Chile Relleno with Home-made Tomato Sauce

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It all started with uber delicious Mysore Bonda, then we moved on to making Vegetarian Rogan Josh and last month we all munched on some crunchy Cornmeal-Orange Cookies.Yes, it is time for some free-spirit-blogging again. For the month of August, I chose the theme as - "Favourite Main Course Dish which we had in any Restaurant". We all have our favorites, don't we. those bajjias from your favorite stall which you crave in the middle of the night, the yummy dessert dish which you had in a restaurant during one of your travels that always stays with you and the taste still lingers in your mouth. I wanted my FSB pals to re-create the magic in their own kitchens.

I have my absolute favorites too. Bagels and Cream Cheese for instance. Are you one of them who associate food memories with some distinct places? I do that all the time. I had some of the best bagels in NYC and then in Washington DC. I ate them every single day, for breakfast. Whenever I think of Bagels, they remind me of the wonderful times I had and the fun people I met in these two cities.

Then, I moved to California.

That is when I fell in love with Mexican cuisine. It all started with Chipotle, then I moved on to visiting local, nameless restaurants in Mountain View which served hands down some of the best quesadillas, salsas and chile rellenos I ever had. I would always go for a full mexican platter complete with - fresh guacamole, sour cream, rice and beans. For me, Chile Relleno reminds me of Mountain View, California.

...and today, I have tried to recreate the same mexican flavors in my indian kitchen. It is not just food that is important here, it is also the place at which I had this dish almost every alternate day that take precedence. As I sat with my plate of Chile Relleno today, I thought about all those dinners, where I used to go all alone right from work. Alone because S used to work very late in the night and I also knew we would move back to India someday. So, those 10 months were the only time, where I could taste these goodies to the fullest. those were the days which I will always cherish and will forever be with me whenever I taste some good Mexican food. :-)

Chile Relleno with home-made Tomato Sauce

Adapted from various internet sources

Ingredients:

For Chile Relleno

3 long Peppers (preferred: Poblano Peppers, I used Anaheim variety)
1/2 cup Maida/All purpose flour
1/4 cup Cheddar Cheese, grated or sliced
1/4 cup Milk
1 Egg, beaten
1/2 tsp Baking powder
1/2 tsp Baking soda
Salt and Red pepper flakes - to taste
1 tsp Oil
Oil - for shallow frying

For Tomato Sauce:

3 tbsp Olive oil
1 Onion, finely chopped
3-4 Garlic cloves, finely minced
2 Tomatoes
1/4 cup Tomato puree
Salt and Black pepper - to taste

Preparation:

Chile Relleno -

1. Make a vertical slit to the peppers and remove the seeds and membranes. Note: for a smoky flavor, slightly char them a little and cool. or Use as-is. I tried both charred & uncharred versions and they taste equally yummy

2. In a small bowl, combine maida, milk, egg, baking powder, baking soda, salt and a tsp of oil. Spinkle some red pepper flakes over the batter and whisk well.

3. Stuff each of the peppers with the cheese.

4. Heat enough oil in a wide pan. Roll each pepper into the batter, carefully dip and fry in oil until light golden brown. Using a slotted spoon, remove them onto paper towels to drain excess oil.

Tomato Sauce -

1. Blanch tomatoes for few minutes in hot water.

2. Heat olive oil in a pan and saute onions & garlic until translucent. Mix in sliced, blanced tomatoes and cook until mushy. Add tomato puree with salt & pepper. Add about 1 cup of water to bring it to a thick saucy consistency. Cover and cook for few minutes.

Assembling -

Spoon some tomato sauce on a plate and place chile rellenos on top. Serve with cilantro-lime rice, beans and guacamole on the side to make it a complete mexican platter.

Check out what other FSB members cooked for this month's challenge -

Anu - Gobhi 65
Nags - Murugan Idli Kadai Idli
Lataji - Potato and Aubergine Gratin with Greens

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until next time,
Siri