just used the regular low fat (25%) Amul Cream to make mine. Just added 1 tbsp of vinegar to 1 cup (200 ml) of cream and let it sit in the fridge overnight. So you can say I had made low fat sour cream. :)

This will definitely be different from commercial sour cream as different bacterial cultures and commercial thickners and sometimes even MSG(!) are supposed to be used. 

Usually you can substitute thick yogurt or hung yogurt instead of sour cream. 

How sour cream is different from regular yogurt/greek yogurt?

Sour cream has higher fat content than your regular stuff. Once sour cream is formed it thickens the already thick cream. Unlike yogurt sour cream is not very sour, but just mildly. This makes sour cream an excellent choice while baking as it can be sweetened/spiced up as per the dish and it adds fat which ensures butter can be cut down. 

Creme fraiche is also used an alternative to sour cream. If is actually French  for "Fresh Cream" but this is less sour and less thick than sour cream. It comes in between yogurt and sour cream when we think of thickness. Whereas in terms of sourness, yogurt comes first followed by sour cream and then creme fraiche.

Now that sour cream is made the first thing I made was the ranch dip. A Ranch dip/dressing/sauce is actually a mix of fresh herbs -usually parsley and chives, mayo and sour cream. You can add additional seasoning and aromatics like garlic (as much as you can consume raw garlic), hot sauce, routine salt/pepper, worcestershire sauce etc. You can even add buttermilk to make it thin to be used as a dressing/sauce.

I had googled several ranch recipes and have added mine also in the varied list. The given quantities are guestimates and can be changed as per your taste.

Ingredients:

Sour cream -1/2 cup

Eggless Mayonaisse: 6 tbsp +

Fresh Cilantro: 2 tbsp finely chopped

Fresh Parsley: 3 tbsp+ finely chopped

Garlic :1/2 of a clove or can use garlic salt

Salt & Pepper : as per taste

Hot Sauce: few dashes as per taste

Preparation:

Mix together all the ingredients in a bowl or even processor and adjust the salt and seasonings. Can spice it up or play down as per your taste buds.

 I wanted a thick dip to go with my fritters and this one definitely enhanced them. 

Taco Salad

The last two posts dealt with Mexican cuisine,so I thought why not make it three in a row. Hence here I am with a simple taco salad. Now what is a taco salad?. Again there are two types of taco salads both involving fried tortillas or hard shell tacos. 

The first one has salad ingredients like shredded veggies,lettuce etc along with guacamole,salsa and  sour cream  served in a taco shell. The second one involves a salad in which we add crushed hard shell tacos or fried tortilla chips similar to nachos. I had tried this second version of taco salad and its very simple to make and very filling.

Ingredients:

Rajma/ Red Kidney Beans: 1/2 cup pre soaked and cooked

Sweet Corn: 1/2 cup lightly steamed

Tomato: 1 big chopped and deseeded

Red Onion: 1 chopped finely

Garlic: 1 small clove finely minced

Fresh Cilantro: a small bunch finely chopped + more for garnish

Green Chilli: 1 -2 finely  chopped (optionally deseeded)

Salt:as per taste

Sugar: a pinch

Lemon Juice: as per taste

Baked Taco Shells: 1 or 2 broken into pieces 

Preparation:

I basically mixed together all the ingredients pico de gallo style. I chopped and deseeded tomatoes, placed them in a colander and let it sit for about 45 minutes. After 15 minutes, I tossed  in chopped onion,garlic,green chillies and cilantro and let it continue to sit . Then I tossed in drained kidney beans and steamed/cooked corn to this. Also added the salt, pinch of sugar and lemon juice and tossed everything well. Let it sit for atleast 15 minutes so that the flavours enhance.

Just before serving, toss in crushed taco shells and serve as a snack or side or even a light meal. You can even serve this canape style or whatever way you prefer. 

Simple and very filling salad and very healthy too. You can go for your own ingredients for the salad/salsa. Add more or less spices or seasonings.You can even go for taco chaats wherein you add crushed tacos to the regular chaats or Indian style street snacks. 

Baked Taco Shells

Tacos are actually tortillas stuffed with vegetables. Now you may feel then what is a burrito or what is the difference between taco and burrito? Both enclose a filling.And burritos are actually tacos and are known as tacos de harina as traditionally they were made from corn/maize tortillas. The difference is in the way of folding the tortilla over filling. Burritos completely enclose the filling and are cylindrical in shape. Whereas tacos are tortillas simply folded in half around a filling, leaving a semicircular perimeter open.

