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Tetelas Oaxaca
Tetelas Oaxaca
Tetales are a refried black bean stuffed masa cake; much similar in concept to the Salvadoran pupusa. The tetelas are pan fried until crispy and topped with crumbled cheese, sour cream, salsa, and cilantro.
Equipment
- tortilla press
- gallon sized storage bag; cut into 2 sheets of plastic
Ingredients
- 1 cup masa harina flour
- 2/3 cup warm water
- 2/3 cup refried black beans
- vegetable oil for frying
Garnish
- queso fresco crumbled
- cilantro chopped
- Mexican sour cream
- red or green salsa
Instructions
- Mix together the mass flour and warm water.
- Roll into 4-6 equal sized balls.
- Place 1 sheet of plastic on a tortilla press. Place 1 of the dough balls in the center, with the other sheet of plastic on top.
- Flatten to 1/8” thick. Remove the top sheet of plastic.
- Place a heaping tbsp of refried black beans in the center of the pressed dough. Spread it around.
- Using the plastic, fold up the bottom third of the tetelas. Fold back the plastic.
- Fold over the right side at an angle. Fold back the plastic.
- Fold over the left side, creating a triangle. Seal the corners.
- Heat up vegetable oil on a griddle over medium high heat. Place the tetelas on the griddle.
- Fry for 4-5 minutes until crispy.
Yucatán Fried Beans
I love refried beans. This is possibly the easiest and most flavorful recipe to make Yucatán style fried black beans. Toast the onions and habanero. Purée the black beans with the onions. Fry the purée with the habanero until it reaches your desired consistency. That’s it. You can use either vegetable oil or lard to fry the beans in; depending if you want them vegan or not.
Equipment
- blender
Ingredients
- 2 slices white onion
- 1 habanero
- 4 cups cooked black beans with broth
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil or lard
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Dry toast the onion and habanero for 5 minutes in a sauté pan over medium high heat.
- Place the onions and black beans in a blender .
- Purée until smooth.
- Heat up vegetable oil or lard in a sauté pan over medium heat. Pour in the beans. Add the toasted habanero back in. Simmer for 5-10 minutes until the beans are thickened to your liking. Season with salt.
Birria Tacos
Birria Tacos
Over the last 6 months, there has been a huge trend in the Mexican culinary world. All of a sudden, every Mexican restaurant is carrying birria tacos. So what is a birria taco? Birria originated from the Mexican state of Jalisco; also home of pozole and menudo. It all started with caldo de birria, a meat stew in a pepper broth. Traditionally goat and lamb are used, but beef can be substituted. I used a combination of all 3 meats. Corn tortillas are dipped in the birria broth, then assembled with the meat, onions, and cilantro. The tacos are folded over and grilled on a griddle until they are crispy. The tacos are served with a side of the birria broth to dip the taco in; just like a French dip sandwich. I chose to use an Instant Pot to make the birria. It only took 90 minutes to prepare. You can make this in a Dutch oven or a crockpot if you don’t have a pressure cooker. It will take anywhere from 4-6 hours to get the meat tender enough to shred. Either process will get you the same results.
Servings: 24 tacos
Equipment
- food processor
- instant pot
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs beef chuck cubed
- 1 beef shank
- 1 1/2 lbs bone in goat shoulder cubed
- 1 lamb shank
- 3 dried ancho chilies
- 6 dried guajillo chilies
- 3 roma tomatoes
- 1/2 medium white onion sliced
- 6 garlic cloves
- 4 whole cloves
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp black peppercorns
- 1 tsp Mexican oregano
- 1/2 tsp marjoram
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1/2 cup vinegar
- salt to taste
- 2 cups water
- corn tortillas softened
Garnish
- white onion finely chopped
- cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Dry toast the dried peppers in a sauté pan over medium heat for 5 minutes.
- Place the peppers in a bowl of hot water for 20 minutes.
- Dry toast the cumin seeds, cloves, and cinnamon stick for 2 minutes. Remove from the pan.
- Dry toast the tomatoes, onions, and garlic for 10 minutes.
- Place the rehydrated roast peppers, tomatoes, onion, garlic, whole spices(except the cinnamon stick), oregano, marjoram, vinegar, and salt in a blender.
- Purée until smooth.
- Arrange all of the meat in a glass baking dish.
- Pour the sauce from the blender over the meat. Cover with foil and marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
- Place all of the meat and sauce in the Instant Pot along with 2 cups of water. Toss in the cinnamon stick. Turn the function to pressure cook on high for 90 minutes. Put on the cover and push start.
- Remove all of the meat and bones from the Instant Pot.
- Keep all of the birria juice warm.
- Pick out all of the bones from the meat. Place the meat in a large sauté pan over medium high heat.
- Cook down the meat until the majority of the liquid has evaporated.
Birria Taco Assembly
- Dip the softened corn tortillas in the birria juice.
- Top the tortillas with the meat, onion, and cilantro.
- Place the tacos on a griddle over medium high heat. Fold the tacos over.
- Grill the tacos for 3-4 minutes a side until the tortillas are crispy.
Chana Pulao (Instant Pot)
Chana Pulao (Instant Pot)
Chana pulao is a great South Asian side dish of basmati rice, chickpeas, and aromatics. I prepared this dish in my Instant Pot since it cuts the cooking time in half while getting the same results if you were to prepare on the stove top. I personally like to eat the leftovers the next morning topped with a couple of fried eggs.
Equipment
- instant pot
Ingredients
- 2 cups basmati rice rinsed
- 1 can chickpeas
- 1 medium white onion sliced
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp salt
- 6 whole cloves
- 2 black cardamom
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 2 cups water
Instructions
- Turn the Instant Pot function to sauté over medium heat. Sauté the onions and cumin seeds for 10 minutes.
- Add in the cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon stick. Sauté for 1 minute.
- Stir in the rice. Sauté for 3 minutes.
- Pour in the water. Season with salt. Turn the Instant Pot function to pressure cook on high for 4 minutes. Place the cover on and push start.
