Old Recipe Savoury,Snacks
Who doesn’t enjoy a quesadilla every now and then? There’s a little café near my home that serves the best, scrumptious Mexican bean quesadilla that I sneak into every few days!
But any home cook knows how difficult a Mexican dish can be particularly when you crave it right there and then. Soaking and cooking the beans is itself a process – one that requires good organisation. As a rule, I always choose to cook from dried beans – it’s healthier and better! I refrain from canned beans – my love for Maggi pretty much consumes all my junk food/MSG permitted dosage.
Coming up with a perfect mid meal snack is the hardest – it should be something light, healthy, filling enough yet not too heavy as to spoil dinner, and preferably something international.
I use the concept of quesadillas and tweak it to make them healthier, easy to make and visually appealing to get everyone to eat their veggies. This recipe can be made quickly, and you can get as creative as you want and use any kind of leftover veggies.
I use whole wheat chapattis/rotis sans ghee, stuff a nice veggie filling, add a little bit of cheese and a layer of some kind of sauce or dip. Grill well on both sides et voila!
This version is a Lebanese one – a layer of hummus with a veggie filling spiced with sumac, paprika, pepper, cinnamon, and oregano. I mixed two small spoons of feta cheese into the warm veggie mixture for an added saltiness and for binding.
I place this under the snack category, but if you are a light eater, this could very easily be your dinner with a green salad or soup.
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The Recipe
Serves Yields: 4 | Prep Time: 30 mins | Cook Time: 15 mins
Ingredients
- 8 whole-wheat rotis (dry)
- 6 tbsp hummus
- 2 tbsp feta cheese
- 3 tomatos, finely chopped
- 1 cup spinach, roughly chopped
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 yellow pepper, finely chopped
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- ½ tsp sumac
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp oregano
- Pinch of cinnamon
- Salt + pepper to taste
- To serve:
- Yogurt or hot sauce
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a non-stick pan. Gently sauté the garlic and onions until fragrant. Add all the spices, salt and pepper and allow to cook.
- Then add the peppers and spinach, followed by tomatoes.
- Remove the mixture into a bowl and stir in the feta cheese.
- Spread a layer of hummus on one side of the roti, and the tomato mixture on the other roti.
- Join the rotis together to make the quesadilla and grill without oil on a hot non stick pan on both sides.
- Cut into four pieces and serve with yogurt or hot sauce.
- NOTE: This is an idealistic healthy version, but feel free to fatten this recipe up as you please!
- You can add any kind of vegetable. Serve with hot sauce, raita, hung curd, or ketchup.
