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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MBP- BREAD: Cheese Parathas.

I'm LATE... so what's new, huh? But I couldn't miss MBP!!! The darned right thumb delayed me! Anyway, now that we are firmly ensconced in our new apartment, which to my delight has a regular gas (like India) and NO Coil stove, I couldn't be happier! Food tastes better and cooks faster than the dreadful coil (M claims it is all my fancy... Men! I tell ya, they are weird!)

For MBP- BREAD I found so many varieties of Breads in our blogosphere, but I finally decided in favour of Cheese Parathas

Like Musical, parathas have always been my favourite type of bread too! Parathas hold a special place in my heart! They are a constant reminder to me of my BEST Friend who is from Delhi and the YUM! parathas I have eaten at home!

In fact, I still vividly recall my first instruction in making a paratha.. (it was not the stuffed variety) and inexperienced as I was in making Parathas, I rolled one all nice and round and .... thin! like a Fulka!! Oh boy!! did I feel like an ostrich? I sure did!!! Just wanted to bury my head in some soil and hang in there till eternity!

Around that time, I also learned that parathas need not be round (or as thin as fulkas!!) and when I found Musical's Recipe, after chuckling awhile, decided 'this' is it!

I followed her recipe, copy pasted in here for convenience, with a couple of variations...

Thanx Musical! Loved the parathas!!

MUSICAL'S RECIPE :

We need:

Whole wheat flour, water, a pinch of salt, ajwain and grated cheese of your favorite variety (i used five cheese Italian blend).Sift the flour, add salt, ajwain, knead into a smooth dough with water. The essence of any good Indian bread is a good dough, so knead, knead, knead :). The dough should be flexible. Set aside for a few minutes. Heat the tava/griddle and roll a nice chapati as shown in the picture. Heap some grated cheese and fold into a square (or a triangle if you like). Dust with some flour and roll this square. Fry it with lil' oil/ghee on the tava-the cheese melts and makes this ordinary bread into something extraordinary :).

Variations I made :

Used Mozzarella Cheese

Added 1/2 very finely chopped onion

Used Olive oil spray

..... My favourite smells in the kitchen....

- Daal (Varan) and Basmati Rice and the lingering smell of an incense stick ( something one encounters in a typical Maharashtrian Brahmin kitchen!!)!!

- Tadkas (tempering) (with or without ginger-garlic paste)!!

-Cake baking in the oven!! ( I am going to try my hand at baking proper bread soon, so I'm sure that will be another to this list!

Thank You , Coffee, for this wonderful theme and Okaying my late entry!!

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O is for Oven Baked Eggplant

Hah!! I made it this time for Nupur's A-Z of Vegetables ....
It's been so long.. or at least feels so long since I had a post for this event! I made Oven baked Eggplant...
There is no love lost between me and the eggplant... however it's the exact opposite with M! His eyes glaze over, a benevolent smile wreathes his face and he rubs his hands in anticipation. That is the Only reason why the 'Baingan Raja' ever finds its way into my kitchen.

Now this little sucker with it's siblings, was lying in the dark regions of the fridge, untouched for a week now... I would look at it...ponder over the possibilities (which, I know are numerous).. shake my head and pick up another vegetable, talk about being prejudiced! So finally, last evening, casting aside my feelings, I pulled up the eggplant and decided to make this appetizer... a treat for M... he had a gruelling day at work and deserved something that would bring back that 'smile'!!
Now ,I have no clue where I got this recipe from, in one of my moods I had taken out sheets and sheets of recipe printouts, so safe to say that the source is Google.


Making it is also no big deal! So simple and quick too!

1 med. size Eggplant
5 tbsp Mayonnaise
Parmesan cheese (I did an approx. on this)
Salt
1/4 tsp. Pepper powder
Breadcrumbs

Preheat the oven to 350 d. F
Place foil on the oven tray (spray with oil if u want), I used Olive oil spray
Mix the mayo, cheese, salt and pepper and mix to make a nice paste
Spread the breadcrumbs on a plate
Slice the eggplant into discs
Dip the eggplant discs into the mixture
Pat on both sides on the breadcrumb plate
Place on the tray and bake for 10 minutes on each side
Done!!

Variations : Using a dash of Italian seasoning

Using the Large Eggplant (one that is commonly used in making 'bharta')

Substituting any other cheese instead of Parmesan

Verdict: Very NICE!! (the 'smile' is back in it's place!) I could put in a better way... as Jeeves (not his own, of course! It's Browning!!) would say...The lark's on the wing;The snail's on the thorn; God's in his Heaven --All's right with the world!

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