My love affair with Mexican food started nearly 11 years ago when I went to North America for the first time. I was staying in Arizona which was at the Mexican border and had some fantastic Mexican food. Being away from home, this food was the closest to Indian food with the variety of flavors and spices in it. And they had their own version of chapati and rice and rajmah! Unlike regular American food, Mexican food was bursting with flavor and a hint of spiciness and I loved the way it was put together. I continued to discover new ways of enjoying this cuisine be it fajitas, enchilladas, flautas, tacos, burritos, quesadillas or chimichangas.
One of the things I always loved to eat was fajitas. To begin with, they reminded me of my favorite sizzlers that I used to love at Hot Millions in Chandigarh. I also liked the fact that I could stuff the tortillas my way and customize each bite the way I wanted it. They always came with a variety of sides - guacamole, sour cream, cheese, pico de gallo and salsa. Sometimes they even came with a side of refried beans and rice which could also be put into the tortilla if needed.
Fajitas are also very flexible. They can be made with chicken, seafood or any kind of meat along with your favorite vegetables or cheese. The must have elements for fajitas for me are onions and bell peppers. Everything else is upto the mood on the day. I have shared photos of 2 kinds of fajitas made at different occasions. One were chicken fajitas and the second one was chicken fajitas with mushroom and cheddar cheese. Feel free to use toppings of your choice - any vegetables, meats or even paneer :)
The best part of fajitas is that fajitas will never go to waste - even if you make a big batch, leftover fajitas make delicious quesadillas the next day. I'll share a recipe for that shortly.
Ingredients:
Bell peppers (1 each red, green and yellow) sliced into long strips
1 Onion (sliced lengthwise)
1 Boneless skinless chicken breasts
Mushrooms (sliced but not too thin)
Cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
2 tsp dried Mexican oregano
juice of 2 limes
salt and pepper to taste
Method:
1. Combine the olive oil, oregano, lime juice, salt and pepper to make a dressing. Use 1/3 of the dressing to marinade the chicken and use the remaining to marinade the chopped bell peppers and onions. If you are using mushrooms, marinade them separately with some of the marinade.
2. After the chicken and vegetables have been marinating for about 15 minutes, heat up a skillet. In parallel take the iron plate of the hotplate set and keep it on med-high heat to heat up while the remaining ingredients get cooked.
3. First grill the chicken in the heated up skillet till it is cooked through and juicy. Transfer to a plate for a few minutes and wait for the juices to redistribute through the meat. Slice the chicken into long strips.
4. Using the same skillet, cook the mushrooms over medium high heat till they are done. Remove mushrooms from the skillet and add the marinated vegetables and let them cook till they are done but still have a bite to them.
5. One the hotplate is heated up, place it on the wooden base and add the vegetables, including any juice they may have, followed by the mushrooms and the chicken. Sprinkle cheese on top if needed.
6. Serve piping hot with warm tortillas, sour cream, guacamole, salsa and pico de gallo.
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