Cheese Enchiladas With Chili Gravy

Ann-agree. While the oil fry technique is traditional, instead try covering the tortilla stack with damp paper or cloth towel, and heating for 30 sec or so in the microwave until pliable. Careful not to overheat, as they'll dry out quickly. This way, the tortillas are easy to fill and roll, and you won't miss the oil. Done it this way for years.

Want to eliminate most of the fat but have a pliable and toasted tortilla? Put tortillas on a sheet pan and spray both sides with a neutral vegetable spray. Bake briefly (12 minutes) in a 375 oven til slightly puffed. Then dip tortillas in your chosen sauce and proceed with your recipe. ( I do this with my mole sauce chicken enchiladas).

In Mexico, they heat them up on the stove top in a dry frying pan, ( or in a small aluminum pizza pan on the stove top used solely for this) just flip them over several times . They also put them in little cloth "cozies" to keep them warm and pliable. I asked my hostess if she ever fried her tortillas, and she said only for chilaquiles.

I’m pretty sure that using Velveeta or American cheese in Mexican food cooking is against the law.

I made without frying. Take a corn tortilla and heat in a preheated cast iron pan on the stove top for 30 sec on both sides. This makes them pliable. You must work quickly so that they do not re-stiffen before rolling. With the sauce on top, you cannot tell you skipped the frying step.

I was born and raised in Texas. Softening the tortillas by lightly quickly frying is a must for flavor. Yes, you get lots of fat that way.
And American cheese sounds like a bad idea but also gives the classic taste and creaminess needed. You can crumble a bit of "Mexican" white cheese on top to make it look a bit more "gourmet".

And for a delicious and more complex taste, add 1 tablespoon cocoa to the "gravy" (which is really an enchilada sauce)

Don't know why he doesn't mention it here, but Robb Walsh's recipe for chili includes a recipe for chili powder. It's the best I ever had, and it can be customized to taste. It's pretty easy to make. http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016037-classic-chili-con-carne?actio...

The sauce seemed good but a bit sharp and needed a bit more depth, so I sauteed finely chopped onions and cherry peppers, cooked them down with more chicken stock and added half a cup of tomato sauce and a tablespoon of bittersweet cocoa. Yessss!

There is a vast difference between Tex-Mex and other areas that border the USA such as Sonora which greatly influences southern Arizona versions of "genuine" Mexican food. Sauce for basic enchiladas would be made from dried chilis or chili paste, oregano, garlic, salt, flour and water. The rolled enchilada did not show up in southern Arizona until after WW2. Flat enchilada cakes were made of fresh corn masa as the principle ingredient before corn tortillas became the norm.

This recipe is completely dependent on the quality of the chile powder. I like to use Medium, Big Jim Variety Red Chile Powder, available via mail-order from Hatch Chile Express. Also, agree with Cynthia, the enchiladas don't really need to be rolled, they can be stacked. This step means you can skip the oil needed to make the tortillas pliable. (Of course, the oil-fried tortillas make for a much more decadent dish!)

The sauce is the whole point of the recipe. Why even comment if you didn't actually follow the recipe at all? I actually followed the recipe and only changed it by adding some black beans to the cheese. It was delicious.

Will someone please tell me once and for all what chile powder is? Is it the stuff you put in chili, or powdered chili peppers, in which case does it have a flavor besides hot? And if it's chili peppers, what kind? people seem to have different opinions about this.

Tex-Mex does Not use Velveeta. Monterey Jack and Cheddar Cheeses, preferred. About 1/2"long stick of Monterey Jack, the length of tortilla, sprinkled with grated Cheddar. Sprinkle of chopped onions before rolling up enchilada filled with both cheeses, spread real chili on top. Add more onions with cheddar cheese on top of that. Bake 350° - 25 minutes. I prefer real chili spread over the enchiladas. I'm from Texas and Tex-Mex is our favorite food. Try it!

Ann: as others have noted, the oil is traditional, but not required. I warm/soften in the sauce or gravy itself and you'll never miss the oil.. In addition, there is far less mess to clean up. Cheese? Anything except Velveeta, a truly horrible substance. If sauced with care and baked/broiled gently, your 'real' cheese of choice will not break.
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