Canary Burritos

Canary burritos

First, separate your canaries into green and yellow piles, for the green and yellow sauces used to top this dish.

Just kidding. Actually, you should make a tomatillo sauce (green) and buy a jar of old el paso cheese and red pepper dip (yellow), as the name refers to the dishes colours. You’ll also need a tin of refried beans and I’m yet to find a brand that tastes as good as old el paso and some tortillas, where supermarket and other brands are generally pretty good.

A pack of flour or corn tortillas
Tomatillo sauce
1/3 of a jar of old el paso cheese and red pepper dip
2 tins of black beans
2 tins of tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 large onions, one thinly sliced and one finely diced
2 bell peppers, any colour, thinly sliced
1 heaped TBS cumin
2 heaped TBS oregano
Chili sauce or chilli powder/flakes or fresh chilli, finely diced
1 pint of cheap lager
1 tin of sweetcorn, or 2 if the tiny ones

Prepare the drunken beans filling for the green burritos by:

• Fry diced onion until translucent
• Add garlic and fresh chilli (if using) and continue frying until onions begin to caramelise
• Add cumin and fry for a few minutes
• Add strained liquid from tomatoes and continue to fry
• Finely chop (don’t blend) tomatoes and when contents of pan are largely dry, add these and fry vigorously.
• When the tomatoes have broken down a bit, add chilli products (if not using fresh chili), the drained black beans and sweetcorn, the oregano and the lager
• Cook until liquid has reduced and the remaining sauce is thick

Prepare the filling for the yellow burritos by:

• frying the sliced onion and peppers until slightly caramelised and warming refried beans in the microwave.

To finish the dish:
• Alternate drunken bean burritos with refried bean burritos, topping each with tomatillo sauce or cheese dip respectively
• Bake at 180C until the cheese starts to brown

Bhindi do-pyaza

do-pyaza = double the (usual quantity of) onions

1/4 kg fresh tender lady’s finger, chopped into 1 inch pieces
1/4 kg onions, finely sliced
1 large tomato, finely chopped
3/4 tsp cumin seeds
1″ ginger piece, grated
big pinch turmeric powder
1 1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp garam masala powder (optional)
1/2 tsp kasoori methi (dry fenugreek leaves)
salt to taste
1/4 tsp sugar
2 tbsp coriander leaves
1 1/4 tbsp oil
1 Wash and dry the okra thoroughly (dry with a kitchen towel). Trim the ends and cut them into one inch pieces.
2 Heat one fourth tbsp of oil in a cooking vessel. Add the sliced okra pieces and stir fry them till they are three-fourth cooked. Constantly stir fry on medium to ensure they don’t burn or stick to the pan. Add salt and turmeric powder and remove.
3 In the same pan, add the remaining oil. Add the cumin seeds and toss for 8-10 seconds. Add the, grated ginger and immediately add the sliced onions and saute till they are transparent yet crisp.
4 Add the chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder and saute for 2-3 mts. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook further for another 4-5 mts.
5 Now add the stir fried okra and combine well and cook further uncovered for 12-15 mts. Add kasoori methi, sugar and lemon juice. Combine well and adjust salt. Turn off heat.
6 Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve with hot rotis or rice.