Mexican Bhel | Zero Oil Recipe

Bhelpuri, a very popular street food in India happens to be my most favorite. Usually, puffed rice is mixed with a variety of ingredients like raw onions, tomatoes, boiled potatoes, different types of chutneys (sweet tangy + spicy mint), spice powders along with fine sev to prepare Bhelpuri. It’s one of the simplest snacks one can make in a jiffy, and it tastes quite good too. Recently, one of my blog friends posted about her food discoveries and that’s when I learnt about Mexican Bhel for the first time. Having not tried it at all, I did not know what went into it. I took up the task of finding similar recipes online, but none of them seemed too good to attempt. I resolved to prepare my own version of Mexican Bhel and tried making this dry version - it was quite loved at home. I have used the most basic ingredients usually used in the Mexican cuisine and added a few more ingredients for the Indian touch. I have used no oil to prepare this recipe and this is as low calorie as it can get.

To prepare Mexican Bhel

Serves – 2

Time to prepare – 10 mins

What I used –

• Baked Nachos, 10-15 ( I used a pack of store bought Cheese flavored Nachos)
• Onion, 1 medium
• Tomato, 1 medium
• Capsicum, 1 small (optional)
• Sweetcorn Kernels, ½ cup
• Boiled Red Kidney Beans/Rajma, ½ cup
• Lemon Juice, 1 tbsp
• Roasted Jeera Powder, 1 tsp
• Paprika Powder, 1 tsp
• Finely Chopped Coriander Leaves, 2 tbsp
• Chopped Jalapeno, 1 tbsp
• Salt, as required

How I made –

1. Finely chop the onion, capsicum and tomato. While chopping the tomato, scoop out the juicy pulp and chop only the flesh part.
2. Boil the sweetcorn kernels in some salted water for 4-5mins. Drain the water completely and set aside.
3. In a bowl, add finely chopped onion, capsicum, tomato, coriander leaves along with boiled sweetcorn and red kidney beans. Mix well.
4. Add roasted jeera powder, paprika powder, lemon juice and salt. Mix well.
5. When the bhel has to be served, add roughly crushed nachos into this and give it a quick mix.
6. Serve immediately.

Note –

• Red kidney beans have to be soaked in water for atleast 8hrs and cooked with some salt in a pressure cooker for atleast 4-5 whistles. The beans should not be overcooked to a mush.
• For preparing the roasted jeera powder, dry roast 2 teaspoon of jeera/cumin in a kadai until nice aroma comes up. Crush the roasted jeera/cumin in a mortar pestle to a fine/coarse powder.
• I used pickled jalapeno chillies out of a jar. They are quite tangy with a hint of spiciness. If you get fresh jalapeno chillies, that can be added too.
• If paprika powder is not available, it can be substituted with Kashmiri red chilli powder.
• Capsicum is optional but adds to the crunch of the bhel.
• Additionally one can add roughly chopped lettuce leaves. To increase the richness of the bhel, one can mix in some sour cream as well – makes the bhel saucy. I did not have any, so I have not used.
• Add the nachos just before serving, else they will become soggy.