Cheesy nachos with crispy maize tortilla
Crispy fried tortilla chips slathered with melting gooey cheese , Cheesy nachos is just the perfect dish to bring a smile on anyone’s face !
Although technically nachos is a Mexican dish , the nachos that we get in India is a hybrid version of the Tex – Mex nachos suited to Indian taste buds. The Tex – Mex version itself is the hybridized American version of cheesy nachos.
In this recipe I have double cooked the tortilla i.e. roasted it first and then fried it. This results in crispy nachos chips unfailingly. Because we are frying pre – roasted tortilla, it becomes crispy faster as opposed to raw tortilla dough , so we don’t need to fry it for longer, because of which the fried tortillas remain brighter in colour and don’t become too brown.
To make the cheese sauce I would recommend using cheese slices or cheese spread,as opposed to cheese cubes. Because they contain more moisture and are easly to melt in the bechamel sauce base.
I have served these cheesy nachos with some salsa fresca, the recipe of which I have also included below.
You can also try out this delicious thin crust pizza recipe which I have made without using an oven !!
CHEESY NACHOS WITH HOME MADE CRISPY TORTILLA CHIPS
- Prep Time: 30mis
- Cook Time: 30mins
- Total Time: 60 mins
- Yield: 150 grams chips
Ingredients
INGREDIENTS
For the Tortilla Chips
Maize flour – 50gm or 1/4th cup
All purpose flour -50gms or 1/4th cup
Salt- 1/4 tsp
Oregano – 1/4tsp
For the Cheese Sauce
Butter- 2tbsp
All purpose flour/ maida – 1 tbsp
Milk – 200 ml or 1 cup
Cheese slices – 4
Salt
Yellow colour
For the Salsa
Chopped tomato – 1 cup or 1.5 medium size tomato
Chopped onion – 1/4cup or 1 small
Ketchup -2 tbsp
Salt and sugar to taste
Jalapeno – 4 or 5 chopped finely
Oregano -1/4 tsp
Cumin powder -1/8 tsp
Coriander leaves chopped -1 tbsp
Instructions
For the Tortilla Chips
- Make a semi soft dough with the maize flour, salt, All purpose flour and water. I have added turmeric for colour and oregano for flavour.
- Cover and keep it aside for 15 – 20 mins.
- Divide it into equal sized round balls and roll into very thin circles. Try to roll it as thinly as possible to get very crispy chips.
- Cook these tortillas on a hot roti pan on both sides till light brown spots appear. Don’t let the spots become too dark or over cook the tortilla. We only have to par cook it. For more details watch the video.
- Once they are cooled, With the help of a pastry brush or tissue paper , dust off the excess flour.
- Cut them into triangles to resemble nachos chips.
- In a wide frying pan, heat oil. Fry the chips till they become crispy. You will notice that the oil has stopped bubbling when the chips are done.
- Remove them on a kitchen towel so that excess oil is drained off.
For the Cheese Sauce
- In a pan, melt butter. Add the all purpose flour and stir continuously. Roast till the raw smell goes off but don’t let the clour darken.
- Add the milk while stirring continuously. It will begin thickening within 5-7 minutes. Be careful so that the sauce doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
- If lumps form, you can pass it through a sieve or crush them using a hand blender.
- Add cheese slices, salt and yellow colour. Instead of yellow colour you can use turmeric powder too. Wait for the cheese to melt completely.
For the Salsa/ Pico De Gallo
- Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and mash lightly with a fork. Serve cold.
Notes
1. Use maize flour i.e. makai ka atta for this recipe. DO NOT use cornflour, they are 2 different products.
2. Rolling the tortilla thinly is very important. If it is thick, it will not become crispy and will remain chewy after frying. Also you may need to fry it for a longer time that will change the colour to brown instead of bright yellow.
3. The oil for frying should be medium hot. If it is too cold then the tortillas will absorb a lot of oil and if it is too hot the chips may become too brown before becoming crispy or they may even burn.
4. You can use grated cheese cubes also. But cheese slices melt easily. If you use cheese spread you will need to use a larger quantity.
You can watch the video recipe here :-
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