Mexican Chilli Relleno

Mexican cuisine has attracted me too much lately and I have been craving for tortillas and variety of salsas. :)

The hunger for Mexican food increased after I attended a 3 hour work shop of the cuisine conducted by Chef Suresh Thampan of Courtyard Marriott. He was truly professional in what he taught and gave us a lot of tips about the cuisine. Sweet pepper and red bean soup, Tortilla salad, Caesar salad, Chilli Relleno, Quesadillas and Spinach Enchiladas were the menu of the day :)

A glimpse of the workshop that I attended few weeks back :)

The chile relleno which means "stuffed chilli", is a dish that originated in the city of Puebla. It consists of a roasted fresh poblano pepper (a mild chili pepper named after the city of Puebla), sometimes substituted with non-traditional Hatch green chile or even jalepeno chili pepper. It is stuffed with cheese, or picadillo meat made of diced pork, raisins and nuts, covered in an egg batter or simply corn masa flour and fried. Although it is often served in a tomato sauce, the sauces can vary.

This vegetarian version of the mexican chilli relleno is truly sinful with lots of cheese and deep frying involved. But the taste is incomparable. Lip smacking is the right word I believe ;)

Ingredients:

Large chillies (Bajji molaga/ Poblano pepper / Chili pepper) - 6
Cottage Cheese (Paneer) - 120 gms
Cheddar Cheese - 60 gms
Mixed herbs (thyme / oregano / Mixed) - for taste
Salt - for taste

Method:

Slit the chilly neatly from top to bottom and deseed it using a spoon. Rinse them in cold water and keep them aside.

Grate required amount of cottage cheese as well as cheddar cheese. Put them in a bowl, add herbs and just a pinch of salt. Mix them well.

Now stuff just enough of cheese mixture into the chillies. Shallow fry them on a flat pan until the chilly gets roasted. Slightly turn them in intervals to get the sides of the chilly cooked. Do not turn upright. Remove them from the pan once it gets roasted on three sides.

Garnish with pineapple salsa. Serve them with tomato sauce and sour cream.

Hot and cheesy mexican relleno is ready :)

Enjoy making and happy eating :)

Note:

The more sinful version is to make a batter of all purpose flour, salt and water and dip the stuffed chillies in them and roll them on bread crumbs. Then deep fry the batter coated chillies to make crispy relleno.

Written by: Nithya
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