Our global kitchen: Chile rellenos

I have been meaning to cook chile rellenos for a while especially since I had the best one in my friend Alma's house last time almost a year ago. I thought of experimenting with different kind of chiles and different stuffings since relleno in Spanish means stuffing. My another favorite chile rellenos is from Restaurant Mexico in Tempe Arizona just outside ASU campus. They stuff their chiles with ground meat and it used to be in their lunch menu once a week. Here I tried with two different chiles. Poblanos ( the dark, blackish green chile) and hatch (long lighter green) chile from New Mexico. It is better to do with poblano because th eskin is thick enough and not fall apart after you roast them. I am sure you can make it with bell paper too. used mexican cheese called queso fresco which is similar to Indian paneer (queso fresco is little salty). One can use Monterey Jack as a substitute. Chiles are stuffed and then fried in batter of egg and then boiled in a tomato based sauce. Again one can experiment with the sauce and make it different. So here is the recipe that I got from my friend Alma. I had it with mexican rice and Alma's salsa as a side dish.

I used 8 chiles for this one.

Poblano and hatch chiles: 8

Queso fresco: 1/2 lb

eggs: 4 large

flour: 4 tbsp

oil: to deep fry the chiles and to cook the sauce

tomatoes: 3 roma or any other tomatoes

garlic: 3 cloves

white onions: 2 tbsp chopped finely

salt to taste

chicken bullion: 2 tsp

Chiles:

Broil them in the oven for a few minutes both sides or roast them stove top or in the grill. Peel the skins. cut open the with a slit and remove the seeds. Slice the cheese into thin long strips. Stuff them in the chile and be careful about not the tear the chiles. To hold them together I used cooking threads and tied it in the middle. Separate the egg whites from the yolks. Take the egg whites and stirr it well until it becomes still add two yolks and then mix it well. Meanwhile, put a thin layer of flour on a plate and then put the chiles on top and roll them. Put the chiles one at a time in the egg batter. Heat oil in a pan to deep fry. Put one chile at a time in the hot oil. They will fry quickly. Now set them aside.

The sauce:

grind the tomatoes in a grinder.

Put little oil in a hot kadhai, casserole or dutch oven. Fry the minced garlic and onions together. Add the tomatoes and then add water and add the buillon. Let it boil. Now add the chiles and simmer them for about 10 minutes. you are done!

Mexican rice:

Take two tomatoes and grind them. Heat a little oil add garlic. Add the rice and water that you need to cook 1: 2 measure. Add bullion and little salt if you want and let it cook until the rice is done.