Gunpowder paneer nachos with mango avocado salsa & minted soured cream

Name: Gunpowder paneer nachos with mango avocado salsa & minted soured cream
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 226 g pack paneer, cut into 1.5cm cubes; 4 Essential Large Tortilla Wraps; 3 tbsp vegetable oil; 3 clove/s garlic, finely chopped; 2 stems curry leaves (about 20 leaves), or use dried; 2 tsp Cooks’ Ingredients Gunpowder Spice Blend, to your taste; 400 g can Italian peeled vine cherry tomatoes; 150 g Essential Mild Cheddar (or Essential Gouda), grated; 400 g can Essential Chickpeas, drained

Jane Hornby uses melty, mild cheese to underpin the tortilla chips, giving the nachos the all important stretch, but without distracting from the flavours on top. Everything up to step 4 can be done ahead of time.

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Vegetarian

Serves6
CourseStarter
Prepare30 mins
Cook25 mins
Total time55 mins

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Ingredients

226g pack paneer, cut into 1.5cm cubes
4 Essential Large Tortilla Wraps
3 tbsp vegetable oil
3 clove/s garlic, finely chopped
2 stems curry leaves (about 20 leaves), or use dried
2 tsp Cooks’ Ingredients Gunpowder Spice Blend, to your taste
400g can Italian peeled vine cherry tomatoes
150g Essential Mild Cheddar (or Essential Gouda), grated
400g can Essential Chickpeas, drained

For the salsa & soured cream

1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 mango, ripe but not soft, cut into 1cm cubes
1 extra large avocado, cut into 1cm cubes
1 unwaxed lime, zest and juice
300ml Essential Soured Cream
25g pack mint, leaves finely chopped

Method

Preheat the oven to 200ºC, gas mark 6. Put the paneer into a bowl, cover with just-boiled water and leave to soak. Stack the tortillas, then cut into 8 even wedges. Trim the tops of the wedges with scissors to make them heart-shaped, if liked. Brush with 1 tbsp oil, spread over 2 large baking trays, then bake for 8 minutes, until crisp and golden. Season with salt. Leave to cool.
Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp oil in a large frying pan, then sizzle ½ the garlic and ½ the curry leaves until fragrant. Stir in 1 tsp gunpowder spice, sizzle until smelling nutty, then pour in the tomatoes and season generously. Simmer fast for 10 minutes, adding the chickpeas halfway, until rich and well reduced. Scoop into a bowl. Wash out the pan.
For the salsa, layer the onion, then mango, then avocado in a medium bowl. Add the lime zest and pour the lime juice over, but don’t mix until you serve. Combine the soured cream and mint with seasoning in a serving bowl.
Scatter ½ the cheese and dollop ½ the chickpeas over one of the trays of chips. Follow with the rest of the chips, then chickpeas, then cheese. Bake for 5-8 minutes until melted. Meanwhile, drain the paneer. Heat the remaining 1 tbsp oil in the pan and fry the paneer for 3 minutes on a medium-high heat, until golden on most sides. Stir in the remaining garlic and curry leaves until fragrant, add 1 tsp gunpowder spice and cook for 1-2 minutes, tossing often. You’ll hear the cheese shuffling about in the pan when ready.
Stir the salsa gently and season. Top the hot nachos with some salsa (serve the remainder alongside), then scatter with the hot paneer, scraping the curry leaves and any leftover spice from the pan. Serve immediately, with the soured cream on the side for dipping.

Cook’s tip

Some little ones hate to be left out on Valentine’s Day. If you want (or can’t get out of!) sharing your nachos with kids, you could use a mild curry powder instead of the gunpowder spice and add sliced green chillies, for you, at the table. Let them snip the tortillas, or use cutters, and sneak chunks of mango before it reaches the bowl.