Back after a break...

Its always good to have a break in between, even if you enjoy doing something. I took a break from blogging for a few days owing to my suddenly planned India trip. The trip was impending as it was S's first Birthday & we wanted to celebrate it amongst family members. It was sudden because as opposed to the original plan where I would have got only 4 days in India, I got to spend almost a month there, thanks to GM's suddenly cropped up official work. This of course meant that I missed some of the blog events which were otherwise in the schedule & in the planning stage! I still somehow managed to contribute to Meeta's Monthly Mingle.
As for the trip, it was super just like all India trips always are. Hectic to the hilt but memorable nonetheless. We are still trying to cope with the jetlag which comes as a package deal with such trips!

One of the events I felt very bad about missing was Dhivya's A.W.E.D Mexican, specially because the post was almost ready and the Mexican meal had already been devoured by us, but I just did not get the time to post it. So let me start the 'Break ke Baad' posts with this one.

Both me & GM are fond of trying out new cuisines whenever we get a chance. We are open to any kind of Vegetarian food but prefer something which is closer to our Indian tastes, flavourful & on the spicier side apart from being substantial. In that sense, Mexican cuisine fits the bill perfectly. We often go to this Mexican restaurant called Cheeko's very near to our place. Everything that we have tasted has been absolutely delicious and makes us go back for more. The portions are just perfect - not too heavy but filling at the same time. They have recently started serving Indian cuisine too - all the more reason for us to visit this restaurant!
The A.W.E.D. event prompted me to make Mexican after a long time at my place. Thanks Divya for coming up with such a lovely event.
I decided that we would have a complete Mexican meal instead of just one dish. So I made Nachos, Guacamole and Bean Enchiladas for dinner last week. Enchiladas makes a regular appearance at our dining table but Nachos and Guacamole were something I had never made at home. The first task was to get all the ingredients together. I saw GM giving me strange looks
while I was picking up the Avocados for the Guacamole, during our weekly grocery shopping. We had never bought Avocados before this. But ever since I started blogging, he has got used to buying different veg/fruits that we had never thought of getting home earlier.

Without any further chit chat, here are the recipes.

Nachos
Tortilla chips
Salsa
Cheese (I used mature Cheddar)
Baked Beans
Pickled Jalapeno chillies


For the Salsa
3 medium sized Tomatoes, finely chopped
1 medium sized Onion, finely chopped
1 Capsicum, finely chopped (I used half a green and half a yellow pepper)
Cucumber, finely chopped
Fresh Coriander leaves.
1-2 Chillies
1/2 tsp Garlic paste
Salt
Method:
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and store for at least 1-2 hours for the flavours to mix properly.

To assemble:

Arrange the Tortilla chips on a baking sheet in a circular manner. Cover most of the chips with the Salsa, also add the jalapeno chillies
.

Arrange another layer of chips over this. Add the grated cheese and bake for 5-10 min at 180 deg C or until the cheese melts. Another variation could be adding a layer of baked beans and then adding the grated cheese.

Guacamole

2-3 Avocados

1 small Onion, chopped

1 small Tomato, chopped

Fresh corainder leaves

1 clove of Garlic

1-2 chillies

2 tsp Lime juice

salt
Method:

Cut the Avacados into halves, reserve the pits/seeds and scoop out the flesh. Mash this using a fork. Add the rest of the ingredients and either pound in a pestle to desired consistency or puree it out. Now the traditional Gaucamole is supposed to be a little chunky meaning it is not pureed to form a paste but I preferred to blend it out. As regards to the seeds, when I was searching for the recipe for Guacamole, some sites suggestedthat adding the seeds to the prepared Guacamole will prevent discolouration of the same. But when I reached the Wikipedia, it completely dismissed this notion saying that Guacamole will get discoloured once it comes into contact with the oxygen in air, no matter what you do. Read more about it here.

This makes for a good dip with the nachos.

Enchiladas
2 Tortillas
Tomato Sauce
Filling
Cheese


For the tomato sauce
1 tsp Olive oil
4-5 ripe Tomatoes, boiled & pureed
2 cloves Garlic, crushed
2-3 tsp Mixed herbs (Basil, Thyme, Sage, Marjoram, Oregano)
1-2 tsp Red chili flakes


Method:
Heat olive oil in a pan. Add the crushed garlic and saute. Add the tomato puree, mixed herbs and chili flakes and let this cook for 10-15 min or until the mixture thickens.


For the filling
1 tsp Olive oil
Baked Beans
1 small onion, sliced
half a Capsicum, chopped
Salt
Pepper
Method:
Heat olive oil. Saute the onions and capsicum for sometime. Add the baked beans and cook on high flame. Season with salt and pepper powder.


For the Tortillas
1/2 cup Wheat flour
1/2 cup Cornmeal
salt
1 tsp mixed herbs

Method:
Prepare a stiff dough with all the above ingredients. Roll out thinly and cook on both sides on a griddle.

To assemble:
In a baking dish, pour half of the tomato sauce. Lay down the tortillas. Add the filling and fold the tortillas into wraps.
Pour in the remaining sauce. Add grated cheese on top and bake for 10-15 min at 180 deg C or until the cheese melts.

This is usually served with rice, but for us this along with the Nachos was more than filling!