Ali Cooks: Traditional Mexican Red Enchiladas--Ali Style

 

Soooo...I made enchiladas.  I've been wanting to make enchiladas for Brian for AGES, but...it just hadn't happened...until yesterday.  Yes, yesterday it happened.  But...I kinda failed.  A lot.

I mean, sure I liked what I cooked.  It just...wasn't what it was supposed to be.  At the end of the cooking chaos, I ended up with only three enchiladas that were completed and ready to eat.  (And let's just say that three enchiladas does not adequately make enough of a dinner for Brian and me to eat and be satisfied.)  Don't worry, I ate two of the enchiladas after Brian legitimately ate his, and then I made him a delicious, cheesy quesadilla (with red pepper flakes!).  See, here's the quesadilla I made him: 

 (I cut his quesadilla into triangles because I told Brian it tastes better that way.)

 But...back to the enchiladas.  See, they require a homemade sauce.  So I

got to buy dried chili peppers.  It was mildly exciting except being in Terre Haute, Indiana, chili peppers are expensive.  So for $5, I justified buying about two ounces of chili peppers.  I was SO EXCITED to make this enchilada dish that I didn't adjust the other measurements to make up for the lack of chili peppers.  And I think when making a sauce, those measurements are kinda important.  You know, because it needs to be a LIQUID consistency.

So yeah, I made a delicious-smelling mixture that was SUPER spicy.  Blending it up wasn't working so well though.  And then attempting to extract the liquid from the mixture was even less successful.  THAT ladies and gentlemen, is why only three enchiladas resulted from last night's cooking festivities.

Ah well.  The sauce was spicy and complex (I was honestly worried it would be too spicy for Brian--but I think he's doing better with spicy food and actually enjoyed it!)  Also, I added some Greek yogurt to calm down the spice a bit, which Brian suggested, so he's becoming quite the culinary connoisseur.

 Here's my suggestion:  If you want to make the below recipe, go for it.  Otherwise, I'd say maybe just find a simpler enchilada recipe, possibly even one that you bake instead of fry (because that was quite an expedition, too).  But hey, if you have the ingredients right, it might be delicious AND successful!  Who knows...

 

Traditional Mexican Red Enchiladas

*adapted from littleinspiration.com

 

Ingredients

Sauce:

4 oz red dried chili California (About 10-15 Chili Pods - Seedless and without stem)

2 Cups of water
½ cup of pumpkin seeds (raw)
1 tbsp of cumin powder
1 tbsp of kosher salt

Tortillas
Shredded Cheese
Canola Oil for frying

 

Instructions

In a medium size boiling pot, add two cups of water and bring to a boil.   Add the chili pods and let them simmer until soft and tender.  Let the chilis cool completely in the pod.Next, add all chili pods to a blender, plus about 1 cup of water from the pot, cumin powder, pumpkin seeds and salt.  Blend well for about 3-5 minutes.

Using a food strainer mesh, add the sauce and strain with a spoon until all sauce is strained into a large bowl.

Add a few drizzles of oil to a frying pan and heat to a medium temperature.
Dip a tortilla into the enchilada sauce until is all covered.  Add the dipped tortilla to the frying pan and fry for about 2 minutes each side.   Carefully flip them over using a spatula.
Transfer over to a plate, add shredded cheese, and roll into a burrito.

Next:  EAT!