5 star Vegetarian Burritos, Indian Style

5 star Vegetarian Burritos, Indian style.

When we were young my mother would take the hot chappattis off the tawa, smeared it with ghee, sprinkled it with sugar and give us each a 'roly-poly' to eat.

These burritos are like roly-poly's, with a different filling.

I tried this recipe for the first time, a while back when I had guests from India stopping by for brunch. I wanted to make a dish in one, something different and yet one that appealed to Indian taste buds and this turned out to be a hit.

Yesterday I made it again, after a year or more, to take to a friend's place for lunch.

(The original recipe came from : http://kitchen-goddess.yumsugar.com/Baked-Smothered-Burritos-107864 but is no longer available for viewing.)

8" whole wheat/flour/corn tortillas.
1 can vegetarian refried beans ( if you are vegetarian check it has no lard).
1 onion sliced or chopped
1/2 onion chopped fine.
1 can Mexican canned chillies chopped fine.
2  large firm ripe tomatoes chopped.
1 cup cilantro chopped
Olives...optional
1/2 tsp cumin powder (per 16 oz can).
1 tsp grated garlic per can or to taste.
Chili powder and salt to taste.
1 cup bottled Picante sauce or Google recipe for making your own.

1 pkt  grated 5 blend Mexican cheese (or cheddar will do).

The first time I used canned, vegetarian refried beans.

For the second time, I soaked fresh pinto beans overnight, then cooked them for 2-3 hours and then used a food processor to make then into a paste (it's a little watery and should be).
Either way is fine.

Fry a large chopped onion till translucent, added grated garlic, chilli powder, cumin and salt and the bean mixture and let it cook till it was thick (about five-seven minutes).  Don't let it harden too much.

Add chopped Mexican canned chillies.

Add a couple of tablespoons of the vinegar the chillies come in as it enhances the taste.

I left out the olives but that was just a personal choice.
Cool bean mixture.

I used whole wheat tortillas to make the dish more nutritious and reduce the size of the burritos.
Warm tortillas in a skillet on each side...lay out on counter.
Place 1 heaping Tbsp of baked bean mixture spread out like a log in the middle, top with tomatoes, cilantro, cheese, a little raw onion and 1 tsp Picante sauce. 

I used mild Picante sauce and that had enough heat in it for this dish for us. I guess the chilli powder had already added some heat.
Roll up burritos and place in baking pan.
Sprinkle with more grated cheese on top.
Bake in a 300 degree oven till cheese melts or microwave.

TIPS
If I'm making a large batch I heat up 2-4 for dinner with the grated cheese on top and freeze the rest.

Making the pinto beans from scratch did make a difference to the taste.

While all the prep (fine chopping, grating) takes a while it is worth it as the end result is great.

The payoff to the effort invested is that even if you bake the whole batch, these burritos freeze and re-heat excellently and one of them is a great lunch or dinner for a diabetic.

Changes to a recipe are supposed to make it one's own but I still want Yumsugar to have 80% of the credit for this one. It has joined my 5 star club of top of the line dishes.

Compliments followed every bite with this dish, and I hope you'll try it out.

Cut in half, the burritos make a good appetizer too with all the tangy tastes that appeal to Indian taste buds. One could serve two dipping Picante sauces: mild and hot, on the side.