This is something I love not just to make, but to gorge on as well. It’s healthy, tasty and easy to make. Although the recipe might look cumbersome at first sight, (considering it has so many small elements) the final product is worth all the effort! On a boring weekend when your taste buds tingle for something tangy, spicy and fun, these homemade tortillas are your nirvana.
The tortilla wraps can be easily bought in any grocery store, but I like to make them at home. The homemade ones can be as humble as simple whole wheat tortillas or as elaborate as the ones made with puff pastry dough. If you have a dinner party, go for the elaborate ones; they are tastier and crispier with gorgeously browned grill marks. However, for a more healthy meal, use whole wheat flour.
The recipe for the perfect puff pastry involves ‘practice’ as one basic ingredient. Working with the pastry dough can be tricky, leaving you with a sense of frustration. But I strongly recommend that you at least give it a shot. Refer to my post on the perfect puff pastry for its complete recipe, methodology, and presumptive issues you might face. I have tried to include all my experience in making and perfecting them. I hope you find success with your first attempt!
For the Mexican bean mix, I have used a preserved hot sauce available in gourmet stores called the Zulu sauce. It’s available in a variety of spicy flavours and comes in low heat, medium heat, hot and very hot versions! If you can’t find this sauce, replace it with some lemon juice and pureed jalapeños.
Serves: 6 wraps
Prep time: 20 min
Cooking time: 30-40 min
Cooking pan: Grilled pan (Indian labels include Nirlep, and Prestige)
Ingredients
Tomato salsa
4 medium tomatoes- blanched, peeled and chopped fine
1 large onion chopped fine
Fresh coriander chopped fine
Fresh flat-leaf parsley chopped fine
1 green chilly chopped fine
1½ tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
Zest of half a lemon
1 tsp ground black pepper
3 pods of garlic finely chopped
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Pinch of sugar
Salt to taste
Jalapeño cream
4-5 tbsp Fresh cream
3 tbsp pickled jalapeños chopped fine
½ tsp ground black pepper
3-4 drops Tabasco sauce
Salt to taste
Mexican bean mix
2 cups of cooked kidney beans (add salt while cooking)
½ tsp Ground black pepper
½ tsp Red chilli powder
Fresh coriander chopped fine
Zulu sauce
Stir fried veggies
1 onion chopped finely
Bell peppers chopped finely (red, yellow and green)
3-4 drops Tabasco sauce
½ tsp Ground black pepper
Salt to taste
Pomace or extra virgin olive oil
For the final assembly
Butter
Cheese slices
Lettuce- whole leaves
Method
Salsa sauce: In a bowl, mix the blanched and chopped tomatoes with all other ingredients mentioned above for the salsa sauce. Keep aside.
Jalapeño cream: In a bowl, mix the chopped jalapeños with all the other ingredients mentioned above for the Jalapeño cream. Keep aside.
Mexican bean mix: Mildly mash the cooked kidney beans, and add all the ingredients mentioned above for the mix. Keep aside.
Stir fried veggies: Place a non-stick saucepan on a medium flame and add some pomace olive oil (use extra virgin if you can’t find pomace). Once the oil is hot, add the chopped onions. Fry till golden brown. Add the chopped bell peppers. Stir for a minute. Add ground black pepper, some Tabasco sauce and salt to taste. Do not overcook the vegetables. Remove from heat and keep aside.
The final assembly: Keep your tortilla wraps (round in shape) cooked 3/4ths and ready for assembly at dinner time because this is something that needs to be served hot. If you are using ready-made ones, get them of out of the refrigerator well before dinner time and let them thaw, so they don’t break or crumble while assembling the wrap.
Use a grilled pan instead of a normal one to get the grill marks on the tortillas. Butter the outer side of the tortilla (the side that goes on to the grill) and place it on the grilled pan. On one half of the tortilla, place a whole lettuce leaf. Next, spoon some of the Mexican bean mix on the lettuce leaf. Top it with the stir fry veggies, tomato salsa and jalapeño cream. Place a slice of cheese over the filling and fold the tortilla in half. Once the surface of the tortilla attains golden brown grill marks, remove from heat. It should resemble half a pizza. Cut into 3 triangular pieces, each like you would cut a pizza slice. Serve hot with tortilla chips and some more tomato salsa (for the spice and tang lovers!)
Bench notes
If you can’t find balsamic vinegar, it can easily be omitted from the tomato salsa. For those who can handle some quirkiness, add a dash of red wine (instead of the balsamic vinegar) or some beer to the tomato salsa. Add kitsch to kitchen! Make sure that the salsa is not too runny, as you don’t want it to make the tortilla wet and soggy.
The Mexican kidney beans should be well cooked and soft, such that you can easily mash it with your hands.
The lettuce leaf is used to create a ‘plastic effect’ in the tortilla. This ensures that your tortilla is not soft and soggy before it reaches your guests.
If you don’t have a grill pan, don’t bother too much. This is not going to change the taste of your wrap.
I don’t necessarily preach ‘healthy’, but if you make the tortillas at home with puff pastry dough, you can get away with baking them too. A lot of ovens come with a grilling tray, so you get your grill marks and you get baked tortillas! Win-win! Your guests will be thrilled that you thought about how hard they work to keep in shape!
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