Bhelpuri, a very popular street food in India happens to be my most favorite. Usually, puffed rice is mixed with a variety of ingredients like raw onions, tomatoes, boiled potatoes, different types of chutneys (sweet tangy + spicy mint), spice powders along with fine sev to prepare Bhelpuri. It’s one of the simplest snacks one can make in a jiffy, and it tastes quite good too. Recently, one of my blog friends posted about her food discoveries and that’s when I learnt about Mexican Bhel for the first time. Having not tried it at all, I did not know what went into it. I took up the task of finding similar recipes online, but none of them seemed too good to attempt. I resolved to prepare my own version of Mexican Bhel and tried making this dry version - it was quite loved at home. I have used the most basic ingredients usually used in the Mexican cuisine and added a few more ingredients for the Indian touch. I have used no oil to prepare this recipe and this is as low calorie as it can get.
To prepare Mexican Bhel Serves – 2 Time to prepare – 10 mins What I used –
Baked Nachos, 10-15 ( I used a pack of store bought Cheese flavored Nachos) Onion, 1 medium Tomato, 1 medium Capsicum, 1 small (optional) Sweetcorn Kernels, ½ cup Boiled Red Kidney Beans/Rajma, ½ cup Lemon Juice, 1 tbsp Roasted Jeera Powder, 1 tsp Paprika Powder, 1 tsp Finely Chopped Coriander Leaves, 2 tbsp Chopped Jalapeno, 1 tbsp Salt, as required
How I made –
Note –
Red kidney beans have to be soaked in water for atleast 8hrs and cooked with some salt in a pressure cooker for atleast 4-5 whistles. The beans should not be overcooked to a mush. For preparing the roasted jeera powder, dry roast 2 teaspoon of jeera/cumin in a kadai until nice aroma comes up. Crush the roasted jeera/cumin in a mortar pestle to a fine/coarse powder. I used pickled jalapeno chillies out of a jar. They are quite tangy with a hint of spiciness. If you get fresh jalapeno chillies, that can be added too. If paprika powder is not available, it can be substituted with Kashmiri red chilli powder. Capsicum is optional but adds to the crunch of the bhel. Additionally one can add roughly chopped lettuce leaves. To increase the richness of the bhel, one can mix in some sour cream as well – makes the bhel saucy. I did not have any, so I have not used. Add the nachos just before serving, else they will become soggy.
