Vegetarian Nachos

Nachos is one of my favorite appetizer. But we have stopped ordering whenever we go to a restaurant because they overload with cheese. So I started making it at home so that I can control the amount of cheese going into it. This way I enjoy it better and they are much healthier too. I used to make Nachos with refried beans and cheese. Then top it off with tomatoes and Onions. Recently I came across Hilah's recipe where she took time to slather each chip with the refried beans. I really liked the idea. Its little time consuming but each chip will have refried beans. I omitted the meat from her recipe and made spicy black bean mixture. It turned out very good and we enjoyed it with Guacamole. Do try making this version for a get together or just to treat yourself. I hope it turns out well for you!

Ingredients:

• Corn Chips
• Shredded Pepper Jack Cheese - 3/4 cup
• Jalapeno, finely chopped - 1 tsp
• Refried Beans - 1/3 cup

For Spicy Black Beans:

• Cooked (or canned) Black beans - 1/2 cup
• Olive Oil - 1 tsp
• Onion, small sized - 1/2
• Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
• Cayenne pepper powder - To taste
• Salt - To taste

For Garnish:

• Chopped Scallion (green onion)
• Chopped Tomato
• Chopped Cilantro
• Chopped Red Onion

Procedure:

For making black bean mixture:

Chop the onions and set it aside. Then heat oil in a pan. Once hot, add the chopped onion and fry it until it turns translucent.

Then add cumin powder, red chilli powder and salt. Mix and continue frying the mixture for half a minute. 

Then add in the cooked black beans.

Mix and let it fry for a minute and then turn off the heat. Set it aside until required.

Now, preheat the oven to 350F (180C).

For Assembling:

For assembling the corn chips you can use any oven safe dish like a pie dish, baking sheet, cast iron pan or a plate. I used a cookie sheet.

Slather each corn chip with desired amount of refried beans and start arranging them in the oven safe dish. Place them as close as possible.

Then sprinkle the spicy black bean mixture followed by chopped jalapeño .

Then finally sprinkle grated cheese (At this point you can again repeat the layers if you want to serve a larger group. I just made for two of us).

Pop it in the oven for 4-5 minutes or until the cheese is melted. 

Once the cheese melts, garnish it with chopped cilantro, scallions, tomato and red onions.

Vegetarian Nachos is ready!!

Serve it immediately along with Guacamole. Above measurement serves two.

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Vegetarian Pupusas

I am a great fan of few shows on Food Network. Recently when I was watching "Diners, Drive- In's and Dives", Pupusas were featured in one of the episodes. I was amazed at how he made them. Till then I had never heard of it. So I decided to make Vegetarian version. It did turn out quite amazing and we both loved it a lot. Hence I thought of sharing the recipe. 

Pupusas are made by stuffing the masa. They are either stuffed with cheese, meat, refried beans. I decided to stuff my most favorite beans - black beans. They turned out very tasty. Do try making them. The process looks little involved but trust me its worth every minute of your effort. Please let me know if you give this a try.

Ingredients:

• Shredded Pepper jack Cheese - 3/4 cup
• Oil - For Pan frying

For the Dough:

• Maseca Corn Masa Mix - 1 cup
• Hot water - Little less than 3/4 cup
• Oil - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - 1/2 tsp

For Black Bean Mixture:

• Cooked (or canned) Black beans, drained - 1 cup
• Onion, medium sized - 1/2
• Olive oil - 2 tsp
• Cumin powder - 1 tsp
• Cayenne pepper powder - To taste
• Lime juice - 1 tsp
• Salt & Pepper - To taste
• Water - 1/4 cup

Procedure:

I prepared the guacamole and Pica de gallo beforehand and sticked them in the refrigerator until required.
Shred the cheese and set it aside. 

For making black bean mixture:

Chop the onions and set it aside. Then heat oil in a pan. Once hot, add the chopped onion and fry it until it turns translucent.

Then add cumin powder, red chilli powder and salt. Mix and continue frying the mixture for half a minute. 

Then add in the cooked black beans along with water.

Let this mixture cook until most of the moisture evaporates. Then turn off the heat. Squeeze in lime juice and cover this mixture and set it aside until required.

For preparing Dough:

Before writing down the procedure, let me write few things required to make tortillas.

Tortilla Press - I recommend buying a tortilla press if you plan making corn tortillas on regular basis. If you don't want to invest on it then you can always use a large plate or pie dish to press out the dough.

Zip loc/Parchment paper - Always line your tortilla press with zip loc (cut open one or two side of it) or parchment paper (2 square pieces of it).

Take masa, salt and oil in a bowl.

Mix well and then hot water little at a time. Mix with a spoon . Once it comes together mix with your hands until you get a non sticky, smooth dough. Keep it covered and let it sit for five minutes.

Then divide the dough into six equal portions and smoothen them between your palms.

Now line the tortilla press with a zip loc (or parchment paper) and place one of the dough ball in the zip loc.

Then press it.

The dough ball takes a beautiful round shape.

Transfer the tortilla on a parchment paper or silicone mat. Then repeat with another dough ball and place them side by side (Each pupusas requires two rolled corn tortilla. This is one way of making pupusas).

Divide the black bean mixture into three equal portions. Then spread one portion on one of the rolled corn tortilla, as shown below.

Then sprinkle shredded cheese on the black bean mixture as shown below.

Now gently place the plain corn tortilla which was besides it.

Then slowly start pinching the dough along the circumference so as to form a pocket.

Once done, smoothen it carefully so that the stuffed mixture doesn't get a chance to come out while pan frying.

Repeat the process to make two more pupusas. Once done, spread some oil on a pre heated skillet and place the prepared pupusas. Spread some oil on the surface too.

Once it turns golden brown, flip it gently to fry the other side.