There are generally two types of tacos. Hard shell tacos and soft shell tacos.Soft shell tacos are easier to make - prepare the filling, spoon in the middle of the corn/wheat/flour tortilla and fold over in half moon shape. Simple and quick meal. If you completely enclose the filling and roll it out in a cylindrical shape then you call it a burrito :). 

Hard shell tacos are actually tortillas 'u-shaped' and deep fried in oil.These are crispy crunchy tacos that retain the shape and can hold sizeable amount of filling and still retain the shape and crispiness over a period of time. These came in  the taco kits that I was familiar with while in NJ.I used to wonder what were in the box like packages that were boldly advertised containing taco seasoning kit. I wanted to prepare them at home but was clueless on getting the u shape. Then I simply forgot about them. :)

Then when I recently made flour tortillas, I wanted to make these. But this time I had found an excellent recipe for baked tacos shells in the EatingWell Site.The recipe is nothing much and if you have an oven with a rack then  its very easy.

Ingredients:

Tortillas : flour / Whole Wheat : few 

Oil/ Oil Spray

Preparation:

You can lightly warm the tortillas in the steamer or in the microwave for a few minutes or else use room temp tortillas.

Coat both sides of a tortilla with oil or using an oil spray. You can even sprinkle few spices and seasonings on one side of the tortilla.

Carefully drape each tortilla over two/three bars of the oven wire rack.

Bake in a preheated oven at 375 F/ 190 C for 7-10 minutes.Mine was done by 7th minute. Keep an eye from 5th minute onwards. 

You can make the shells few days prior to using them. There is no need to refrigerate (I didn't), but you can if you want and then warm them in the oven. You can use any type of tortilla -flour,corn,wheat - to make these and depending on how thick the tortillas are the oven time might vary for a minute or so. 

You can start with one or two tortillas which might not turn out nicely,but you might get a hang if it the second/third time onwards.

I simply stuffed them with some lime rice,pico de gallo, refried beans and dollops of thick yogurt.

Mine does not look machine made, but it was perfect in taste and health.

Flour Tortillas

Tortillas have become a common feature here as well. I too love  the whole wheat tortilla which has become a regular in my house. But the tortillas I see in supermarkets here are thin and obviously made of all purpose flour. So I too tried the thin flour tortilla at home and has adapted the excellent recipe from the Pioneer Woman and made them as thin as possible.

Ingredients:

All Purpose Flour: 2.5 cups

Baking Powder: 2.5 tsp

Salt: 1 tsp 

Vegetable shortening /Vanaspati:8-10 tbsp

Hot/Very Warm Water: 1 cup

Preparation:

In big bowl, mix together flour,baking powder and salt. Add spoonfuls of  shortening to the flour mixture and combine to get pea sized crumbs.You can start with 2 tbsp and then slowly add in the remaining 8 tbsp of shortening. 

Add in hot/very warm water and then knead to form a moist but non sticky dough.Cover the dough with a towel or plastic wrap and rest  for an hour atleast. 

Pinch handfuls of dough pieces and roll into small circular balls. Place them on a tray/baking sheet and let them rest for atleast 20 minutes.

Roll out each ball into a circle making it as thin as possible.Repeat the process with other dough balls.

Meanwhile heat a griddle/tawa/ comal (as it is called in Mexico) on medium-high and one by one cook cook the tortillas on it. Cook each side 20-30 seconds, making sure it is just browned and a bit soft. We do not want too crispy or too brown tortillas.

Stack the tortillas on on top of the other and cover with a tea towel when still warm.

Serve immediately with choice of accompaniment or cool and refrigerate /freeze. You can steam them when needed in a steamer or warm them in the oven wrapped in aluminium foil.

Simple and easy to make. You can turn these into tortilla chips or taco shells as well. 

Mexican Paletas for a Cool Summer

Paletas are nothing but simple ice pops made using fruit juice. You freeze the fruit juice in appropriate molds and you get an easy summer dessert. You can even add dairy ingredients to obtain creamier paletas. Most of the paletas or ice pops are sweet except for the cucumber paleta or the pepino con chile y limon which has the heat of the fresh green chilly in it. I have tried my hand to make the spicy cucumber paleta and the sweeter rose paleta (using rose syrup).Recipe is based on this post in Myrecipes and also referenced this post in NYTimes.

Cucumber Paleta:


Ingredients:
Cucumber: peeled,seeded and chopped 3/4 cup
Sugar: 2-3 tbsp
Salt: a pinch
Lemon Juice: 2 tsp +/-
Green Chilly: 1 small or medium optionally deseeded as per preference
Water: 1/4 cup +/-

Preparation:

Blend together all the ingredients to a smooth puree. Strain the puree using a fine seive or a cheese cloth. Do the taste test and adjust the sugar. Freeze by pouring in molds overnight or atleast 3 hours. 

