Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

Tomatillos are great for making salsa. Earlier I had posted a tomotillo salsa recips, where I had boiled the tomatillos and used them to make the salsa. In today's recipe,I have pan roasted the ingredients for the salsa and then blended them coarsely, so that the salsa is a bit chunkier.

Ingredients:

Tomatillos - 3, medium sized, washed thoroughly and wiped dry

Garlic - 3 large pods, do not peel them, else they will get burnt

Onion - 1/2, medium sized

Dry Red Chillies/Arbor Chillies - 3

Cilantro/Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp, finely chopped

Oil - 1 tbsp

Salt - As per taste

Method of Preparation:

1. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan and add the whole tomatillos, garlic pods with the outer skin on, half onion, whole dry red chillies and let them roast slowly on medium heat.

2. Using tongs, keep turning the ingredients so that they slowly get charred evenly.

3. Once the tomatillos are roasted evenly, turn off the heat and let them cool down.

4. Add the roasted tomatillos, chillies, onion, salt to a blender. Peel the roasted garlic and add them to the blender.

5. Grind them coarsely if you prefer a chunky salsa or to a smooth puree.

6. Add the chopped cilantro to the roasted tomatillo salsa and enjoy with corn chips.

Optional: You can even add finely chopped onions to the salsa.

Home Made Tomato Salsa (Ver1.0)

Wondering what a weird title Ver1.0 is ? Well... It is just to let you know that this is just the first version of the most loved Mexican appetizer - 'The Salsa' of the widely known combo - 'Chips & Salsa'. I have tasted various types of salsas even in the remotest places of our neighborhood, few salsas are chunky, few contain cheese, few are made fresh at the table... and the list goes on. Few other versions will roll out soon in the near future. Salsa does not require much introduction... so here goes the recipe.

Ingredients:
Ripe Tomatoes - 2 medium sized, washed and cut into quarters
Onion - 1/4 of a medium sized onion
Green Chillies - 2-3
Garlic - 2 small cloves
Cilantro/Coriander Leaves - few sprigs
Coriander Powder - 1/4 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - As per taste
Chopped Cilantro/Coriander Leaves - 1 tbsp (for garnish)

Method of Preparation:
1. Heat a vessel and add quartered tomatoes, onion, green chillies, garlic cloves, cilantro/coriander leaf sprigs along with 1/2 cup of water and cook covered for 15 minutes.
2. Let the boiled mixture cool down.
3. Add the boiled mixture to a grinder/blender along with salt, cumin powder and coriander powder. For a chunky salsa, just pulse twice or thrice and for a smooth salsa blend for 30 seconds.
4. Garnish with chopped cilantro/coriander leaves
5. Serve warm or chilled.

Home Made Salsa Verde/Green Salsa

Chips and Salsa is one of the things that my better half loves. Whenever we are in a Mexican restaurant, once he starts munching the chips with different salsas, there is no stopping until we leave the restaurant. Such is the craze for chips and salsa and he likes tasting all the salsas the restaurant has to offer. At times we even end up paying for the extra salsa my better half keeps on asking for. Using the tomatillo also known as tomato verde, a tangy salsa can be easily prepared at home.

Ingredients:
Green Tomatillo - 3 medium sized, washed and cut into halves
Green Chillies - 4-5, (adjust according to the spice levels)
Garlic - 3 small cloves
Coriander Leaves - 4-5 sprigs
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Onion - 1/4 of a small onion
Salt - As per taste

Chopped Coriander Leaves -  1 tbsp(for garnish)

Method of Preparation:
1. Add all the ingredients except the salt and chopped coriander leaves to a small vessel with a lid.
2. Add a cup of water to it and let the ingredients cook for 30 -40 minutes with the lid on the vessel.
3. Let the boiled mixture cool down before you grind into a smooth paste.
4. Add the salt and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
5. Enjoy the salsa verde or home made green salsa with corn chips of your choice.