Chimichanga with Pinto Beans

Chimichanga is a deep fried burrito usually stuffed with rice, beans, vegetables and cheese. Wiki says “According to a legend, Monica Flin, who started the restaurant El Charro in 1922, accidentally dropped a burrito into the deep fat fryer. She immediately began to utter a Spanish curse-word, but quickly edited herself to say chimichanga, the Spanish equivalent of thingamajig”.

Instead of deep frying my chimis, I baked them and I have to say that I didn’t miss the fat or the calories in the baked version.

Ingredients:
Dried pinto beans – 1 cup (or 1 can)
Salsa – ½ cup (home made or store bought)
Lime juice – 1tbsp
Cheddar cheese – 1 cup (I used reduced fat cheddar and monterey jack blend)
Salt and pepper – to taste
Flour tortillas – 5

Method:

• Cook the beans (pressure cooker makes life easy here, but canned beans are far better). Mash the beans and let them cool.
  
• Preheat oven to 400°F.
  
• Combine beans, salsa, cheese, lime juice, salt and pepper in a bowl. Spread the bean mixture on one half of a tortilla, tuck the tortilla over the mixture; fold the sides; roll the tortilla to make a wrap. (Use a toothpick to tuck the loose end if needed.)
  

• Arrange them on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray (cover the sheet with aluminum foil for easy clean up).
  
• Bake for 10-15 minutes per side or until the chimis are golden brown on all sides.
  

Serve warm with guacamole, salsa and sour cream.

Spanish rice with Pinto Beans

I just love all kinds of beans and I try to keep my pantry full with both canned and dried beans (ya.. I agree I go a little over board and buy more stuff than I need. It’s always better to have them when you don’t need them, but not have them when you need them doesn’t feel right).

I had of bag of pinto beans (bought a while back), that I finally decided to cook. Dried beans need planning, time and energy to cook(all of these are missing in me on a weekday) , but I decided to finish this bag and swore not to buy anymore dried in the near future.

I soaked about 2 cups of beans and used one cup each in 2 recipes; Spanish rice and Chimichangas.

Ingredients:
Dried pinto beans – 1 cup (or 1 can)
Brown rice – 1 cup
Bay leaves – 2
Onion – 1 large, chopped fine
Green peppers – 2, medium (you can use any color peppers)
Jalapeños – 2 , chopped
Garlic cloves – 3, minced
Tomatoes – 2 medium
Tomato paste – 1 tsp
Lemon juice – 1tbsp
Cumin powder – 1tsp
Chili powder – 1tsp
Salt and pepper – to taste

Method:

• Sort through the beans, soak overnight. Rinse and cook along with brown rice in a pressure cooker with bay leaves. (Beans cook faster in pressure cooker. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, then cook rice and beans separately. Pinto beans take almost 1 – 1½ hours to cook.)
• Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large pan; sauté minced garlic and onions till onions turn transparent and pink, about 6-8 minutes.
• Add peppers, jalapeños; cover and cook till veggies are tender.
• Add tomato puree and chopped tomatoes, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper; cover and cook for 5 minutes.(If using canned pinto beans, add rinsed and drained beans to the veggie mixture at this stage, let them heat through, then rice to this mixture.)
• Add the cooked rice and beans to this mixture. Squeeze lemon juice; mix well. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Garnish with green onions and serve hot with guacamole, cheese (cheddar, Monterey jack or pepper jack cheeses would taste awesome) and sour cream.

JFI - Jackfruit Masala Curry

Bee and Jai at Jugalbandi are hosting this month’s JFI with a very special ingredient – Jackfruit (or Panasa kaya in telugu). I have never cooked with it before but I have tasted both ripe jackfruit and the yummy jackfruit curry (panasa pottu kura) that my Peddamma (Mom’s older sister) makes. But never have I thought of using the ingredient myself (don’t ask me why).

I have to thank Bee and Jai for choosing jackfruit as the ingredient, as it made me try it and both my husband and I liked the dish.

This recipe is from my cousin.

Ingredients:
Jackfruit – 1 can, drained and rinsed; chopped into bite size pieces
Onion – 1 large
Tomatoes – 2 medium, ripe (I substituted one tomato with 1 tsp tomato paste)
Ginger-garlic paste – ½ tsp
Curry leaves – 6
Cumin seeds – ½ tsp
Red chili powder – ½ tsp
Chole masala – 1 tsp (or Garam masala)
Aamchur powder – ¼ tsp (or little bit of tamarind pulp)
Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
Salt – to taste

Method:

• Heat 2 tsp oil on medium heat; add cumin seeds and when they splutter add curry leaves and onions; sauté till transparent and lightly browned on the edges.
  
• Add turmeric, ginger-garlic paste and sauté for 30 seconds.
  
• Add tomatoes; cover and cook till the tomatoes are tender.
  
• Next add the jackfruit pieces, ½ cup of water. Cover and cook for about 8-10 minutes.
  
• Add the powders and salt; cook for another 3-5 minutes. Serve with steamed rice or rotis.

RCI-Andhra: Thokkudu Laddu

This is one of the 10 things I miss about my Mom’s cooking. They are also known as Bhandar laddu because they were originally made in Machalipatnam/ Bhandar, Andhra Pradesh. These laddus are made with besan (chick pea flour) and are very similar to besan laddus, but are more time consuming to make and way more delicious.
Photos Updated: December 2012.

My mom always makes them when either my sister or I visit India. Freshly made laddus just melt in your mouth and they also keep well for almost 10 days at room temperature and almost 1-2 months in the refrigerator.

This recipe has been on my to-post list for almost 6 months now. I took the pictures during my India trip last year and it is a perfect Andhra treat for RCI-Andhra blog event hosted by Latha. Recipe is a two step process, first make the janthikalu and then grind and make the laddus.

Ingredients:
Besan (Chick pea flour) – 1 cup
Sugar – 1 cup (or more depending on how sweet you want)
Cardamom (Elaichi) – 6 pods
Ghee – 4 tbsps
Cashews (fried in ghee)

Method:

• Janthikalu (Murukulu): Add just enough water to besan to make a thick batter.

• Fry janthikalu in hot oil till golden brown. Remove onto paper towels and allow to cool slightly.

• When they are cool enough to handle, crush them into small pieces and grind into smooth powder. Sieve the powder 2-3 times to remove any big pieces of janthikalu.

• Meanwhile, make the sugar syrup. Simmer sugar and water (level of water in the vessel should just above sugar) until it comes to one-string consistency.

• When you get to this stage, remove the vessel from heat; add the powdered janthikalu, ghee, cardamom powder and cashews. Cover and keep aside until the mixture is easy to handle. Then make laddus and enjoy the warm, freshly home made delicacies.