There is something so comforting and joyous about relishing a plate of nachos, specially when they are home fixed and yet they taste just like the ones you eat at fancy restaurants. This dish is my play with textures, colors, spices and flavours, creating a mouth watering, irresistible platter of Tex Mex Nachos which you can whip up in minutes !!

For those who are new to the term “Nachos”, it is a Mexican snack dish of tortilla chips (made of corn) served with oozing, melting cheese and /or cheese based sauces. I consider this as a very flamboyant looking dish – the triangular tortilla chips which are now a signature to this dish, the gorgeous colors from the sauces and the cheese which makes for a very inviting and comforting appeal for this dish.

I remember writing earlier on this blog about my experience of enjoying nachos for the first time in Montreal (Mexican Delight). We had gone to a nice vegan restaurant and they served us nachos as a stack on a wooden board. The nachos were so delightful to look at ! Almost picturesque, the plate was both chaotic and sophisticated at the same time. As far as i can recall, it had some amazing novel fixants in it which i had not seen before. Usually Nachos are served topped with melted cheese and olives (sometimes) and usually salsa and sour cream is served along side as accompanying dips. Here, they had some fresh chopped veggies, beetroot slivers, avocados and such to make it wholesome and truly beautiful to look at.

I loved my nachos that day and decided to give it a go myself. Somehow re-creating dishes or working with expected ingredients in most un-expected ways is what i love to do and feel excited about. Well i kept trying various versions on my own last few months and i can now finally say that i have cracked the recipe for what i can call “perfect DSB Nachos”. These nachos are easy to fix (if u have all the fixants ready on hand), take only a couple of minutes and the dish comes out very comforting, fun, filling and a must to try for all foodoholics !

The Nachos Tex Mex Platter uses a lot of beans and fresh chopped veggies- all kept in their original crunchy form to make it a healthier choice above over-loaded,cheesy nachos.

This recipe makes a good use of fresh ingredients and extract their true flavours to make this dish colorful, both in terms of visual and gastronomical appeal.

This dish is very satisfying and can be eaten for a meal without going over board with calories.

Nachos Tex Mex Platter

Nachos Tex mex 250 grams tortilla chips (i chose store bought, low salt variant)

50 gms cheese – grated (i prefer cheddar cheese. You can also use curd cheese for an interesting dish)

1/2 ripe avocado – pitted and chopped roughly

1/2 cup red/green/yellow bell peppers – roughly chopped 200gms cooked and tempered beans. The recipe for that is : 150 gms boiled red kidney beans. Can use black or pinto beans. 1/2 medium onion – finely chopped 1 tomato – finely chopped. Can use 2 tablespoon tomato paste instead as well.

1 tsp cumin seeds 2 tsp oil Salt to taste 1 jalapeno chilli – finely chopped Method – Take a pan. Heat oil. Add in cumin and let it splutter. Add in Onions and saute till transparent. Add in tomatoes, jalapeno and salt. Simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Add in the beans and cook for about 10 minutes. Beans are ready.

1 Tomato – Roughly chopped

6-7 slivers of pickled jalapeno slivers (optional)

1/4 cup green/ black olives – chopped

2 spring onions – finely chopped

small bunch of coriander – roughly chopped

Juice of 1/2 lemon Method Preheat the oven at 180 degrees C. Take a baking tray/ tin and to this, arrange the tortilla chips and spread the cheese on top generously. Put this in the oven and bake for about 5 minutes or till the cheese melts. After 5 minutes, remove the tortilla from the oven. Now we have to only assemble it. Start with spreading the cooked beans on top. Then add in rest of the ingredients and slightly toss it in with the tortilla chips. The Nachos tex Mex Platter is ready.

This looks great right? So bright, chunky, beautiful and chaotic – Just the way i like my comfort food. The beans add in an interesting texture, taste and fill factor to this dish. This dish is super easy to prepare and it gets over in a matter of minutes. be as creative as you like this dish and add in some other gravy,salsas, sour creme, cheeses or spices. Enjoy this with a tall glass of lemonade and you have yourself the best party appetizer ever !

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