BEEF ENCHILADA
This Mexican Recipe Serves 4-6
This Beef Enchilada recipe is so easy to prepare & not forgetting, super delicious. Your family & friends will think that are actually being served in a Mexican restaurant.
An enchilada is a tortilla rolled with a filling & secured with an enchilada/chillie sauce. Enchiladas can be loaded with an assortment of ingredients, including different meats, cheeses, beans, potatoes, vegetables or other fillings.
The colloquial English expression “enchilada” signifies “the entire thing”.
Enchiladas started in Mexico, where the act of moving tortillas around other food goes back in any event to Mayan times. The general population living in the lake area of the Valley of Mexico customarily ate corn tortillas rolled or folded around little fish.
Beef Enchilada Ingredients:
For the enchilada sauce:
- 1 teaspoon dhania powder
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon jeera (cumin) powder
- 6 tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons dried mixed herbs
- 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon chilli powder
- salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
Enchilada ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon chilli powder
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 12 corn or flour tortillas
- 2 tablespoons tomato sauce (ketchup)
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 teaspoon dhania powder
- salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon ginger & garlic paste
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 2-3 cups cheese, grated
- 1 teaspoon jeera (cumin) powder
- handful of green bell peppers, chopped
- 2 cups cheese, grated
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- a cup of chopped spring onion for garnishing
- 500 grams sour cream
Method:
-
- Firstly, prepare your homemade tortillas. If you don’t have time on your hands then you may purchase them from your local grocer.
- Next, blanch tomatoes.
- Next, prepare the enchilada sauce.
- In a medium sized pot, heat the vegetable oil.
- When the oil is hot, add in the chilli powder, dhania powder, jeera (cumin) powder, onion powder, garlic powder & all purpose flour.
- Mix & allow to simmer for a minute or two so that the spices cook.
- Once the spices have simmered, drop in the blanched tomatoes.
- Mix well. Add in the sugar, dried mixed herbs & pour in the cup of water.
- Stir well, cover & allow the tomatoes to cook on medium heat for about 20-25 minutes. Keep checking on the tomatoes as you may need to add water if necessary.
- Whilst the sauce is cooking, chop up the onion.
- Heat up some oil in another medium sized pot. Throw in the onions & add in the ginger & garlic paste.
- Stir & then add in the turmeric powder, chilli powder, dhania powder, garam masala & jeera (cumin) powder. Add water if necessary, stir & allow the spices to simmer for a minute.
- After the spices have simmered, drop in the ground beef (mince).
- Mix well, & allow the ground beef (mince) to cook until browned.
- Thereafter, pour in the tomato sauce (ketchup) & bell peppers.
- Add salt to taste & combine. Cook for a further 5 minutes & set aside.
- Once the ground beef has cooked, you can whip up a salsa.
- Go back to your enchilada sauce, check if all the tomatoes have been cooked.
- When the sauce has cooked, you can either puree it if you want a smoother texture or you can choose to leave it chunky as I did.
- Using an oven proof casserole, pour ¼ of the enchilada sauce, spreading it on the surface of the casserole evenly.
- Next, bring out those tortillas & smother some sauce on one side. Do this for all the tortillas.
- Carefully spoon the ground beef (mince) in the center of the sauced tortillas.
- Grate the cheese.
- Add the cheese over the ground beef (mince).
- Next, roll each tortilla & placing the seamed side down, carefully lay into the sauced casserole.
- Continue doing the same for all the tortillas until your casserole is filled.
- Next pour the enchilada sauce over the rolled tortillas.
- Evenly spread grated cheese over the sauce.
- If you have leftover ingredients, you can use a smaller casserole & follow the same process.
- Place the casserole in the oven for 30 minutes at 180° Celsius.
- After 15 minutes in the oven, notice how the dish starts to bubble with the melting cheese.
- Whilst the Beef Enchilada is in the oven, chop up some spring onion.
- When the enchilada is fully baked, remove from the oven.
- Whilst its still hot, top with the salsa.
- Thereafter, dollop the sour cream over the salsa.
- Lastly, garnish with the chopped spring onion.
- Serve whilst hot.
- When serving, scoop out individual tortillas.
- This Beef Enchilada is best eaten whilst hot as the tortillas will be crisp. If kept longer, the tortillas tend to soften up.