Chicken Enchiladas – The Easiest Version

Last week I started craving for chicken enchiladas, may be because I had some tortilla wraps lying in the refrigerator and I needed to consume them before they’re expired. Hahahaha, adulting cravings be like – consume the things before they go bad. Relatable enough?

Anyhow, I started searching for the recipe and found some promising ones but they all had some extra steps (grinding, boiling etc etc) that obviously turned me off since they are against my kitchen motto as you all know. So, I took inspiration from the ones that looked propitious to me and came up with one of my own version which requires least number of steps and guarantees great taste too.

What Enchiladas is all about?

What Enchiladas is all about?

I find the formation of this dish very similar to lasagne (click here to go to the recipe). Like lasagne, you need to prepare a sauce, meat filling and use some cheese. The only difference is that you need to roll the filling in tortillas rather than layering with sheets to get to the final product.

About Enchiladas: An enchilada is a corn tortilla rolled around a filling and covered with a savory sauce. Enchiladas originated in Mexico and the word enchilada, as used in Mexico, means a rolled maize tortilla stuffed with meat and covered with a tomato and chili sauce. Enchiladas were mentioned in the first Mexican cookbook, ‘El cocinero mexicano’ (“The Mexican Chef”), published in 1831.

Rating:

Inspired By: Recipe Tin Eats, Food Fusion

Cuisine: Mexican

Course: Main

Serves:	4-5	Ease level:	🌮🌮🌮
Prep Time:	15-20 mins	Quickness:	🌮🌮
Cooking Time:	20-30 mins	Spice Level:	🌮🌮🌮🌮

Above ratings are out of 5 and do not include baking times

GET:

Saucepan
Spoon
Frying pan
Cooking spoon
Knife
Cutting board
Baking dish/ Casserole

SET:

For Enchilada Sauce:

Canned whole peeled tomatoes 400gms (1 tin)
Onion (chopped) 1 large
Garlic (finely chopped) 4-5 bulbs
Salt 1/2 tsp
Cumin powder 1/2 tbsp,
Paprika powder 1/2 tbsp,
Dried oregano 1 tbsp
Black pepper1/4 tsp
Cayenne pepper 3/4 tsp (optional)
Sugar 1 tbsp
Chicken stock 300 ml (optional) use water if not available

For Chicken Filling:

Chicken breast , sliced in half horizontally (or boneless thigh) 500 gms
Ginger Garlic paste 1 tsp
Salt 1/2 tsp
Pepper 1 tsp
Oil (for frying) 3-4 tbsp
Onion (chopped) 1 large
Garlic (finely chopped) 4-5 bulbs
Capsicum (diced) 1
Canned corn , drained 400g
Coriander leaves (finely chopped) 1 tbsp

For Enchiladas:

Cheese shredded (as required) ( I used a mix of cheddar and mozzarella)
Tortillas 4-5
Coriander leaves (finely chopped) 1 tsp

GO:

For Enchilada Sauce:

In a saucepan empty the tin of whole peeled tomatoes and let it warm up on medium heat for a few mins.
Add all other ingredients except chicken stock/water and simmer on medium heat while stirring so that it doesn’t sticks to the bottom.
When the mixture looks cooked enough and well incorporated, add in the stock/water and simmer for a while until you notice sauce like consistency (should not be too runny or too thick)

For Chicken Filling:

Coat Chicken fillets with ginger garlic paste, salt and pepper.
Heat oil in a saucepan and fry the coated fillets from both sides until they’re cooked ( for about 12- 15 mins).
Remove the cooked chicken fillets from the pan once they’re done. keep them aside for a couple of minutes to rest before chopping so that the sauces don’t escape.
In the same pan, sauté all other veggies starting with onion and garlic followed by capsicum, corn and coriander leaves.
Chop the chicken fillets and mix in the veggie mixture.
Remove from heat.

Assembling and Baking

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F.
Lay tortilla on work surface. Spread a scoop of enchilada sauce followed by 2-3 scoops of chicken filling, sprinkle with cheese then roll up, finishing with the seam side down (to hold it closed). Repeat the steps and make all rolls.
Smear a scoop of Enchilada Sauce across base of baking pan/dish. Place Enchiladas in, pour over remaining Sauce, sprinkle with cheese.
Bake 20 – 25 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden.
Serve immediately, sprinkled with coriander.

MY TWO CENTS:

Adjust the spices to suit your taste buds. The Enchilada sauce is on the spicier side.
The traditional recipe calls for corn tortillas, i used garlic ones because those were available to me at that point. Warm up the tortillas a bit while using the corn ones so that they don’t break since they are a bit harder as compared to other tortillas.
I used the can of whole peeled Italian tomatoes. You can use fresh ones too but please peel off the skin. Alternatively you can use Tomato puree as well.
Don’t panic if you don’t have chicken stock, you can use a chicken cube or simple tap water too.
You can use different kind of beans in the filling too. Fillings may or may not include meat (e.g. beef, poultry, pork, seafood) or cheese, potatoes, vegetables, beans, tofu, and any combination thereof. Add or subtract fillings as per your choice.
Always use freshly ground/cracked pepper and not the powder to get the best taste.
You can use the Mexican blend cheese for more authentic taste.
Preheat the oven beforehand to save time.
Do not serve immediately after taking it out from the oven. Allow your enchiladas to rest about 10-15 minutes before cutting so that they’re all set.
I have an electric oven hence the temperature and cooking times. These times may vary depending upon the type of oven you have. (Refer to your oven’s user manual for time queries – that is what I did).