Mexican Tacos

A taco is a traditional Mexican dish composed of a corn or wheat tortilla folded or rolled around a filling. A taco can be made with a variety of fillings. Here I'm giving out a homemade version where the Tacos or Tortillas are first toasted on a griddle & then baked to make them little hard. These are made with minimal oil instead of the traditional Mexican Tacos which are deep fried.

Ingredients
For Taco shells
1 cup maize flour (makai ka atta)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp carom seeds (ajwain)
1 tsp oil salt to taste
little wheat flour for dusting

For Salsa
1 cup deseeded and chopped tomatoes
1 spring onion, chopped
1 tbsp finely chopped capsicum
2 tbsp finely chopped coriander (dhania)
1 green chilli, finely chopped
1/2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera) powder
1/4 tsp fresh oregano
salt to taste

For Bean Filling
1 cup boiled kidney beans
1/4 cup boiled sweet corn
1/4 cup paneer cubes
Salt & pepper to taste
1/2 tsp Mexican seasoning
1/4 cup shredded cabbage
1/4 cup grated carrot

For Garnish
4 tbsp sour cream + 1 tbsp mixed herbs + pinch of salt
2 tbsp coriander or cilantro leaves

Method
For Taco shells
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and knead into a soft dough using warm water.
Make golf ball size balls from dough.
Roll out each ball into a thin circle. Size depends on how big you want your tacos to be.
Dust the tacos generously with flour to make the rolling easier.
Place tacos on griddle and toast on both side.
Now to make them hard you can either do with the help of tortilla maker that you get in market or you can try the other methods that follows –

a) Brush both sides of each tacos with little oil. Arrange them directly on your oven rack (bring out the rack before preheating the oven), draping them so that they are on 2 rails of the oven rack (see the picture).

b) Make tortilla cups by placing them on an inverted muffin tray (like shown in other picture).
In both cases you may want to warm your tortillas before in order to make them more pliable.

Bake at 190°C for 7 to 8 minutes or until the tortillas are crisp.
Cool and store in an air-tight container.

For Salsa
Combine all the ingredients together and refrigerate for at least 3 to 4 hours.
Mash the salsa slightly to make it like a sauce.

For Bean Filling
Slightly sauté shredded cabbage & carrots.
Add beans, corn & paneer along with salt, pepper & Mexican seasoning.
Sauté a little and keep aside.

To Assemble
First mix salsa & bean filling.
Arrange taco shells into a standing position.
Add on bean filling & salsa mix.
Top with sour cream & sprinkle coriander or cilantro.
Crunchy crisp tacos with a delicious filling are ready to be devoured!

Tips
* You can buy ready made tacos from market but I always prefer home made as then I'm sure they are fresh.
* I like to make the tacos the night before I am going to be using them, & then store in airtight container.
* You can make whatever filling you want.
* Sour cream tastes too good in this but if you don't have it then you can replace it with grated cheese.
* I used home made sour cream (it was too yummy & I'm never going to buy from market). You can refer to its RECIPE UNDER NOTES.
* Assemble these just before serving time or they will become soggy.
* If you like it spicy then spread a few pickle jalapenos on top.