Beef Enchiladas

While everyone on the blogoshpere is celebrating Cinco De Mayo and posting recipes of delicious Mexican food, I could not resist making Mexican food myself this weekend. 

To be honest I did not know about Cinco De Mayo until a week ago when every one started doing round ups of Mexican recipes, the reason being I live too far away from the US and I also donot have any Mexican friends. So I did a little research and I found out that Cinco de Mayo is celebrated in US by Mexicans in remembrance of a battle won in a small town Southeast of Mexico city. 

All the pictures and recipes of Mexican food gave me really bad cravings of enchiladas, tacos, fajitas and quesadillas so I ended up making Beef Enchiladas for Sunday night dinner. 

The enchiladas are made in 3 parts;
First, the tortillas
Second, mince filling
And third, the tomato sauce


You can use ready made tortillas also but I prefer home made ones.. Although they add more than a bit of extra work but the softness and taste is incomparable to store bought ones. So for the tortillas you will need:

1. Flour (1/2 kg)
2. Salt (1 tsp)
3. Baking Powder (1 tsp)
4. Luke warm water (for kneading)

Method:

• Knead dough like you would knead for chapati or use your stand mixer.
• When the dough stops sticking to the bowl, transfer it to a clean bowl, cover with a cloth and let rest on the kitchen counter for an hour.
• Make tortillas like chapatis are made at home or you can also use a tortilla maker.

For the mince filling and tomato sauce, you will need the following ingredients:

Ingredients for mince filling:

1. Minced beef (1/2 kg)
2. Garlic (chopped - 2 tbsp)
3. Salt (1-1/2 tsp)
4. Dried oregano (1 tsp)
5. Dried thyme (1 tsp)
6. Ground red chilies (1 tbsp)
7. Onion (julienne - 1 cup)
8. Oil (1/2 cup)

Ingredients for tomato sauce:

1. Tomatoes (4)
2. Garlic (5 cloves)
3. Salt (1/2 tsp)
4. Dried oregano (1 tsp)
5. Dried thyme (1 tsp)

Method for mince filling:

• In a pan heat oil and saute garlic.
• Add mince and all seasoning. 
• Cover and cook until water dries and mince is cooked. If the water dries before mince is properly cooked add more water and cover.
• When the mince is cooked, turn off heat, add onions and cover again.

Method for tomato Sauce:

• Put tomatoes and garlic in a blender with a splash of water and blend thoroughly
• In a pan put 2 tbsp oil and tomato/garlic mixture
• Cover and cook on low flame for about 20 minutes or until the sauce thickens.
• Turn off the heat, add salt, oregano, and thyme. Mix well.

For assembling:

1. Preheat oven to 190 degrees
2. Spread tomato sauce on a tortilla
3. Add mince filling
4. Roll and place seam side down on a baking dish.
5. Spread more tomato sauce on top and sprinkle grated cheddar cheese.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 5 minutes or until the cheese melts and tortillas become toasted and crispy.
7. Serve hot.