On tasting the sugar is one that touches the tongue first, but then the heat of the chile takes over and you will definitely feel the spice along with iciness.

Rose Paleta:

This is a very simple and easiest and tasty ice pop or paleta. You mix in 3-4 tsp of rose syrup into a cup of water and then freeze overnight by pouring in appropriate molds. 

For releasing the ice pop from the molds, hold the molds under warm water for  few seconds and you can see them releasing from the sides.

Simple and delish paletas are apt for summer and also for Cinco de Mayo which is celebrated today in US and Mexico.

Tangy Summer Coolers - Indian & Mexican

Now that summer is its full fury and cola and juice companies are making merry, its time that we make old fashioned summer coolers with an ingredient that is regularly available in majority of Indian homes : Tamarind. Tamarind is used in Ayurveda to aid digestion and is a coolant.Tamarind pulp is useful in treating fevers and even in curing sore throats. Remember the South Indian Rasam, is perfect while having fever.The list continues, but lets get back to today's post...

Jal Jeera :

I was under the belief that majorly South Indians used tamarind as a regular ingredient in their chuneys,gravies, rices etc, till I came across Jal Jeera. Ofcourse there are other ways to make jal jeera or minty cuminy cooler, but the one which I made using Nita Mehta's Punjabi cooking uses tamarind. I suppose if you do not have tamarind you can go for additional lemon juice, but traditionally it was a tamarind cumin cooler. I am posting the original recipe with the correct estimates for ingredients, but feel free to change as per your taste.

Ingredients:

Tamarind: 1 lemon size ball or around 1.5 tbsp of syrup

Lemon juice: 3-4 tsp 

Ginger: 1" piece

Mint: handful of fresh leaves: 3-4 tbsp around

Black Salt: 1/2 tsp 

Roasted and Powdered Cumin: 1 tsp

Salt: to taste

Sugar: 1 tbsp

Preparation:

Soak tamarind in 1 cup hot water for about 30 minutes. Extract the pulp and strain. If using tamarind syrup/ concentrate then just mix it with hot water.

Grind ginger and mint together with little water to a smooth paste and add to the tamarind water.Add around 2 -3 more cups of water to this along with the remaining ingredients and mix well.

Chill in the fridge and serve garnished with more mint leaves or boondis (light chickpea flour balls).

While making check the seasonings and salt as per taste and adjust. Cumin and black salt are the formost in asserting their flavour. Mint refreshes, and sugar slightly contrasts, but tangy tamarind and sharp tastes of cumin and black salt tickles your tongue and increases your appetite.

Agua de Tamarindo:

Again the surprise element here was that tamarind is widely used in parts of the world like Kenya, Trinidad and Tobago and even Mexico. Come summer and the fruit pulp is used to make drinks called agua frescas. But if our jal jeera was sweet and sour and spicy then this one made with tamarind is slightly sweeter. I have adapted my recipe from the umpteen sites google has thrown open and majorly this post which looks very mouthwatering.

Ingredients:

Tamarind: 1 lemon sized ball or 1.5 tbsp of concentrate/syrup

Brown Sugar/ Jaggery/ Mexican Piloncillo: 2tbsp /-

Preparation:
Add tamarind and sugar/piloncillo to about 2 cups of water and boil together for  few minutes till the sugr dissolves. Remove from heat and let it site for atleast 30 minutes.The more the merrier.

Extract the pulp by pressing the soft tamarind in water with your clean hands. Check for sweetness and add more sugar if needed. Strain and add more water if needed to reduce the intensity of tamarind.

Serve chilled adding ice cubes.

A delectable drink that cools you down after a nice workout or cooking in the hot kitchen.

Smoky Pineapple Salsa

Pineapple is one such fruit that is constantly used in savoury items as wells. The tartness of the pineapple makes it perfect for savoury dishes as well. I have always loved grilling or caramelizing pineapple and this time I made a tart spicy salsa by combining it with fiery red chillies. I have adapted the recipe from here and I have adapted the recipe by adjusting the ingredients slightly.

Ingredients: 
Pineapple: peeled,cored and cubed/quartered : about 1-1.5 cups
Onion: 1 small quartered
Red Pepper: 1 medium
Tomato: 1 medium sliced into rounds
Garlic: 1-2 big cloves
Red Chilli : 1 or more as per taste and heat (I used Birds Eye Chilli )

Mint Leaves: handful
Lemon Juice: 1-2 tbsp as per tartness
Water: just needed to make a smooth puree

Salt : as per taste
Sugar: (optional)

Preparation:

Heat a tawa /grill/pan sprayed with oil on high. Spread all the ingredients from pineapple to red chilli onto the grill and brown them for a few minutes on either sides. They should not be burned but the nice smoky/barbeque  aroma should come and they should look a bit charred. Remove from heat and cool for a few minutes.

