Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Veggie Enchiladas with Roasted Pepper Sauce

I was browsing thru the cook book section in the local library when I found American Masala , pouncing on it and leafing thru the contents was but natural! From there, picking out the recipes I liked most ( and of course were vegetarian) was a quick job. Selecting what to make first (and blog) was difficult!
The book has 125 recipes and pictures which are VERY drool worthy (of course they have to be, it's a cookbook Duh!!) I picked this recipe first for the simple reason, I had almost all the ingredients at hand.


M and I both like Mexican cuisine and for me, when I first came here, this was something that shared a likeness to Indian cuisine.. Tortilla= Roti. They too make Rice, Salsa = Tomato Koshimbir (Tomato Kachumber)!! I had heard of Mexican Cuisine tasted it once in Delhi ( some place where one gets Mex food served by waiters in cowboy outfits and Punabi accents) only to dismiss it all as a sorry affair. Now things were different when I had crossed borders and with a very limited choice in food I could eat outside, this soon became my option.


Then I read in another blog (which is now private) that lard was freely used in these preparations and I recoiled in horror and stayed miles off from it that day on. The only place I agreed to go into was Baja Fresh only because it clearly mentions No Lard. But somehow things changed.. I did not enjoy eating out that much. I missed the Enchiladas, Quesadillas, Tacos but nothing would persuade me to try it again. My only option was to make all these at home.


This recipe is different from what I have eaten outside, but I ain't complaining! It makes a wonderful one-dish meal and the sauce can be made ahead of time. Making the filling and assembly is not very time consuming.
A wonderful recipe and a good choice to make if one has guests coming over for an informal dinner, this taste is sure to make them enjoy every morsel.

For the Sauce ( serves 8-10)

3 tbsp. Canola Oil
1 Red Onion Chopped
4 Lare red Peppers Cored and chopped
2 Med. Tomatoes chopped
4 Garlic cloves
1 Jalapeno ( I used 3 Thai Green Chillies as I had those)
1 tsp. Kosher salt
1/2 tsp Gropund Peppercorns
1/4 cup Heavy Cream
1/4 pound Mozzarella or Queso Fresco cut into cubes


Preheat the oven to 450 deg. F. Grease a large baking dish with 1 tbs. oil, add onion, tomato, peppers, garlic, jalapeno. Sprinkle with salt and ground perrecorns. Drizzle with remaining oil. Toss to coat. Roast the veges. until soft and brown, for about 1 hour, stirring every 15 mins.

Transfer the veges to a blender along with cream and blend until smooth. Pour the puree into a med. saucepan and simmer. Reduce heat and add cheese and cook until it starts to melt. turn off the heat. Taste for salt and adjust accordingly.

This sauce is slightly sweet and has a delicate smoky flavor associated with red peppers and is a delightful chnge from the regular Enchilada sauce.This sauce can also be used as a dip with chips. For the Filling:

2 tbs Canola /Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Jalapeno finely chopped
1 tsp Cumin seeds
1 tsp. Coriander powder
1/2 tsp ground Peppercorns
10 Med. Carrots, peeled and grated
1 head Cabbage, shredded
1/2 cup chopped Cilantro
1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper
2 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Toasted cumin
1 tbs. Salt
Juice of 1 1/2 Lime

In a large wok or kadhai, heat Oil with Jalapeno, Cumin Seeds and ground Peppercorns on medium heat cooking until the cumin is fragrant and brown.


Add Coriander pwd. and cook for 15 secs. Add the cabbage and Carrots. Cook, stirring ocassionally until the cabbage has wilted yet is still al dente- about 4 mins.

Stir in Cilantro, Cayenne pepper, Sugar, Toasted Cumin and Salt.

Cook fo r 30 secs and then remove from heat. Stir in Lime juice.
For the Veggie Enchiladas with Roasted Pepper Sauce:
1 tbsp. Unsalted Butter at room temp.
Roasted Red Pepper Dip ( recipe as above)
8 Whole Wheat Tortillas (6 inch)
1/2 the Carrot - cabbage filling recipe as above
1 cup shredded cheese ( I used readymade Mexican blend from the store)
Sour cream to top (optional)

Preheat the oven to 450 deg. F.

Grease a 11x 9 inch baking dish with butter.

Add 1/2 cup Roasted Red Pepper Dip , spread it evenly and set aside.

Heat a griddle / Tawa. On med- high heat toast the Tortilla until it is pliable and toasty.

Roll a heaping of 1/4 cup of the carrot-cabbage salad in each Totilla and place seam side down in the baking dish.

Cove with the remaining dip and top with an even layer of cheese.

Bake until the cheese is melted and a golden brown.

Garnish with finely chopped cilantro & sour cream , if using.


And before I sign off, Rajee has honoured me by giving my humble blog this award!! Thank You ever so much Rajee! You made my day !

In turn ,I would like to pass on this award to :
Bee and Jai
Suganya
Nupur
Sia
Cynthia

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20 comments:

Unknown said...

am drooling over the enchiladas..

Finla said...

Delicious Enchiladas, i know the place, just don't remember the name, it is in the first floor with loud music, but they do serve exclent cocktails :-)

delhibelle said...

The Enchiladas look delicious Manasi. Hope you and the little one are doing well:)

EC said...

Lovely colour and presentation..

Deepa Kuber said...

wow never heard of them.. they look so delicious..

Tee said...

i love mexican and making it at home makes it even more guilt free!
Your enchiladas look mouthwatering!!

bee said...

that looks truly delicious. the sauce would be great on pizza too. thanks for the award, dear manasi.

Anonymous said...

Let me first congratulate you for Rajee's Award.
I agree with you that Mexican food is similar to many Indian dishes.The Mexican recipe looks delicious. Keep it up.
Kulkarni

Vanamala Hebbar said...

wow lovely sauce.

Ramya's Mane Adige said...

OMG... they use lard in Mexican food??!!?!? I didn't know that.... Will be careful from next time, tx for letting us know! :)
Enchilada looks delicious!!

Sia said...

yum yum, beautiful shots manasi. at home we both love mexican for the same reasons:)
and congrats on ur award and thanks for passing it to me dear:)

TNL said...

Enchiladas are welcome in my home all the time! I just love,love Mexican/Spanish cuisine.... Sauce is fabulous, and oh yeah, it would be great as pizza sauce too,like Bee said. ;)

trupti

Deepthi Shankar said...

enchiladas looks really yummy .. i loved the pic

SMN said...

its really droll worthy yummy pic too :)

Cynthia said...

Thank you my dear, dear friend and congratulations yourself.

That roasted pepper sauce is sooo good.

Jan said...

Oooh they look GOOD!
PS: Great blog you here.

Jan said...

Me again! Sorry my post was meant to read 'Great blog you have here' but I think the 'have' was left out before!

Sheetal Kiran said...

When I landed in the US ... all I wanted to have was Mexican food. I absolutely love, love, love enchiladas. Your photos and the recipe make me want to cook me some, right away. And I have had a huge dinner.

Namratha said...

Enchiladas, I can never get enough of these!!! :) These look lip smacking good!

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