Mexican bean salad with home made Tajin and Cumin/cilantro dressing

Perfect for summer, this Mexican bean salad is great for a party or cookout. Make your own homemade Tajin spice with our Mexican dried chillies like guajillo, ancho, chipotle peppers. You can eat this salad as a dip with tortilla chips, or tacos, quesadillas, on top of green salads, or omelettes. Add chicken and rice and you have a rice bowl as well! You name it!

Servings:

8 people

Ingredients:

• 1/2 red pepper chopped

• 1/2 orange pepper chopped

• 1/2 English cucumber chopped

• 1/4 red onion chopped

• 1 medium firm tomato (seeds removed and chopped)

• 2 cups cooked black beans

• 1 cup cooked corn

• 1/2 cup cilantro chopped

• 1 lime zested and freshly squeezed juice

• 1/2 tbsp green chilli paste (optional)

• 1/2 tsp oregano

• 1 tbsp homemade Tajin seasoning (In a spice grinder add 1 cup of mixed dried peppers-guajillo, chipotle and ancho seeded and stems removed. Zest one whole lime and add 2 tsp coarse sea salt and 1 tbsp organic cane sugar. Grind spices till mixture is finely blended. Place in a glass jar for storage)

Directions:

1. Toss everything in a bowl and dress with cilantro cumin dressing

   Makes 1 cup dressing

Ingredients for Cumin Cilantro dressing:

• 1 clove garlic

• 1 tbsp coarsely chopped red onion

• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

• 1 tsp lemon juice

• 1 tsp Tabasco

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• 1 cup cilantro leaves

• 1/2 cup olive oil

• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt

• 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

In a blender, combine all ingredients except for olive oil, salt and pepper. Blend on medium high speed.Stop the blender and scrape the sides down. Then run the blender on slow and slowly drizzle in the olive oil salt and pepper (30 seconds) until emulsified and thickened.

Refrigerate in an airtight container till ready to use. Can be kept up to 3 days.

Paneer or tofu tikka tacos

What do you do with leftover paneer tikka?  You make paneer tacos!  Enjoy this amazing Indian-Mexican colourful dish with your friends and family on a regular weeknight or a small get together at home.

Paneer or tofu tikka is a popular Indian street food and originates in northern India. The combination of  yellow, red, orange peppers, red onions, garlic, chipotle chilli , lemon and cilantro sautéed into a spicy fajita mixture on top of a piece of  spicy paneer or tofu tikka placed on a corn tortilla and a dollop of guacamole is full of  an Indian-Mexican fusion delight!

In olive oil, sauté sliced peppers, red onions, garlic, Himalayan salt and chipotle chili powder.

Paneer tikka tacos

• Serves: 4-6

• Prep Time: 30 minutes

• Cooking Time: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• Panneer or tofu Tikka (Recipe in previous post)

• 24 mini corn tortillas

• 3 tbsp olive oil

• 1/2 red pepper sliced

• 1/2 orange pepper sliced

• 1/2 yellow pepper sliced

• 1/2 red onion sliced

• 2 garlic cloves minced

• 1/2 cup cilantro

• 1 green chilli chopped (optional)

• 1/2 tsp chipotle chilli ground

• Himalayan salt to taste

• juice of half a lemon

INSTRUCTIONS

In a skillet on medium heat add olive oil and sauté  the red onions and all the peppers on medium heat. Add garlic, salt and chipotle and add cilantro and lemon juice after vegetables are cooked through.

On a separate pan, heat the tortillas on both sides or place on a grill and place them in a towel so they stay warm.

Layer each corn tortilla with paneer tikka (recipe from previous post, fajita style pepper mixture and serve with a dollop of guacamole and sour cream or your favourite Mexican or Indian hot sauce.

Enjoy!