Add them to a blender along with mint leaves,lemon juice and little water.

Blend to a fine puree adding little salt and optionally sugar.

Serve with tortilla chips or grilled meat etc.

An exciting taste it was. There was no sugar in the original recipe but my pineapple was very tart. So either you increase the sweet red pepper or add just  a bit of sugar or other sweeteners as per your choice. 

The tartness of the pineapple gives way to the sweetness of peppers and refreshing mint but then comes the fiery chilli heat. A perfect dip for chips I felt. An 'umami taste!'? Not sure about that. But it definitely increases the appetite. So serve as a starter dip and surely it will be well appreciated.

Aztec Chocolate Cookies for Tita & Pedro

Last month, the bookclub had chosen Like Water for Chocolate. I had heard rave reviews and praises about it and was looking forward to read it. But may be I had too much expectations or was partly busy or the book was overhyped, I liked it but I won't miss it. If you ask me whether I liked the book,I would say yes,but if asked whether I didnot like it then also the answer would be yes. May be its my practical side that is doing the talking rather than the dreamer in me.What started as a  simple love story of Tita and Pedro later turned into a tragic ending - atleast lovers reuniting in death and in the fantasy lost world of Eden is something I can't digest- but gives wonderful  insight into Mexican traditions and unheard of dishes or recipes almost centuries back. I couldn't try any of the recipes because they sounded odd (atleast to me!) but had made simple aztec style chocolate cookies  for you to munch on while you go through the book. The recipe is adapted from Savour Fare and is a simple chocolate cookie spiced with Chipotle chili pepper.

Ingredients:

All Purpose Flour: 1.5 cups + 1 tbsp

Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: 1 tbsp

Powdered Ginger: 1 tsp

Powdered Cinnamon: 1 tsp

Powdered Dried Chipotle Chilli: 1/4 tsp +/-

Butter: 1/2 cup

Brown Sugar: 1/2 cup

Honey: 1/4 cup

Vanilla extract: 1 tsp

Baking Soda: 1 tsp

Water: 1.5 tsp (boiling)

Chocolate Chips: almost 1 cup +/- (I used a mix of white and semi sweet)

Granulated Sugar: 1/4 cup for dusting

Preparation:

In a small bowl,combine the flour,cocoa and the spices.

In a wider bowl, beat butter and sugar till fluffy. Add honey and vanilla and beat until well combined.

Beat in half of the flour mix to this.

Mix together baking soda and boiling water  and add it to the flour-butter-sugar mix. Then add in the remaining flour and the choco chips. You will get slightly sticky dough. First it looked like it was too dry,but as I started bringing it together,it turned out to be a bit sticky.

Wrap the dough in plastic and chill for atleast 30 minutes. 

Take out the dough and pinch small balls from it. Shape the balls as needed -I went for regular round ones and slightly flattened them. Roll the balls/ shapes in granulated sugar on both sides and place in a lined baking sheet.

Bake the cookies in a preheat oven at 325 F/160C for about 18 minutes or until the edges/top start browning or crack little. Keep an eye from the 12th minute onwards.

Simple cookies that have surprise taste in them. You feel the coco,choco chips and regular spices when you bite into these. But the lingering taste will that be of dried chipotles. Also since brown sugar is used I felt the cookies were on the heavier side. But thats my feeling.Do enjoy the hearty cookies.

Lets see what the BookClub made for Tita. This month we did the Beach Cafe and next month we are looking forward to Major Pettigrew. 

Chocolate Chili

I love chili and can have it anytime of the day. I try out different versions as well.You can see two versions already posted  here and here and few else are in queue waiting for their turn.  Long time back I have heard about the use of chocolate in traditional Mexican chili recipes and recently tried out the recipe from Vegnews which had not just chocolate but coffee as well. It was simply IRRESISTABLE.

