Easy Cheesy Nachos| Nachos And Cheese

Doesn’t a well-made plate of colourful, cheesy nachos just lift up your spirits? It surely does, for us. We are known to dig in to a platter of home-made ‘loaded’ nachos often, on weekends. I also make them when we have guests over, and they always bring a smile on their faces.

My go-to recipe for nachos and cheese comes from Richa Gupta’s famous blog, My Food Story. This recipe has been tried and tested by me several times over, with slight variations here and there, and it has never failed me. The proceedure for making these nachos is super simple, and the end result is utterly delectable. You have to try these nachos out to believe just how easy-peasy they are to put together, and yet, just how flavourful!

Cheesy ‘loaded’ nachos!

Now, let’s see how to make these easy cheesy nachos, shall we?

Ingredients (serves 4-6):

For the tomato salsa:

1. 2 small tomatoes, finely chopped
2. 1/2 of a big onion, finely chopped
3. A few stalks of fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped
4. 2 cloves of garlic, very finely chopped
5. 1 green chilli, very finely chopped
6. Salt, to taste
7. Lemon juice, to taste

For the refried beans:

1. 1 cup rajma (kidney beans), cooked
2. Salt, to taste
3. 1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder
4. 1/2 teaspoon roasted cumin powder
5. 1 teaspoon oil
6. 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
7. 1/2 cup water

For the cheese sauce:

1. 2 cups milk
2. 3/4 cup grated cheese (I used Amul processed cheese)
3. 1 teaspoon butter (I used Amul salted butter)
4. 1 tablespoon whole wheat flour
5. 1 green chilli, very finely chopped

Other ingredients:

1. 320 g nachos (2 packets of 160 g each)
2. 1 cup sweet corn, cooked with salt to taste
3. A few stalks of fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped

Method:

1. Let’s first make the refried beans, so that they get a chance to cool down while the rest of the components of the nachos are being assembled. For this, heat  the oil in a heavy-bottomed pan and add the finely chopped garlic. Let it stay in for a few seconds. Now, add the cooked kidney beans, water, salt to taste, cumin powder and red chilli powder. Mix well. Cook on medium flame till the mixture thickens a little. Switch off gas and allow to cool down.
2. Next, we will prepare the cheese sauce. Dry roast the flour in a pan till it turns slightly brown in colour. Mix the flour in about 1/2 cup of milk, ensuring that it is completely dissolved and no lumps remain. Keep aside. In the same pan, heat the butter and add in the green chilli. Let it stay in for a couple of seconds, and then add the remaining 1-1/2 cups of milk. Bring to a boil. Turn the flame down and add the milk-wheat flour mixture to the pan. Mix well. Cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the sauce thickens a bit. Switch off the gas, and add in the grated cheese. Stir, ensuring that the cheese has completely melted. Let the cheese sauce cool down a little.
3. Now, we will make the tomato salsa. For this, mix together the chopped tomatoes and onions, salt to taste, chopped garlic and green chilli, lemon juice, and coriander. Ensure that everything is well combined together. Keep aside.
4. Once the refried beans and cheese sauce have cooled down, start assembling the nachos. For this, lay out the nachos on a large serving plate. Spread the refried beans evenly over the nachos. Over this, spread out the cooked corn, cheese sauce and tomato salsa evenly. Garnish with finely chopped coriander. Serve immediately.

Notes:

1. Make sure the tomatoes are at room temperature, before you make the salsa.
2. You could use garlic butter to make the cheese sauce, too. In that case, you might want to skip adding chopped garlic to the sauce.
3. Vinegar can be used in place of lemon juice, to make the salsa.
4. If you want, you could slightly char the cooked sweet corn before using it. I usually avoid this step.
5. Pickled, sliced jalapenos can be used as a topping for the nachos, as well. In case you use them, you might want to skip adding the green chillies in the salsa.
6. If you feel the cheese sauce has turned out lumpy, run it briefly in a mixer, and it should be okay.

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This post is for the 107th edition of Foodie Monday Blog Hop. The theme for the week is ‘party dishes’.