Layered Mexican Dip

I had prepared this dip for a Super Bowl Party. Imagine how long its been! My blogger self made sure someone takes pictures of this dip that was most certainly blog-worthy (its a different thing that these hurried pics at the party didn't come out that great!) When I read about A.W.E.D Mexico hosted at DK's Culinary Bazaar I figured this would be a good time to brush the dust off these pics! A.W.E.D is a celebration of World Cuisines and I feel it is a great way for us to try a variety of food and get to know kitchens throughout the world better! :)

I got the idea from Nupur's 3 layered Nacho dip. I made some changes here and there, added some layers and here it is. The problem is that it's been so long since I made this that I am totally lost on the measurements, thankfully this dip is pretty forgiving, measurements don't matter all that much and you can add/remove ingredients as it works for you :)

I made mine for about 12-15 people (there were other appetizers too) and everyone did enjoy it. I will list the ingredients and method layer by layer or the list will look way longer than it should :)

Layer 1 - Handful of chopped onion, 2-3 cloves of garlic, 2 Tbsp tomato ketchup, 1 tsp butter, 1 tsp cumin powder, salt to taste and 2 cups of cooked red kidney beans. Heat butter, saute onions and garlic, add salt and cumin powder. Saute for a minute, add ketchup and beans (I used canned - removed the liquid and washed the beans)and mix well. Cook till the beans are slightly mushy. I just used my pressure cooker and cooked to 1 whistle. Make sure most of the liquid is dried out. If in a time crunch, you can skip the cooking with onion garlic part. Simply mixing up beans, salt, cumin, red chile powder and ketchup works very well too.

Layer 2 - Mix very finely chopped bell-peppers (all the colors work out well, a mix looks really pretty), onions, tomatoes, cilantro and jalapenos. Add a dash of lemon juice and salt to taste and set aside.

Layer 3 - Heat 1 tsp butter in a non-stick pan, add chopped jalapenos and a cup of frozen corn (washed - its ok if it is not thawed), toss till the corn begins to turn golden. Add a dash of salt.

Layer 4 - Here is the most fun layer. Grind a handful of cilantro and jalapeno with a little salt, cumin powder and a dash of lemon juice to a paste. Fold this in sour creme (light sour creme works just fine) and mix well. Add a tsp or two of milk if the sour creme mix doesn't feel very 'spreadable'.

Layer 5 - Shredded Mexican cheese mix (or any cheese of your choice - cheddar and jack work well), chopped spring onions.

Assembling-
1. Make sure the beans mix is dry and cool, spread it in a glass bowl. Lightly sprinkle some shredded cheese.
2. Remove the juices released from the veggie mix and spread on top of the beans mix. I didn't have the heart to do that, but if you let the juices remain, the dip tends to get very watery.
3. Spread the corn-jalapeno mix. Add a few dashes of Tabasco/Chalula or any Mexican hot sauce all over the layer. It seeps into the bottom layers too.
4. Spread the flavored sour creme.
5. Finally, sprinkle shredded cheese and spring onions.
6. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours for the flavors to blend.



Serve with Tortilla chips! You can add more layers - this dip leaves a lot up to your imagination. A layer of guacamole should be great! Thanks Nupur for the lovely idea! :)



So this Mexican dip is off to Culinary Bazaar for DK's "A Worldly Epicurean’s Delight – In short A.W.E.D." event! Thank you for hosting DK, this is a great concept!

Some other Mexican recipes on my blog - Veggie Quesedillas with guacamole and fresh salsa and Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

Veggie Quesedillas

My husband is a picky eater when it comes to eating veggies. Think about it, a vegetarian, picky about veggies... doesn't add up :D But wrap and roll the veggies in sandwiches, mash them in a bhaji, stuff them in parathas, simmer them in tomatoey gravies, blend them in a soup, hide them in a quesedilla and he won't complain! You get the picture right? So, this recipe of quesedilla works very well for me and he loves it! This recipe is again inspired by Nupur's Wild Mushroom quesedillas :)

Here's what you need:
1. Tortillas
2. Any cheese of your choice, we *always* use hot pepper jack and love it!
3. Veggies like onions, mushrooms, bell peppers (all possible colors :)), zucchini, corn, chopped spinach and anything else that you can think of! I like to use veggies which get tender on a little sauteing and are not watery.
4. Butter
5. Salt and black pepper

Here's what you do:
1. Heat a little butter in a frying pan (wider the better) - add onions, corn and mushrooms, saute for a couple of minutes.
2. Add rest of the veggies and saute till just tender. Add spinach at the end. Add salt and pepper. 3. Place a tortilla on a flat surface, sprinkle some cheese all over. Spread the veggies. You can add pickled jalapeno rings too.
4. Spread another layer of cheese and place another tortilla over. Make sure the tortillas you pick are similar sized.
5. Now heat a flat pan (tava), apply a little butter and place the quesedilla on it. The flame should be medium-slow. Press slightly and flip after a minute or so. Repeat on the other side.
6. Remove from flame and cut into slices.

Here's how you serve: We normally eat quesedillas with fresh salsa, guacamole and light-sour creme (occasionally).

For the salsa: I use the chopper attachment in my hand-blender to prepare salsa. I chop 1 tomato, a little bit of onion, some cilantro, a little lime juice, salt, and 2-3 pickled jalapeno rings (or you can use any kind of fresh green pepper, depending on how hot you want your salsa). Slightly blend all this together to get a chunky salsa.

For the guacamole: Take the flesh of a ripe avocado, mash it or blend it in your blender. Add lime juice while doing this to avoid discoloration. Add a 2 tbsps of finely chopped onions, tomatoes and cilantro. You can also add green pepper and garlic if you prefer. Add salt and guacamole is ready. Very tasty and very healthy!



Parthiv loves these quesedillas and I do too! They are quick, colorful, tasty and you can make them quite nutritious with a wise selection of veggies. You can also add any kind of cooked beans to the veggies while sauteing. It makes a good appetizer when serving to a large crowd. They can be made in advance and lightly reheated in the oven before serving. Or if you will have time to roast the tortillas, you can assemble them in advance and roast just before serving.