Ingredients:
Dried Beans: 1/2 cup presoaked and cooked or canned beans (I used pinto beans and pink beans)

Olive Oil: 2-3 tsp
Onion: chopped 1 small : around 4-5 tbsp
Carrot: 1/4 cup cubed /minced
Garlic: 1-2 cloves

Cumin Powder: 1/4 tsp +
Chilli Powder: 1 tbsp +/-
Paprika: 1/2 tsp +/-
Oregano: 1/4 tsp
Pepper: 1/4 tsp +
Salt: as  per taste

Tomato: 1/2 cup chopped

Tomato paste: 3-4 tbsp  OR Puree : almost 1/2 cup

Chocolate: 1/2  oz semi sweet or dark, grated

Chipotle in adobo sauce: 1 small or as per taste (chopped /minced)

Sugar: 1/4 tsp + (omit if using semi sweet)

Espresso Coffee :2-3 tbsp or more as needed
Water: as needed (I used the water in which the beans were cooked)

Preparation:
Presoak the dried beans overnight and cook till  done in the pressure cooker or stovetop as per convenience.Keep aside.

Heat oil in a deep pan,add onion,garlic and carrots and cook for a few minutes until they soften. Add in salt,pepper and all the spice powders and also sugar (if using dark chocolate). Saute for a minute. 

Add in tomatoes chopped,tomato puree/paste and chopped/minced chipotle. Stir well and cook for a few more minutes till the tomatoes start to cook.

Add in the beans,coffee and the water to this and bring to boil. Reduce to simmer and let it cook uncovered for about 30 -45 minutes stirring occasionally so that the tastes are well blended and the required thickness is reached. 

Serve as a side with rice/tortillas or as a wholesome soup topped with lowfat cheese slice  and garnished with chocolate gratings.

I enjoyed it as both and everybody licked their bowls clean. Ummmmmmmmm.. 

The aroma while adding the chocolate is GREAT.You savour the feeling as if you are savouring a cuppa of hot chocolate spiced with cinnamon and chilli on a snowy day. It truly lifts your mood. Chipotle as usual adds the smoky authentic chili taste and overall it has all the qualities and taste needed for a comforting chili.I am not sure about the coffee addition as the coffee added just a  mellowed sharpness and it could be because I had add just 2 tbsp of it - I had mixed 1/2 tsp powder with 2 tbsp of water and added to the gravy. But it does blend with the total taste of the gravy and does not stand out of line. 

Go make your own and enjoy as the few spoonfuls I have saved goes to AWED:Mexico,at MyTastyTreats, an event by DK.

Whole Wheat Tortilla - Mexican Cousin of Indian Rotis?

Tortilla ( spelt tor-thee-ah), meaning "little cake (torta) in Spanish is a general term for a variety of foods and also refer to corn or wheat based flatbreads in Mexico and other Latin countries. Depending on  the flour used to make them, the Mexican tortillas differ in texture and a wide variety and flavours are available. Each region has its own version of flatbreads and there are definitely similarities between few of them atleast.Though  the name sounds exotic,we can say that the rich in fat tortilla is definitely a cousin of the humble Indian roti. And I too found the transition from roti to tortilla easier when I tried Sunita 's recipe of Whole Wheat Tortillas.

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour: 3 cups

Baking Powder: 1 tsp  (reduced from the original 2 and 1/4 tsp)

Salt: 1.5 tsp

Vegetable Oil: 1 tbsp 

Milk: 1-2 cups

Preparation:

Mix together flour,salt,baking powder and oil. Add in warm milk 1 cup at a time and stir in  to get a sticky loosely formed dough. I had to add another 1 cup of milk to get a similar dough.It depends on the flour you are using. Mine definitely required extra milk as it looked like coarse sand with the original mentioned milk quantity.

Knead for two minutes to get a firm soft dough on a floured surface. Keep the dough in a bowl and let it rest covered with a damp cloth or plastic wrap for 20 minutes. It is necessary to let the dough rest else it may turn elastic and it may not properly roll out.

Take the rested dough,divide into smaller pieces and shape each into a round and rest in a bowl covered with a wrap for another 10 minutes.

Take a round, pat it into a thick disc within hands dusting it with little flour and then roll it out with a rolling pin from centre to outwards,until you get a elongated disc as thin as you want. Don't over work the dough as it will turn to be stiff. Keep the disc covered with plastic wrap or damp cloth till cooking time. Do this with each round/disc you have.

In a dry skillet or komal cook each tortilla 30 seconds per side on high. Keep covered with a napkin until ready to eat. 

Serve it with choice of sides or stuffed with rice,cheese or veggies. I served it with a chocolate chili made with pinto and pink beans.

If you love rotis you will definitely like tortillas. What differs the tortilla is the rich in fat content -traditionally lard or pork fat was used while making the dough. But here we had added just 1 tbsp of oil. Also the bresence of baking powder gives it a slightly puffed look- it puffs up a little on cooking and the insides look little layered as well. There are different versions  for the tortillas some without baking powder but this version works out for me. With whole wheat it is much more healthier as well.

The tortillas are off to AWED:Mexico at MyTastyTreats, an event by dear DK along with Two Bean Chocolate Chili which I will be posting later.

