Spiced up Nachos

Nachos are popular Mexican starters and fillers. It is made of simple corn-tortilla chips (imagine crisped up mini Naans), that are piled high with beans, salsa, sour cream, cheese, and guacamole. I don’t think I need to explain what salsa or guacamole is, but on principle, let me. Salsa is nothing but tomatoes, onions, garlic, jalapeno peppers, corn kernels, and beans, bathed and preserved in vinegar, salt, lime juice, and coriander leaves. There are several kinds of salsas, so this is just the basic form. Guacamole is a rich, creamy paste of avocados, onions, garlic, tomatoes, lime juice, and coriander leaves. Both salsa and guacamole are yummy dips for all kinds of chips.

I don’t know why I never thought of making nachos at home until I feasted on some of my friend’s home-made, lip-smacking nachos. Nachos are very easy to assemble at home, and they make excellent appetizers. So, I finally tried making (or rather, assembling) one recently, with a little bit of Indian twist to it.

Ingredients

1. ½ bag of corn tortilla chips (easily available in stores these days). Else, they are easy to make from tortilla. Cut tortilla into triangular wedges, and bake at 350 F for 15 minutes or longer until the wedges crisp.
2. 3 cups of Black beans ( one can even use cooked garbanzo beans or kidney beans - channa or rajma)
3. 1 onion finely chopped
4. 2 tomatoes finely chopped
5. handful of coriander leaves
6. 2 teaspoons of Chaat masala powder
7. 2 teaspoons of salt
8. 2 teaspoon of pepper
9. Juice of 2 limes (or the juice of 1 lemon)
10. ¾ cup of grated cheese (any cheese of your liking - but cheddar is fool-proof with this)
11. 1 ripe avocado
12. ½ cup of low-fat sour cream

Preparation

1. Prepare the Salsa by mixing together the beans, onions, tomatoes, chaat masala, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of pepper, coriander leaves and juice of 1 lime.
2. I took a shortcut and prepared my own version of “guacamole”. I mashed the creamy pulp of the avocado with sour cream, and spiced it with salt, pepper, and the juice of ½ a lime.
3. Line the tortilla chips on a baking tray layered with aluminum foil or parchment paper.
4. Pile the chips with a spoonful of salsa, and the mixture of sour cream + avocado. Top it with a sprinkle of grated cheese.
5. Broil the chips in the oven for 3-4 minutes (or until the cheese melts). Do not over-bake/broil the chips, for they will burn easily and will become stiff and hard.
6. That’s it! Serve hot.

You can even add other Indian spices like turmeric, red chillies, and cumin while preparing the guacamole the authentic way.

This cannot get simpler, can it? :)