Once both the sides turn golden brown, transfer it to a plate. Fry the remaining pupusa.
Vegetarian Pupusas are ready!

Serve it hot with Guacamole and Pica de gallo or any toppings of your choice. Above measurement makes three good sized pupusas. 

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Mexican Black Bean Burger

Black Beans is one of my favorite beans and I like to try different recipes using it. I have already shared many recipes using black beans. This recipe is one of my favorite one. Few years back I bumped into this recipe. I tried making it and it did turn awesome. Then I didn't make it for a long time. Few months back I tried making it again. This time I baked fresh burger buns too. I made few variations to the original recipe and also used Kerrygold Swiss cheese to top it. Trust me it was one of the best Mexican dishes I ever made. 

Do try making it and let me know how it turned out for you!

Ingredients:

• Burger buns, medium sized - 6
• Guacamole 
• Onion, medium sized - 1
• Cheese Slices - As desired

For Burger:

• Cooked Black Beans - 1 1/4 cup
• Cooked rice, packed - 1/2 cup
• Cilantro, chopped - 1/2 cup
• Onion, medium sized - 1/2
• Garlic cloves - 2-3
• Jalapeno, chopped - 1 tsp
• Olive Oil - 2 tsp
• Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
• Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
• Dried oregano - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - To taste

Procedure:

For Preparing Burgers:
Rice: Cook the rice and set it aside. Leftover plain rice works great too.
Beans: Cook the black beans in a pressure cooker or in a pot until its soft and not mushy. Then drain the liquid in which it was cooking. If using canned beans then, rinse it thoroughly. I always cook a large batch of black beans in a pressure cooker and then freeze it. When required I thaw it and use. This way I always have cooked beans on hand.
Lightly mash the beans using fork or masher and set it aside.

Now chop the onions and mince the garlic pods.
In a small pan, heat olive oil. Once hot, add in the chopped onions. Fry until it turns translucent. 

Then add in the minced garlic and finely chopped jalapeño. Fry for a minute or until the raw smell of garlic goes away. Then add in the cumin powder, coriander powder, oregano and salt. Fry for few seconds and turn off the heat.

Now add this to the mashed black beans along with cooked rice, chopped cilantro.

Mix well until everything comes together. Give it a taste and add salt or any other spice powder, if desired.

Now divide the mixture into six equal portion and form balls and flatten them into small discs (which would fit on your burger bun).

Then take an onion and slice them into thin discs (for grilling).
Now heat a grill pan. Once hot, add some oil over the pan. Then place onion discs on one side and burgers on the other side as shown below. Sprinkle pepper powder and salt on onion slices.

Once the onion slices and burgers have got nice grill marks, flip them on the other side. Place cheese slices on the burgers, so that it gets a chance to melt slightly. Once done, transfer them on a plate and continue with the rest of them. Also cut the burger bun into half and then grill the buns too.

For Assembling:

Prepare the guacamole and set it aside.

Place the bottom part of the burger bun on a plate. I forgot to grill this bun as I was in a hurry to take pictures. I made the buns at home. Trust me it indeed makes a lot of difference. I will post the recipe sometime soon.

Then spread guacamole on it or you can just place some avocado slices.

Then place the burger.

Then top it off with grilled onion slices. You can also place additional toppings like tomato slices, lettuce, sour cream or any desired topping of your choice. Then place the top part of the bun and enjoy! 

Mexican Black Bean Burger is ready!

Serve it immediately. Above measurement makes six medium sized burgers and can serve three people.

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Lentil Tacos

Being a Vegetarian, its very hard to get many options in a Mexican restaurant. We often end up eating fajitas. Hence I try making various different Mexican dishes at home. Most of the dishes have made us quite happy. Lentil Tacos was one of the dishes which I came across few months ago. I was very happy to find this recipe. It turned out very tasty and filling. The lentils are cooked in a mildly spiced broth. It is then served on a corn or flour tortilla with desired toppings.Do give this a try and let me know how it turned out for you.

Ingredients:

• Olive Oil - 2 tsp
• Onion(medium sized), finely chopped - 1
• Garlic pods, minced - 2-3
• Cayenne pepper powder - To taste
• Roasted Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
• Dried Oregano - 1/2 tsp
• Brown Lentils, rinsed - 1 cup
• Water or Stock - 2 1/2 cups
• Cilantro, chopped - 2 Tbsp
• Salt - To taste
• Corn or Flour Tortillas, small sized - 8- 10
• Toppings* - Guacamole, Pica de gallo, chopped tomato, chopped onion, cilantro, shredded cheese, lettuce, salsa.

*Add toppings of your choice. I topped mine with Guacamole, shredded cheese, chopped tomato, onion and cilantro.

Procedure:

Heat oil in a pot on medium heat. Once hot, add in the chopped onions until it starts to develop slight brown color. 

Then add in the minced garlic and sauté it for half a minute. Then add in the spices (cayenne, cumin and oregano), salt.

Fry for few seconds. Then add in the rinsed lentils.

Mix well and finally add water or stock. Check for seasoning and add any, if required.

Then close the lid and cook it for 25- 30 minutes or until the lentils soften (the water should be almost absorbed by now). Once it is cooked, slightly mash with the wooden spoon. Then turn off the heat and add chopped cilantro. The lentil mixture is ready.

Before assembling, warm the tortillas in a microwave oven or on stove top (I made fresh corn tortillas). Prepare guacamole (if using). Then chop the toppings like onion, tomato, cilantro. Once everything is done, start assembling.
Place a warm tortilla on a plate.

Then place 2-3 Tbsp of lentil mixture. 

Finally add toppings of your choice. Repeat with other tortillas. 
Lentil Tacos are ready!

Serve immediately. Above measurement serves three people.

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