Chilled Cinnamon Horchata

Horchata  is a general name for Spanish or Mexican beverages made traditionally rice,barley,almonds etc.There are regional variations and some countries go for a thick milky drink whereas other may like thinned down version.In Mexico, the rice is traditionally made with rice alone, or in comb with other grains along with cinnamon,vanila etc. I have referenced several sites and tried out this simple horchata with just rice & here it is.

Ingredients:

Short grain Rice: 1/4 cup

Cinnamon Stick : 1' long or as per taste

Water:as needed

Honey/Agave Nectar/Sugar: as per taste

Preparation:

Soak rice and cinnamon stick in enough water for atleast 8 hours or overnight.If some picking or cleaning of rice is to be done do so prior to soaking.

Next day grind the soaked ingredients together adding more water if needed to get an almost-smooth creamy liquid. Add in required sugar/sweetner and give a final blend/pulse so that the sugar is fully dissolved.

Pour in glasses and chill till serving time.

On sitting the creamy rice paste settles at the bottom of the glass. So serve after giving a final stirring along with icecubes and  sweetners.

A different yet refreshing drink. I was surprised more that the drink was tasty.Though I love trying out different recipes,I sometimes am not sure what the outcome will taste like. Especially this time, it was the first time I am trying a drink with rice in it. So the first feeling was surprise which then led me to heartily enjoy the drink.Now I am game for any such drinks.

The simple rice drink also goes to Celebrate Sweets -Sweets with Rice at Priya's, an event by Nivedita

Sweet Potato Chili

These days the weather is such that you feel like putting your  head in the fridge in the afternoon,but come night,its chilly weather. Such fluctuations does call for soups -they can be cooked fast or atleast I feel so and  provide warmth dduring the night. Chili does com in th category of stew and can be used as a side dish as well as a hearty soup. I normally stick to the vegetarian chili I had posted previously,but these days I am trying out different chili recipe like this Vegetarian Chili from Jamie Oliver which he made using roasted sweet potato. I could never think of such innovations. The recipe was super simple and only changes I made was the use of three types of beans,and regular green peppers available with me.

Ingredients:
Sweet Potato: 1 atleast :  or peeled and cubed.1-1.5 cups

Cayenne Pepper/ Chilli Powder: 1/2 tsp+ more for sprinkling
Cumin Powder : 1/2  heaped tsp + more for sprinkling
Cinnamon Ground: 1/2 tsp + more for sprinkling
Olive Oil ,Salt & Pepper: as per taste

Onion: 1 chopped fine :around 1/4 cup +
Green Pepper: 1 big: cubed
Fresh Red Chilli: 1 small
Fresh Green Chilli: 1 small or as per taste
Garlic: 2 -3 small cloves

Red Kidney Beans: 1/2 cup
Pinto Beans: 1/2 cup

Tomatoes: Peeled & chopped : 3 ripe
Tomato Puree: 4  tbsp +

Fresh Cilantro: 1 small bunch

Preparation:

Peel,and cube sweet potato. Sprinkle with salt,pepper,cinnamon,chilli powder and cumin.Drizzle with olive oil and toss well to coat. Layer in a lined baking sheet and roast in a preheated oven at 400F for 20+ minutes or until browned.

You can also go for 450F and lesser roasting time.Take out the roasted potatoes and keep aside. I actually had few pieces one they cooled a bit just to see whether they were seasoned properly. :) You can go for just salt and pepper roasting and optionally add the spices when they are out of the oven and are still hot. Or ust add the spices in the chili. I went for salt and pepper roasting and then added the spices in the chili.

Presoak and cook the beans till done. Chop the onion roughly into small pieces.Mince/crush the garlic.Cube the bell pepper.Blanch,peel and chop the tomatoes. You can also use tomato paste instead of tomatoes + puree. Separate the cilantro leaves from the stalk and chop and keep aside each separately.Here we are using the cilantro stem for additional flavour.

Heat Olive oil in a deep pan,add onion,peppers and garlic and cook till the onion changes colour and the peppers start to cook for about 5 minutes.

Add coriander stalks/stem ,slit chillies and spices (cumin,coriander and  cinnamon).Cook for few more minutes.

Add the cooked beans along with little water in which they are cooked,salt, tomatoes chopped and the tomato puree and mix well. You can add little coriander leaves as well. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer,cover and cook for 15-20 minutes more when the required consistency is reached. If too thick add more water.

Just before taking off the heat,stir in the roasted sweet potatoes. Heat through. You can mash a few pieces of sweet potatoes and beans to make it look thick. On sitting it thickens a bit as well. Taste and adjust the spices and salt.

