Enchiladas

Mexican food has always been a favourite cuisine in our family, as it is spicy and flavourful, with many of the spices used being similar to those in Indian food. This dish requires a bit of time and effort but is definitely worth the hard work. This dish is quite versatile, in the sense that the fillings can be changed according to what you have readily available. This recipe has been adapted from Cookie and Kate‘s enchilada recipe. Traditionally, enchiladas are made with corn tortillas, but I have used atta to make rotis since it is locally available.

 

Ingredients:

 

For the sauce:

Olive oil – 2 tbsp

Maida/Atta – 3 tbsp

Jeera powder – 1 tsp

Red chilli powder – 1 tsp (according to taste)

Dried oregano – ½ tsp

Cinnamon – ¼ tsp

Salt – to taste

Tomato paste – 2 tbsp

(OR) Fresh tomatoes, chopped and pureed – 5-6

White or apple cider vinegar – 1 tsp

Vegetable broth/ Water – 2 cups

 

For filling*:

 

Tofu – 100 gm, chopped into cubes

Black beans – 1 cup, cooked

Onion – 1, chopped long and thin

Zucchini – 1/2, chopped long and thin

Red/yellow capsicum – ½ each, chopped long and thin

Spinach – one bunch, plucked and washed

Salt – to taste

Jeera powder – ½ tsp

Chilli powder – to taste

Olive oil – as required

 

For making wraps:

 

Atta – 2 cups

Salt – to taste

Water – as required

 

Cheese – mixture of mozzarella and cheddar – ¾ – 1 cup, according to taste

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

 

Enchilada sauce:

Make sure all ingredients are kept ready before starting to make this. Take the oil in a kadai, and once it heats up, add all the dry ingredients. Whisk it continuously so that it does not burn or become lumpy. Once it deepens in colour slightly, add the tomato paste/pureed tomatoes while whisking continuously to prevent lumps. If you are using fresh tomatoes, you will need to cook it down for a fairly long time to intensify the flavour of tomatoes. Tomato paste is a good option when you are short on time. Once it has come to a thick paste consistency, add the broth/water, mix well and let it come to boil, then gently simmer till it reaches a thicker consistency (the sauce will stick to the spoon slightly). Remove from heat and add the vinegar. The sauce will thicken more as it cools.

 

Filling:  

Take about 1 tbsp olive oil in a kadai and once hot, fry onions till they are transculent. Add zucchini and capsicum, salt and chilli powder and cook until they start to get limp. Set aside.

Take tofu and marinate in a little bit of olive oil, salt, chilli powder and jeera powder.

Take black beans and add salt and chilli powder according to taste.

Chop up spinach roughly, salt and cook in pressure cooker until well cooked. The water can be added to the sauce during the cooking process instead of throwing.

Mix all these together to make the filling for the enchilada.

 

Wraps:

Knead the atta to make rotis, with required amount of water and salt.

 

To assemble enchiladas:

Spread a generous layer of enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 8” by 14” dish. Take each roti, spread about 2 tbsp of the filling across the middle and roll it up. Place it in the dish with the edge facing downwards.

Pour enchilada sauce over the top of the wraps and bake for 20 minutes. About midway through, remove from oven and sprinkle cheese over the top and continue baking until cheese is golden brown.

 

*Alternate options for fillings:

As earlier mentioned, this is quite versatile and there are many options for fillings. Some of the fillings used above can be omitted. Tofu can be replaced by paneer, black beans by rajma. For vegetables, cauliflower can also be used. Let your imagination run wild! 

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