Nachos with Mexican Sour Cream Dip

"This dip is much better than the store bought ones".. was the first comment I got for this sour cream dip.. Its a creamy dip laden with salsa and cheese.. Served with Nachos.. A match made in heaven.. Its a qucik recipe which you can make well in advance and serve your guests or family instantly.. You can even use this dip as a topping on toasts as well.. Its sure to entice your taste buds in any way you like...

Ingredients:

For the salsa:

1 tomato finely chopped

1/2 onion finely chopped

1/2 capsicum finely chopped

2tbsp tomato ketchup

2tbsp chilli garlic sauce

1tsp tobasco sauce (optional, i prefer though)

1tsp vinegar

1tbsp coriander chopped

1/4 tsp salt

Other Ingredients:

4-5tbsp sour cream

1/2 cup cheddar cheese grated / any other cheese you prefer

Method: Mix all the ingredients of salsa and keep aside for an hour or two so that the flavours blend well.. Then add in sour cream and cheese and mix well.. Serve it immediately with nachos or any chips you like.. Can even make this dip in advance and refrigerate and serve cold with nachos..

Note : If you dont have sour cream, you can substitute it with 3tbsp mayonnaise and 1tbsp yoghurt..

 Chopped tomatoes, onions and capsicum

 Add in all the sauces and salt

 Mix well and leave aside for an hour

 Sour Cream, cheddar cheese and salsa

 Mix all ingredients well

Serve with nachos..

Nachos with Baked Chilli Cheese Corn

Nachos are supposed to be loved by all alike.. It serves as a perfect evening snack.. I generally like having nachos topped with sour cream, guacamole and few topping (corn, kidney beans, capsicum, tomatoes ).. But it is rare that i find avocado anywhere near my place.. So having nachos topped with guacamole was very rare.. I had to find an alternative to spice up my love for nachos..  And then I came up with this version of baked chilli cheese corn to be served with nachos.. And trust me, this cheesy delight is an amazing thing to be served with nachos.. You can make individual servings in ramekins or bake it in a big baking dish at once, it is sure to please the crowd.

Ingredients:

1 pack nachos

1/4 cup corn

1/4 cup kidney beans boiled

1 small green capsicum chopped

handful of olives sliced

2 jalapenos chopped

Salt

Red chilli flakes

Oregano

1/4 cup of mozarella cheese grated

1/4 cup cheddar cheese grated

For Cheese Sauce -

1tbsp butter

1tbsp flour

1/2 cup milk

2 cubes grated processed cheese

Salt

Pepper

Method: Preheat oven at 180c.. For the white sauce - Heat butter in a pan and add flour and cook for a minute of 2 till the raw smell disappears.. Donot brown.. Gradually add in milk.. Whisk till it becomes thick.. Add in salt, pepper and grated cheese.. Mix well and keep aside. Once cooled slightly add in corn, kidney beans, capsicum and all the herbs and spices.. Mix well. Mix both the cheeses ie mozarella and cheddar and keep seperately.. Take a ramekin mould.. Layer half the mould with the filling and top with mixed cheese.. Again layer it with filling and top with cheese and bake at 180c for around 20mins till cheese browns slightly on top... Remove from oven.. Give a standing time of 5mins as it would be super hot.. Serve with nachos..

Note - You can add any veggies of your choice.
If not for cheese sauce, add in 3-4 tbsp of cream cheese.. Even that would give an amazing taste..

In case you want a lighter version of the same, donot bake and serve the filling as a salad with nachos and cheese sauce on the side.

Cheese Layered Braided Flower Brioche

A very interesting recipe which i came across in one of the food shows... Its basically a pizza serve in a different way, in the form of a braided flower... Brioche is a french bread rich in butter.. This is the base of the recipe..

Making this dish from the scratch was an amazing experience.. I have never made pizza dough or bread at home before.. Kneading the dough and then seeing it rise double in size, gave me the confidence that my recipe was going in the right direction... And then when i saw how to braid the flower shape, i was skeptical if i would be able to make it right.. But as i proceeded with it,, it was even more fun and interesting to work with.. It gave me a very artistic feel.. Its a must try atleast once.. Here in the recipe i may not be able to explain the steps that goes in flower making really well, so im attaching a link also which will guide you with it...

I have used my own home made pizza sauce.. You can either make your own or even use a store bought.. For the filling if you donot have variety of cheese, you can still proceed with any cheese that is available to you

You can experiment with the fillings of your choice and liking.. I have mentioned the variations that you can make in this ...

Filling variation 1 - greek yoghurt/hung yoghurt as base and filling of shredded cheese, onions, red pepper flakes, mustard paste, salt and pepper

Filling variation 2 - pesto sauce as base and filling of mozarella cheese and tomatoes

Filling variation 3 - Nutella for a sweet version.. Warm it in microwave so that it is easier to spread on the layers..

For the brioche dough

2 cups all purpose flour / maida

1tbsp sugar

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2tsp instant yeast

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup luke warm water

For the filling

1 1/2 cup pizza sauce (click here to get the recipe)

1/2 cup gouda cheese

1/2 cup cheddar cheese

1/2 cup montery jack cheese

2tsp oregano

2tsp red chilli flakes

1tsp garlic powder (optional)

1tsp all purpose flour

Method: Mix all the ingredients of filling except pizza sauce and keep aside.. All purpose flour is added so that the cheese does not stick to each other and it is easy to handle the filling.. Keep aside..

For the dough - Add yeast and sugar in water and keep aside till it froths.. Mix butter and milk, heat if necessary to mix it well.. Cool.. Add salt in all purpose flour and mix well. Add in the yeast mixture and the milk mixture and knead well to form a soft dough.. Knead it well for 10mins and then place it in a bowl greased with oil.. Cover it with a muslin cloth and keep it in warm place for around an hour till it doubles in size.. Take out the dough onto the flour and knead again for a min.. Cut it into 4 equal parts and roll out into a 9 inch round chapati.. Make all four in similar way..

Preheat oven at 200c.. Now grease an oven proof plate... Place one chapati in plate and spread generous amount of pizza sauce evenly.. Top it with 1/3rd of cheese filling.. Place another rolled chapati on top and again spread pizza sauce and cheese.. Again place a rolled chapati and again top it with pizza sauce and cheese.. Finally cover it with the last rolled chapati.. This way you get 3 stuffed layers of pizza sauce and cheese filling between 4 chapatis.. Now put a small glass or cup in the centre and press it slightly to make a round mark.. From this mark till the end, first divide it into 4 parts.. Then again divide this into 8 parts and then in 16.. Remember to make the incisions only from the round mark till the outer end.. Donot cut it till centre.. Now that it is divided in 16 equal parts, take 2 parts and twist it in outward direction twice and then pinch the ends together.. Handle it with care as it is the most delicate part in the whole process.. This is one petal.. Make all 8 petals the same way.. Brush it lightly with milk and bake at 200c for 25-30mins till the top turns golden.. Remove from the oven and rub butter all over for the extra glaze.. Serve hot..

                                        After kneading the dough

                                          After 1 hr it has risen double in volume

                                           Cut it into 4 equal parts

                                                    Home made pizza sauce

                                                    Mixture of cheese filling

                                         Spreading pizza sauce and cheese filling on first layer

Made all 4 layers and making a mark with a bowl

                                               Divided into 16 equal parts

                                                           Making petals by twisting 2 parts at a time

Cheese layered braided flower brioche ready to be baked

                                          After baking

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxaDxiqTiT0 - Click to see the video of braided flower