Serve as a side dish or dip with tortillas/breads/rice.

I loved it both as a side as well as a thick soup.Mine had thickened more than needed and the pic shows a very thick chili. I topped crackers with this and enjoyed it. A warm,comforting and hearty dish.A sure shot winner as well.

Simple Guacamole with Potato Pancakes

Guacamole is a simple avocado based dip from Mexico. You mash avocado in a mortar and pestle with little salt and lemonjuice along with optional additions like chillies,tomato etc. There are several versions with different ingredients, and this is a simple one which I have been making based on the recipe by chef Rick Bayless. Normally it is served as a dip with tortilla chips,but can also used as a spread  with a pancakes as well.Chef Bayless serves it with a simple potato pancake which makes the dish all the more hearty.

Ingredients:
Ripe Avocado: atleast 1

Garlic: 1 small clove,finely grated.
Salt

To make it more herby:
Cilantro : finely chopped 1 tbsp
Lemon Juice: 1-2 tsp

Additions:
Fresh Green Chilli: Jalapeno or serrano :1finely chopped
Onion: 2-3 tbsp : finely chopped : preferably white,but I used red
Tomato: finely diced: 2-3 tbsp :seeds removed

Preparation:

Make sure your avocado is ripe. To check for ripenness,try gently squeezing the avocado. IT should be firm,but must give in a little under pressure. Rock hard avocado is not ripe and if you have one,wrap it in brownpaper cover/bag and let it sit outside for atleast 1-2 days.It will be ripe enough to be mashed into guacamole. Unripe avaocado must not be used for guacamole .

Cut the avocado into half,running the knife around the pit from stem to end and back again.Twist the two halves in opposite direction to free the pits and pull the halves apart.

With a spoon ,scoop out the flesh in a bowl.Adding little lemon juice (to prevent discolouration of avocado) and salt mash it finely.Add in finely grated garlic and other ingredients and mash well to get guacamole.Adjust the salt if needed.

The raw garlic will be overpowering and hence keep it to the the bare minimum.If using onions,rinse the finely chopped onions,squeeze them to remove the water and then add to the avocado.This is done to remove the excess onion flavour it may lend to the dip.You can do the entire process in a mortar and pestle.

If not using immediately,plastic wrap the dip -with the wrap pressed directly on the surface of the dip- and chill in the fridge where it may stay for a few hours.

As per the source recipe ,I served it with potato pancakes.

Potato Pancakes:

Peel and grate 2-3 medium sized potatos.Squeeze out the excess moisture with your hands.Heat a skillet on medium heat.Lightly spray with oil.Take handfuls of potato mix,squeeze again,shape into pancakes and put on the skillet.Sprinkle with salt and pepper.Press flat with a spatula.When browned,turn over and brown the other side too. Serve with guacamole.

A simple appetizer or breakfast,depending on how you serve this.Else you can also serve the guacamole as a dip for chips/fritters/veggies.

Mexican Style Champurrado

 Atole (from spanish atolli meaning hot) is a maza flour or hominy or maize flour based hot thick drink from Mexico.Chocolate Atole is known as Champurrado.Earlier I had made Mayan style hot cocoa where I had added flour along with cocoa powder and dried chipotles. This one uses chocolate bars preferably Mexican style like the Abuelita brand from Nestle or Ibarra and such others.

 Champurrado uses chocolate bars along with piloncillo and masa harina or maize flour.  I first came across this in Ben's blog. A simple search brought several recipes and I have adapted it from here.I have substituted brownsugar and molasses  for piloncillo and have used normal chocolate bars with added cinnamon and have made my version of Champurrado.

Ingredients:
Milk: 2 and 1/4 cup + more if  needed
Water: 1and 1/2 cups

Chocolate:1- 2 oz or as needed or 1 disk abuelita
Cinnamon: 1/2 tsp +as per taste (optional if using Mexican chocolate)

Aniseed: 1/4 tsp crushed
Brown sugar: 1/3 cup
Molasses: 1 tbsp
Crushed Aniseed: 1/4 tsp

Maize flour: 1/2 cup
Hot water: 1/4 cup

Preparation:

In a blender,whisk together maize flour and hot water till well blended. Transfer to a saucepan and add rest of the ingredients,whisk well and bring to boil whisking almost continuously.

Reduce heat to a simmer and let it cook for a few minutes(keep whisking so it does not burn),until the chocolate and sugar are melted and the entire mix thickens a bit. Serve hot in mugs/cups straining if you like. I did not.

