Still in the stay-at-home (literally includes work-eat-sleep-dine-exercise and so on) phase, the availability of doing a little of the sudden whims do happen; unless it happens during the clocked in work-hours. Which is why, when the mood strikes, the entire brood gets to indulge in the experimentation. After setting the pace for the morning till noon to go smooth; the extra time towards the evening was used to add a little spice to the known recipes. Though the spice later blended to the little salsa mix that was there at home, it was fun trying tot improvise two of the Mexican dishes to the Indian tune.
One of the easier recipes to try at home, was the Chilaquiles. The typical recipe basis are the corn tortillas cut into quarters and lightly fried. To the crisp tortilla triangles, the salsa (green or red) is poured over and the mix is simmered until the tortilla starts softening. To spice up the mix, one can add pulled chicken is sometimes added to the mix. Commonly garnished with crema (cream and buttermilk), crumbled queso fresco (white cheese), raw onion rings or avocado slices; the chilaquiles is usually had with refried beans, eggs (scrambled or fried), beef and guacamole as side dishes. Twisting the traditional recipe a bit, one can used a bit of wheat or maize tortillas, while adding a little of diced vegetables (saute them earlier if desired) and just had like that.
Next in line was the Chalupa. This specialty dish is made by pressing a thin layer of masa dough around a mould to create a tiny boat like (concave) container. These shallow corn cups are deep fried and filled with various ingredients such as shredded chicken, re-fried beans, cheese (classic), salsa, chopped onions, pepper and lettuce toppings. For the home version, one can experiment with wheat or maize (or chickpea flour) and just add on the mix of choice to be served in the “boats”.
Modifying these two simple and basic Mexican recipes was fun. With the added advantage of them being simple, one can recreate varied versions of the same with whatever ingredients are available at hand. As the craving for a little change strikes hard, that bottle of salsa is definitely going to add the much needed spice to the regular dishes.
Sugar And Spice... Among Other Things 