Today is Friday and it calls for something yummy yet simple to make. Today is also the fifth day of posting appetizers for the Cooking Carnival. After Asian, Greek, Indian and Indo-Chinese, today it is time for Mexican. We love Mexican food but sometimes I get super bored making all the various components of this cuisine. But the love for the cuisine keeps me going!
For today, I made bean and rice taquitos. I had the best taquitos in Mexico at a food truck. Taquitos or rolled tacos or flautas are deep fried tortillas filled with beef, chicken, beans or cheese. They are generally served with green or red tomato salsa and sour cream. Being a vegetarian, I made them filled with beans and rice. And, I baked them instead of frying. Made it really simple to make and yet super tasty.
I have made a few other kinds of flautas too, mainly stuffed with fajita or mixed vegetables or just cheese. Out of all the ones I made, this one is my favorite. The recipe needs just the basic ingredients from the refrigerator and pantry. Here I have made the tomato base from scratch, added beans and rice to it and stuffed it with cheese in tortillas. Though the process is pretty easy, it can be further simplified by using homemade or store bought salsa and adding boiled beans and cooked rice to it.
For parties, it is really easy to assemble the flautas before hand. When ready to serve, just bake them and you are all set. These rolled tacos are best enjoyed hot, given that it has cheese and cooked cheese when cool turns pretty hard. These are perfect for a snack too, and I love them with a side of guacamole. Try these and I shall be back with the last appetizer of the series tomorrow.
Ingredients
Black Beans ½ cup soaked overnight
Rice ½ cup
Garlic 2-3 pods, minced
Pink Onion ½ medium, diced
Jalapeno 1 medium, minced
Pepper ½ medium, diced
Tomato 1 medium, pureed
Taco Seasoning 1 tsp
Mexican Cheese Blend ¼ cup
Salt, Pepper to taste
Oil 1 tsp
Tortilla, Salsa, Guacamole and Sour cream as needed
Method
Pressure cook beans and rice separately. In a pan, heat oil. Add garlic and saute till flavorful. Then add jalapeno, onion and peppers. Mix well and cook till onions are soft. Then add tomato puree and taco seasoning. Mix well and bring to a boil.
Once the mixture is boiling, add drained beans. Mix well and cook till the mixture is almost dry. Then, add the rice and season with salt and pepper. Mix and turn down the flame.
To make the taquitos, place a tortilla and place cheese blend in the centre. Place a tablespoon of filling and roll into a tight roll. Preheat oven to 400 F. In a baking tray, place the taquitos seam side down and bake for 20-25 minutes, turning them over mid-way.
Once the taquitos are brown on all sides, remove and serve with salsa, sour cream and guacamole.
Priya Suresh says
Omg, those taquitos are inviting me, wat a super filling meal to enjoy without any fuss, lovely set up there.
Smruti Ashar says
Thanks a lot Priya!! 🙂
Gayathri Kumar says
Beautifully presented as usual. These baked taquitos look so inviting..
Smruti Ashar says
Thanks a lot Gayathri!! I loved the baked version 🙂
Kalyani says
great pick for Mexican ! my family loves this cuisine .... well done 🙂
Smruti Ashar says
We enjoy Mexican too!! Thank you so much!! 🙂
Harini R says
That is a pretty tempting platter, Smruti
Smruti Ashar says
Thanks a lot Harini!!! 🙂
vaishali sabnani says
Flavorful mexican appetiser . We are a Mexican loving family , a snack which could be a meal for us ! Super.
Smruti Ashar says
Thanks a lot Vaishali!! We love Mexican a lot ourselves 🙂
MySpicyKitchen says
Baking is a nice alternative to deep frying. It is such a filling meal in itself. Nice presentation.
Smruti Ashar says
Thanks a lot Usha. I hate to fry, and baking comes really handy!
cookingwithsapana says
Those taquitos with black bean and rice stuffing looks tempting.Love the entire setup.
Smruti Ashar says
Thanks a lot Sapana!!
Srividhya says
Love Mexican any time. This taquitos are very tempting.
Smruti Ashar says
Thanks a lot Srividhya!! I love how simple it is to make Mexican and turns out yummy too 🙂
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
Wonderful recipe and I just love the black bean and rice combo.
Smruti Ashar says
We love it too!! Thank you so much!! 🙂
Archana says
Looks yum but I ma going to indianise it as I do not access to tortillas. My chapatis will get this filling tomorrow evening. Thanks a lot everyone is fed up with my cooking.
Smruti Ashar says
Oh yes, that is what I do when I do not have tortillas at home. It sure is a simple way to cook a yummy dinner!
Priya Srinivasan - I Camp in My Kitchen says
wow, that looks tempting, recently made mixed rice and bean salad, so i bet the filling along with cheese must be finger-licking good!!!!
Smruti Ashar says
Yes it is indeed a wonderful combination. Somehow, cheese makes everything better :p
Srivalli says
Wow wow amazing pictures and so tempting...agree the different components make it tedious, so I plan couple of them together 😃
Suma Gandlur says
I make them with a vegetable filling. Your rice bean version filling sounds fabulous too.
Pavani says
Yummy looking taquitos. Love that rice and bean filling in there.