The drink is perfect for winter/rainy season.It is very filling and thick and as time goes it thickens more.After sometime,mine was thick as a porridge and I had to add more warm milk to it to get a liquid state.You can optionally garnish with choclate vermicelli/curls/shavings or even powdered cinnamon.I did not wait for anything,just had  warm mouthfuls.

Again,owing to weather conditions here (and also laziness),taking pics is a herculean task,so as usual the pics are not great.The taste is like a thick chocolate shake or porridge unless you use more milk.Read more about the Mexican chocolate here.Read about Piloncillo here. 

Last week during Diwali, I was enjoying at my mom's place and hence didn't post.But now I am back and you can see me almost regularly  or atleast till something else comes up  ;).

Vegan Mexican Feast from Chef InYou

I love Mexican cuisine  and am always entusiastic to try different spicy and excellent dishes.While in US, we used to frequent Baja Fresh Mexican Grill and I still miss it. Ofcourse we stuck to the vegetarian menu there  and though limited certain good choices available.I have never been to Chipotle and when I saw the Chipotle style Cilantro Lime rice I wanted to prepare it.And I did make it along with DK's Vegan Frijoles Refritos and Pico de Gallo. An awesome feast and here it is.

Cilantro Lime Rice:

Ingredients:

Long Grain Rice /Basmati: 1 cup rinsed lightly in cold water

Oil: 1-2 tsp or butter for non vegan versions

Sugar: a pinch (optional)

Limes: 1 big or 1-2 small

Salt: as per taste

Cilantro: chopped: 3 tbsp+

Preparation:

Rinse rice in cold water and optionally soak in water for atleast 10 minutes.This prevents the rice from getting mushy.

Heat oil in a heavy pan and add the drained rice and optionally sugar.Stir well until the rice gets coated with oil/butter.Add in the lime juice and salt and enough water needed to cook the rice.

Cook the rice until all the water has been absorbed and your preferred consistency has reached.Stir it well and mix in chopped cilantro.Do the taste check and adjust the salt,cilantro and lime juice.Remove from heat,give it a nice fluff and let it sit for a few minutes with the lid on.

Serve with refried beans or Frijoles Refritos.

Refried Beans:

I am fascinated by refried beans and the term refried used to intrigue me at first.Then I tried refried beans from another blog for an event and loved it.So while trying out the cilantro lime rice,I also tried DK's Vegan refried beans as well.I had used red kidney beans instead of pinto beans though

Ingredients:

Red Kidney beans: 1/2 cup

Oil: 1tbsp +

BayLeaf: 1/2 tsp + or 1 bayleaf

Red onion: 1 medium size finely chopped

Garlic:1-2 cloves finely chopped/minced

Jalapeno chillies/Green Chillies: 1-2 chopped/slit as needed

Tomato:1 medium size chopped

Salt: as per taste

Preparation:

Presoak and cook the beans until tender or almost mushy.We will be mashing up the beans so its better we cook them till mushy.I cook them in a pressure cooker and stovetop works out to 40 minutes or more.

Heat oil in a heavy pan,add in bayleaf,chopped onion,garlic crushed/minced and slit chillies alongwith little salt and saute until the onions turn soft.

Add in chopped tomatoes and saute until soft .Add in the cooked beans after keeping aside the water in which they were cooked.mix well and with a ladle or potato masher,mash the entire mix together to the required or fine consistency.Adjust salt and serve with Cilantro Lime Rice and salsa

Pico de Gallo: 

I suppose DK had made  pico de gallo the authentic way which is much longer than the one I tried here. I wanted to try it when she posted the recipe and this obviously was great with the rice and beans. 

Ingredients:

Tomatoes: 1-2 big or 2 + cups chopped

Red onions: 1 medium finely chopped

Garlic: 1 small clove finely chopped/minced/crushed

Jalapeno/Green chillies:1 finely chopped or slit

Cilantro: few tbsps finely chopped

Salt: as per taste

Sugar: a pinch

Lime juice: few tbsp or 1 small lime

Preparation:

Chop tomatoes and place them in a colander placed on top of a bowl.Let it sit for about 45 minutes and the juice that will be collected in the bowl can be discarded or used for something else.

After about 20 minutes,add in finely chopped onions,minced garlic,chopped chillies and cilantro and give it a light toss for the flavours to mix well.

After the required waiting time of 45 minutes,shake the colander to drain off the juice if any and then put the contents of the colander to a bowl.

Add in salt,sugar and lime juice and toss everything and serve as a filling for tacos or a side salad with cilantro lime rice and refried beans.

                                            

Do enjoy the simple feast which is hearty and filling and a plate obviously goes to Priya who is hosting   T & T : Chef In You, an event by Lakshmi