Chalupa

Contrary to the popular assumption, we eat dal and a green vegetable two times a day for 4-5 days in a week. If you ask my 4 yr old what he wants to eat for lunch or dinner, his standard response is “Roti, Dal, Dahi”. So to break the monotony of the week, I try to make something special on the rest of the days. Last weekend was Mexican night! I love Mexican food. It’s one of the most loved cuisines all over the world. Its taste is so similar to that of Indian cuisine that it’s very easy to like it from the word “get-go”.

ChalupaI love Chalupas. My husband introduced me to them when I first came to this country which is not surprising at all as he didn’t cook much before marriage (Not that he does any, now!! 🙂 ) and so he had to rely upon few popular vegetarian options available at food-franchises apart from the frozen meals. Chalupa was one of them. But the disadvantage of eating food from a food-franchise is that everything is standardized to such an extent that the food tastes like it’s being churned out from a factory and not a restaurant. It becomes such a mindless process of serving the same thing one after the other, after the other that very little thought goes into the making of that dish, let alone making that dish with the love it requires. That’s one of the reasons that we hardly ever eat at a food franchise, now. As cliché as it may sound but if the food is not made with love, it will not be loved!

ChalupaThese Chalupas came out really good. Although it has too many elements to prepare, it is totally worth it! Except for the guacamole and bread, pretty much everything can be made a day in advance, if needed. Crispy fried bread topped with flavorful beans, creamy guacamole, tangy salsa, crunchy lettuce and everyone’s favorite ‘cheesy-cheese’ made it quite a treat and a very popular, thoroughly relished and repeatedly requested ‘Mexican Night’!

Chalupa

Prep Time: 40 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Yield: 7-8 chalupas

Ingredients

    For the shell/bread
  • 2 cups All purpose flour
  • 3/4 tbsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 tbsp. shortening (or ghee)
  • 3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. milk
  • Oil to fry the shells.
    • For the Guacamole
  • 1 1/2 ripe avocado
  • 1 1/2 tbsp. lime juice
  • 3 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tomato, diced
  • 1/2 cup diced onion
  • 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
    • For the Refried Beans
  • 1 cup pinto beans
  • 1 tbsp. oil
  • 1/2 tbsp. butter
  • 3 large cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 cup diced onion
  • 3/4 tsp roasted cumin powder
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 sprigs cilantro, chopped
    • For Salsa
  • 4 ripe tomatoes, diced
  • 1/2 red onion, diced
  • 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
  • 2 -3 jalapeños, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp. fresh lime juice
  • salt and pepper to taste
    • For toppings
  • Mexican cheese or cheddar cheese, shredded
  • sour cream or thick yogurt (I used yogurt)
  • 3-4 spring onions
  • Lettuce

Instructions

    For the Refried Beans
  1. Soak the beans in water 4-5 hours before preparing them.
  2. Boil the beans in a pressure cooker just like kidney beans.
  3. Now in a pan, heat oil and butter. Add garlic, onions and salt to it.
  4. When the onions are cooked properly, add cumin powder and chili powder.
  5. Add cilantro towards the end.
    6. For Salsa
  6. To the tomatoes, add onion, cilantro, jalapeños, lime juice, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
    7. For the Guacamole
  7. Mash the avocado with a fork. It's okay of there are small chunks of avocado in it.
  8. Add lime juice to it. It also helps in preventing the browning of avocados apart from imparting flavor.
  9. Add garlic, salt, tomatoes, onions and cilantro. Keep aside.
    10. For the shells
  10. To the flour, add salt, baking powder and shortening. Mix well.
  11. Add milk to make a soft dough. The dough will be sticky at this point.
  12. Cover it and keep it aside for 10-15 minutes.
  13. Grease you hand and make about 7-8 equal size balls.
  14. With a rolling pin, roll the ball into 7-8 inch Chalupa shell.
  15. Heat the oil in a wok on medium high. Put the shell into the oil and let it fry till it is light golden-brown.
  16. Fry all the chalupas. and fold them into half.
    17. To Assemble
  17. Unfold the Chalupa and spread the beans all over.
  18. Put lettuce leave over it.
  19. Put guacamole, salsa, yogurt, cheese and spring onions on it, fold it again and Serve.
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