Indian-ish Nachos, an adaptation

Ever so slightly tweaked...

May 30, 2021

So much for the unofficial start of summer — I’m writing to you from cold rainy Brooklyn, where the weather is about 40 degrees colder than it was last weekend. But if you’re in the same boat, this month’s recipe may cheer you up a little!

RECIPE: Indian-ish Nachos, an adaptation

I’m still adjusting to some changes on the work front, while slowly reemerging into a post-vaccination world and simultaneously knitting up a storm, not for myself, but more for friends and family far and wide that I’m hoping we’ll be able to see in person sooner rather than later. So I haven’t been super creative in the kitchen recently, though I did have some fun with this recipe for Indian-ish Nachos from Priya and Ritu Krishna in NYT Cooking. While this preparation is probably well-suited for a party, I straight up made these for dinner one night, when I wanted to use up very random ingredients in our kitchen without spending to much time prepping the meal. I made some small changes to my version, using a Mexican blend cheese (I try my best to buy fresh cheese, but sometimes the pre-shredded version ends up in our fridge) and opting to use zucchini rather than tomatoes (my nemesis) as the veggie of choice here. It was still delicious and I expect this can be a very easy-to-adjust dish for anyone.

Ingredients:

Cilantro Chutney

Two to three cups of roughly chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1 small Indian green chili (serrano or a smaller jalapeno would also do) - roughly chopped with the stem removed

Juice from a fresh lime

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar

For the main nachos

A 15-ounce can of black beans, drained and rinsed

Approximately 8 ounces of white tortilla chips (unsalted would be better)

1 medium red onion, finely chopped

1 green zucchini, diced

2-4 cups shredded Pepperjack cheese (or a Mexican blend) - add cheese according to preference - I kept ours on the lighter side in an attempt to be healthy

1/4 cup tamarind sauce (the original recipe offers an alternative option of: 1/4 cup date syrup or maple syrup whisked with a tablespoon of lime juice)

For the chhonk

1/4 cup ghee (or a neutral cooking oil)

2 tablespoons cumin seeds

A pinch red chili powder (I like to use deggi mirch for anything remotely Indian, but you could use cayenne)

Instructions:

Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Meanwhile, combine the chutney ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. You can add up to a couple of tablespoons of water if the mixture is thick, and/or adjust the amount of salt and lime juice. (Personal disclaimer - I had to use a mini food processor and my chutney wasn’t quite a perfect chutney consistency, but it was still very flavorful!)
Mash the beans with a fork and lightly salt them. On a foil-lined 13 by 18 sheet pan, spread out half the chips, then layer on half the onions, beans, zucchini and cheese. Add one more layer of chips, along with the onions, beans, zucchini and cheese. Bake for 10 minutes on the top rack of the oven until the cheese is bubbling.
Prep the chhonk while the nachos cook: Heat the ghee on medium-high in a small pan, then once the ghee melts, add the cumin seeds until they sputter and turn brown (this takes about 15 to 20 seconds). Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the chili powder.
When you’ve taken the nachos out of the oven, drizzle the tamarind sauce, cilantro chutney and chhonk on top. Dig in!

Notes

Adapted from Priya Krishnna and Ritu Krishna in NYT Cooking. And here’s a picture of the tamarind sauce I like to use:

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

I don’t believe I shared the link to this Platings + Pairings recipe for Strawberry Ricotta Cake, though I did Instagram it the first time I made it last year. I made it again this year for Mother’s Day and it was a huge hit, so I thought I should share it with you here. Highly recommend.

BITES OF CULTURE

I have been gushing about Crying In H Mart, the memoir by Michelle Zauner (Japanese Breakfast), to anyone who’ll listen. It’s a tale of grief (her mother’s death), grappling with a mixed identity… and it features the most wonderful memories of food. It may be a heavy topic, but I read this book all in one night and found it incredibly poignant and accessible. I also recently read Charles Yu’s Interior Chinatown and enjoyed it quite a bit.

We’re gearing up for the Mare of Easttown finale here in our home tonight, but I meanwhile convinced my husband to watch The Nanny. He didn’t quite believe me when I said how funny and smart it was, and now I find him laughing harder at some of the jokes than I am. This episode of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour is a lot of fun in case you’ve been revisiting the sitcom too. And we just watched the movie Plan B on Hulu — it is raunchy in parts (so do not watch it in the presence of very young kids), but I’d recommend it.

Thanks for reading this edition of Rad Dishes! You can follow me on my occasionally updated Instagram account and my extremely irregularly updated Twitter. A streamlined version of Rad Dishes (the original food blog) is here.