Creamy Butter Chicken Enchiladas, An Indo-Mexican Treat

If you haven’t tried any Enchiladas yet, this is the moment when you should. Just like many Mexican dishes, Enchiladas taste and sound quite familiar for Indians. This is because Enchiladas are basically corn or maize tortillas stuffed with a spiced filling and covered in a sauce! Sounds delicious, right? They are, especially since Enchiladas are a popular street food too. 

Tracing the exact origins of Enchiladas is very difficult. The maize tortilla itself is an ages-old Mexican dish—many experts believe that the first tortillas were prepared during the ancient Aztec times. Legend has it that Enchiladas themselves were mentioned for the first time in the nineteenth century. Two Mexican cookbooks, El Cocinero Mexicano (1831) and Diccionario De Cocina (1845) first mentioned the recipes for Enchiladas. An American cookbook from 1883 called Enchiladas “a greasy tortilla sandwich” during a time when it is most likely to have been introduced to the southern states of the US. 

Today, the Enchilada is not just a Mexican dish but considered to be a Tex-Mex dish because of its popularity in Texas. In India, Enchiladas are perhaps not as popular as other Mexican dishes like Burrito and Tacos, but here’s why you need to give it a try. Not only is the Enchilada tortilla quite like the Indian roti, but also, the Enchilada sauces are usually chilli-based or cheese-based—which is also quite similar to Indian gravy bases. In fact, a fusion between Mexican Enchiladas and Indian Butter Chicken seems like the most natural thing in the world. Don’t believe us? Give this recipe a try. 

Ingredients: 

200 g chicken, boneless 

1 packet maize tortillas 

½ tsp cumin seeds 

1 cinnamon stick 

1 bay leaf 

2 green cardamoms 

2 cloves 

½ cup cashews 

2 tomatoes, chopped 

2 onions, chopped 

½ tsp turmeric powder 

½ tsp red chilli powder 

1 tsp ginger garlic paste 

½ tsp kasoori methi 

½ tsp black pepper powder 

Salt, to taste 

½ cup fresh cream 

½ cup butter 

2 tbsp ghee 

½ cup cheese, grated 

Coriander leaves, for garnish 

Method: 

1. Heat the ghee in a wok, then add cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, bay leaf, cardamoms, cloves and saute. 

2. Once they stop spluttering, add the onions and half the ginger garlic paste. 

3. Saute until the onions turn brown, then add the tomatoes, cashews, salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and continue cooking. 

4. Once the tomatoes soften, switch off the flame, let the mix cool down, then transfer into a blender jar. 

5. Grind the butter chicken gravy into a fine paste, then pass it through a sieve to ensure no lumps remain. 

6. Heat the butter in the wok, then add the chicken pieces, remaining ginger garlic paste, salt and black pepper powder. 

7. Saute until the chicken is cooked then switch the flame off, cool the chicken and shred the pieces. 

8. Pour half the Butter Chicken gravy into a bowl and add the shredded chicken. Mix well and set aside. 

9. To assemble the Butter Chicken Enchiladas, preheat an oven to 180 degrees. 

10. Place a maize tortilla on a flat board. Spoon some of the Butter Chicken mix at the centre and roll the tortilla. Transfer the filled tortilla onto a baking tray. 

11. Follow the same process with the remaining tortillas and Butter Chicken mix. 

12. Once all the stuffed tortillas are shifted onto the baking tray, pour the remaining Butter Chicken gravy on top. 

13. Sprinkle the cheese on top of the assembled enchiladas, then bake in the oven for 20 minutes. 

14. Serve the enchiladas hot after garnishing with coriander leaves.