Indian-ish Nachos With Cheddar, Black Beans and Chutney

Name: Indian-ish Nachos With Cheddar, Black Beans and Chutney
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Cuisine: american, indian
Ingredients: 1 large bunch fresh cilantro, leaves and tender stems roughly chopped (about 4 cups); 1 small Indian green chile or serrano chile, stem removed and roughly chopped; 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from about 1 lime), plus more as needed; 1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar; 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed; 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained; Kosher salt; 1 (8-ounce) bag white corn tortilla chips, preferably unsalted; 1 medium red onion, finely chopped; 2 medium Roma tomatoes, cored and finely chopped; 4 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (about 1 pound); 1/4 cup store-bought tamarind sauce (or 1/4 cup date syrup or maple syrup whisked with 1 tablespoon lime juice); 1/4 cup ghee or olive oil; 2 tablespoons cumin seeds; Pinch of red chile powder, such as ground cayenne; Greek yogurt, for serving (optional)

By Priya Krishna and Ritu Krishna

Total Time: 30 minutes
Rating: 5(3,190)
Comments: Read comments

These vegetarian nachos take their cues from paapdi or papri chaat, the spicy, tangy and sweet Indian snack of fried dough wafers piled with chickpeas, tomatoes, onions, yogurt and various chutneys. This take starts with standard nacho elements: tortilla chips, black beans and a healthy amount of bubbly, melted cheese. But the classic chaat pairing of spicy and verdant cilantro chutney with sweet and sour tamarind sauce provides another level of brightness and complexity. Don’t skip the chhonk, a sauce made of melted ghee, cumin seeds and red chile powder that is drizzled over the top of the nachos. It provides a rich finish and even more crunch.

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Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings

For the Cilantro Chutney

1large bunch fresh cilantro, leaves and tender stems roughly chopped (about 4 cups)
1small Indian green chile or serrano chile, stem removed and roughly chopped
2tablespoons fresh lime juice (from about 1 lime), plus more as needed
¼teaspoon granulated sugar
¾teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed

For the Nachos

1(15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
Kosher salt
1(8-ounce) bag white corn tortilla chips, preferably unsalted
1medium red onion, finely chopped
2medium Roma tomatoes, cored and finely chopped
4cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (about 1 pound)
¼cup store-bought tamarind sauce (or ¼ cup date syrup or maple syrup whisked with 1 tablespoon lime juice)

For the Chhonk

¼cup ghee or olive oil
2tablespoons cumin seeds
Pinch of red chile powder, such as ground cayenne
Greek yogurt, for serving (optional)

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Make the chutney: In a blender, combine the cilantro, green chile, lime juice, sugar and salt and blend until smooth. If the mixture is too thick to blend, add up to 3 tablespoons water, a tablespoon at a time, to get it going. Taste and adjust the salt and lime juice, if needed. Set aside.
Step 2
In a medium bowl, lightly mash the beans with a fork (this is so they won’t roll off the chips), and season them with salt. On a foil-lined 13-by-18-inch sheet pan, arrange half the chips, followed by half the beans, onions, tomatoes and cheese (in that order). Repeat to make a second layer. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes on the highest rack of the oven, until the cheese is melted and bubbling.
Step 3
While the nachos are in the oven, make the chhonk: In a small pan or a butter warmer over medium-high, heat the ghee. Once the ghee melts (or the oil begins to shimmer), add the cumin seeds and cook until they start to sputter and brown, about 15 seconds. Immediately remove the pan from the heat and stir in the red chile powder. Set aside.
Step 4
Evenly drizzle the cilantro chutney and the tamarind sauce on top of the nachos, followed by the chhonk. Add a few dollops of the Greek yogurt, if using.

Ratings

5 out of 5

3,190 user ratings

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Comments

Deb5 years ago

For tamarind sauce: Heat ½ - 1 tsp ground cumin in the bottom of a dry pan until fragrant, about 30 seconds, Add ¼ cup each tamarind paste, date syrup/maple syrup, juice of ½ lime and a pinch of salt. Simmer over low heat until heated though.

M Shah5 years ago

How do you make tamarind sauce from tamarind paste? Is it as simple as soaking some of the paste in hot water and blending?

SH in SC5 years ago

I LOVED this! The cilantro chutney would be great for all kinds of other recipes. My changes: beans are not my friend, so I cooked skinless, boneless chicken thighs in a crock pot with a masala simmer sauce from Trader Joe’s until it easy easily shredded. I had no time to go get tamarind sauce, so made a combo of the maple syrup & some sweet chutney. No cumin seeds, so I used ground cumin in ghee. I look forward to making it with tamarind sauce, but this is definitely a keeper. So much flavor!

Alex Trumble1 month ago

We made this recipe years ago and said tonight, “remember those Indian nachos” they were so good and unique they have stood out in our memories so long. Thankfully we had most of the ingredients on hand and could make it again! Even our toddler took more than a couple bites!

Shannen1 month ago

Fantastic! These are my new favorite snack and so quick to throw together! I happened to pick up some zhoug from Trader Joe’s so I used that in place of the cilantro chutney. I made the tamarind sauce by mixing about 2 teaspoons of tamarind paste with a few tablespoons of date syrup. It was quite sweet but can be adjusted to taste with more tamarind or a little lime juice. I only used 8 ounces of cheese as I found a full pound to be unnecessary.

not naan2 months ago

There’s a lot to talk about with this absolutely 5 start recipe but let’s just start with what a wildly BRILLIANT sub maple and lime is for traditional red tamarind chutney. Make this eat this.

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