As I sit down to pen this post, I scribbled an addition to my weekend grocery list. Get 'IT 'again ! The Mystery Ingredient, which is transforming my kitchen in to Kitchen Stadium for the last few days. It all started off with some Smoked Salmon on crackers for a weekend dinner.But the saga continues in full swing.Omelets, Burgers, and what not !!! So why not some Quesadillas,we thought. Ever since I since I have picked up the large chunk of Gouda, I have been cheating my conscience into ODing myself with cheese. I keep convincing my guilty conscience that I am not just polishing it off with wine, but I am also using it as an ingredient in different dishes. The things we do, to cheat our way through our diets. But all is fair when it comes to such good cheese, isn't it ! Its meant to savored in as many ways possible. Given the fact, I have a partner who feels the same way, just makes it easier for me. The Quesadillas with the desi touch became such a hit, when hubby took them for lunch, the next day, that we are having a Quessadilla Party, this weekend. Everyone wants a slice of it.Touchdown !!!
TANDOORI CHICKEN QUESADILLAS:
Ingredients:
Chicken Thighs or Chicken Breast: 1/2 lb
Onion: 1: cut into slivers
Bell Pepper: 1: cut into slivers
Tandoori Masala: 1 tbsp
Cayenne Pepper: 1 1/2 tsp(adjust according to heat preferences)
Olive Oil: A few tbsp for marination
Gouda Cheese: 1/2 cup: Grated (can also use Cheddar)
Cooking Spray or Canola Oil
Flour Tortillas: 4-6 medium sized ones.
Salt: to taste
Procedure:
Rub the chicken pieces with Olive Oil. Then marinate them in Cayenne Pepper, Salt and Tandoori Masala for an hour at least.
Pre-heat the oven to 350F. Bake the chicken at 350F for around 25-30 minutes. Make sure to turn the chicken pieces, midway during the cooking process, and discard any cooking liquid which might have accumulated in the pan. Cook them till they are fork tender.
In the meantime, fry the onion and bell pepper slivers in some oil, till the onion slices turn translucent. If you want some extra heat, throw in some jalapeno slices too. Well, I had run out of bell peppers, hence I had to stick to just onion. Drain them on a paper towel and keep aside.
Cool the chicken and then shred them with two forks. Meanwhile, dry roast the tortillas on a skillet and keep aside.
Grate the cheese and keep aside.
For assembling the Quesadillas, take a non stick skillet and spray some cooking spray on it. In case you do not have cooking spray and then just add some vegetable oil or canola oil. Add in one tortilla, and then some chicken.
Some more chicken does not hurt.
Layer it with some fried onion and peppers.
Go generous with the cheese. Do not cringe please !
Top it with another Tortilla as you would do with a normal sandwich. Press the tortilla down a bit, so that the fillings do not tumble down in to the pan.
Turn it over and cook it on the skillet for around a minute. Take the quesadilla off the flame and keep it in a baking dish. Repeat the same for the other tortillas and assemble the rest of the quesadillas.
Finally bake the Quesadillas in a 350F oven for around 3-4 minutes. The idea is to melt the cheese properly.
Cut in to 4 slices and serve hot.
Bon Appetit !!!
It was Hubby's idea for some Desi style Mexican delights, which led to a tasty start to the week.Who goes wrong when you have such a decadent hunk of Cheese.I know, what you must be thinking. Why such an unusual choice of Cheese for making Quesadillas?! The choice should have been White or Yellow sharp Cheddar. Well,the smoked Gouda we picked up, has become super addictive for us. Hence, the Parm, the Feta, and the Cheddar took a backseat, for the whole of last week.Its a hunk of Smoked Dutch Gouda, which had been aged for 6 months. Not too long, but it has just the right bite, and the right creaminess, when you bite into it over some crackers and some good wine and some olives.It just gets better, when you melt it over some juicy Chorizo burgers or in some Quesadillas. Then you take a bite, you can only close your eyes, and mumble to yourself: Life is good !
Tandoori Chicken in burgers, have been quite popular on many television shows.Even shredded Tandoori Chicken on Pita bread, for some fusion Gyros,have been raved and ranted about. So when hubby heard of some fusion Quesadillas, he suggested Tandoori Chicken, but with a twist.He marinated some Chicken thighs, in Tandoori Powder, Cayenne Pepper, Salt, and some Olive Oil.No, there was no quintessential Yogurt, in this Tandoori Party. The Olive Oil acted as a binder, making all the spices stick to the meat, as they marinated. Then off they went to the oven ! Midway, during the cooking process, he threw off the cooking liquid, which had accumulated in the baking dish. This prevented the chicken pieces from being soggy. Once the poultry was cooked to perfection, he let it cool down and shredded it, and then I assembled the quesadillas, as he got some good lemonade to go with dinner.Needless to say, the partnership of the Tandoori Chicken and the Smoked Gouda rocked the meal.
TANDOORI CHICKEN QUESADILLAS:
Ingredients:
Chicken Thighs or Chicken Breast: 1/2 lb
Onion: 1: cut into slivers
Bell Pepper: 1: cut into slivers
Tandoori Masala: 1 tbsp
Cayenne Pepper: 1 1/2 tsp(adjust according to heat preferences)
Olive Oil: A few tbsp for marination
Gouda Cheese: 1/2 cup: Grated (can also use Cheddar)
Cooking Spray or Canola Oil
Flour Tortillas: 4-6 medium sized ones.
Salt: to taste
Procedure:
Rub the chicken pieces with Olive Oil. Then marinate them in Cayenne Pepper, Salt and Tandoori Masala for an hour at least.
Pre-heat the oven to 350F. Bake the chicken at 350F for around 25-30 minutes. Make sure to turn the chicken pieces, midway during the cooking process, and discard any cooking liquid which might have accumulated in the pan. Cook them till they are fork tender.
In the meantime, fry the onion and bell pepper slivers in some oil, till the onion slices turn translucent. If you want some extra heat, throw in some jalapeno slices too. Well, I had run out of bell peppers, hence I had to stick to just onion. Drain them on a paper towel and keep aside.
Cool the chicken and then shred them with two forks. Meanwhile, dry roast the tortillas on a skillet and keep aside.
For assembling the Quesadillas, take a non stick skillet and spray some cooking spray on it. In case you do not have cooking spray and then just add some vegetable oil or canola oil. Add in one tortilla, and then some chicken.
Some more chicken does not hurt.
Layer it with some fried onion and peppers.
Go generous with the cheese. Do not cringe please !
Top it with another Tortilla as you would do with a normal sandwich. Press the tortilla down a bit, so that the fillings do not tumble down in to the pan.
Turn it over and cook it on the skillet for around a minute. Take the quesadilla off the flame and keep it in a baking dish. Repeat the same for the other tortillas and assemble the rest of the quesadillas.
Finally bake the Quesadillas in a 350F oven for around 3-4 minutes. The idea is to melt the cheese properly.
Bon Appetit !!!
:) bon appetit indeed. great recipe, and a good way of using up leftovers too.
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot! A great way of using up leftovers indeed !!!
ReplyDelete