Homemade Mexican Bean Tostada
This recipe has four different homemade preps. Do not feel overwhelmed because the steps are quick and easy. We will be making lightly fried Tostadas, Spiced Beans, Avocado Cheese Guacamole and Tomato Salsa.
Tostada recipe:
• 1 1/2 cups white flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt or buttermilk
Spiced Beans:
• 1 cup of brown beans
• 2 tbsp ghee
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried ginger powder
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp hing
Avocado Cheese Guacamole:
• 1 avocado
• 1/2 cup yogurt cheese
• 1 tomato
• 1 or 2 green chile (to taste)
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro/coriander
• juice of one lemon or lime
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp hing
Tomato Salsa:
• 2 fresh tomatoes
• 1 green chile
• 1/4 tsp salt, and little pepper
These are the brown pinto beans that I used for this recipe. You can use black beans also or any beans that you have around the house. Place the beans in a pressure cooker with 1 inch water above the beans and cook for about 20 minutes.
The beans are cooking now so let’s make the tostadas. Here I have placed 3 parts white flour and one part wheat flour in a large mixing bowl.
Next add 1/2 tsp baking soda to 1/2 cup plain yogurt or buttermilk to a separate dish. Let sit for 3 minutes.
You will see that the mixture begins to bubble.
After the 3 minutes, begin adding the yogurt mixture a little at a time to the flour just like in making chapatis.
If you put too much yogurt then just add more flour until you have a nice dough that is not so sticky. Now set aside for 30 minutes.
In the meantime we can make the toppings. Place all the ingredients for the guacamole into a blender.
1 avocado
1/2 cup yogurt cheese
1 tomato
1 or 2 green chile (to taste)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro/coriander
juice of one lemon or lime
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp hing
Blend until smooth. If you want a thinner consistency then add a little water. That’s it!
Now for the Tomato Salsa, chop up the tomatoes and green chile.
Place in a serving bowl with salt and pepper.
Mix it up and you are done! Easy!
Now let’s start to make the tostadas. First heat your frying oil to 375F/190C. Then grab a small piece of dough just like you would when making chapatis and roll out into a circle with a rolling pin. If you are cooking alone, it is best to roll out all the tortillas first and then fry them. Otherwise the oil will be cooking alone while you are preparing the next tortilla.
When the oil is heated place the tortilla into the oil and fry about 30 seconds on each side until it slightly changes color. Unless you want to have a crisper tostada then you can fry a little longer.
When the tostada is done cooking then place on a paper towel to drain excess oil. Continue this process until all the dough is cooked.
Your beans should be done by now so let’s spice them up! Add all the spice ingredients into the cooking pot of the beans.
1 cup of brown beans
2 tbsp ghee
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp dried ginger powder
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp hing
Stir up the spices. Now take a hand blender (or take about a 1/2 cup of beans to the blender and blend until smooth) and blend just a little. There should be whole beans in the mixture.
This is what it should look like.
Now time to put it all together. First lay the tostada on a plate then spread a layer of Spiced Beans then a layer of yogurt cheese, or any cheese you like. Sprinkle on the tomatoes and give a dollop of Avocado Cheese Guacamole. Now you are ready to serve to Kṛṣṇa with love and devotion!
