Veggie Quesadilla is an easy and quick way to make your kids eat their vegetables!! They make great appetizers or a quick and healthy meal anytime!! Paired with a Mexican salsa (homemade), it is an exotic Mexican meal in the making!!!
Quesadillas are flour, wheat or corn tortillas filled with oozing cheese and crunchy vegetables in every bite!!! You can make them with just cheese too. Eat them as finger foods or dip or smother with salsa and make a meal of it!!
Mexican food is always in demand in our house. When the children were around, burritos and chimichangas were almost always a weekly affair!! Quesadillas are a simpler way of enjoying Mexican food with simple ingredients and filling of your choice. I have even come across butter chicken quesadilla, tandoori tikka quesadilla etc. online which are lovely Indo-Mexican fusion recipes.
Assembling this tasty but simple dish is very easy. Once you have the tortilla/chapattis and filling ready (you can even use leftovers from your refrigerator), you can make them anytime, in a jiffy. I have even made them ahead of time and reheated them again on a skillet on low flame to toast them and allow the cheese to melt!!
Next time you have guests over or feel like having a quick meal, vegetable quesadillas with homemade Mexican salsa is the perfect solution!! It is great as an exotic cheesy dish to feed your hungry kids or as a fun party appetizer too!!
Lets make us some Quesadillas, shall we?
Quesadilla is a stuffed tortilla or chapathi; filled with a dry mixture of spiced vegetables and/or meat and cheese, roasted on a griddle till cheese melts and served with salsa, sour cream etc.
Ingredients
- Olive oil (or any other oil) – 2 tbsps
- Cumin seeds: ½ tsp (if you don’t have the whole cumin, you can use cumin powder)
- Onions (white or red) : ½ medium, chopped
- Green chillies or jalapenos: 1 or 2, finely chopped
- Garlic : 1 big clove, grated or finely chopped (you can use ½ tsp to 1 tsp of garlic powder too)
- Cauliflower : ¼ cup, finely chopped
- Green pepper or capsicum: ¼ cup, chopped
- Zucchini : 1/2 cup (cut into quarters)
- Salt to taste
- Coriander leaves (optional, but I love the flavor of this ) : 2 tbsp, roughly chopped
- Cheddar Cheese or any other cheese that you have : 1 cup, grated
- Wheat tortillas or flour tortillas: 2 large
Instructions
- Heat a pan on medium heat and when hot, add the oil.
- After the oil heats up, add the cumin, onions, green chillies and garlic and saute for about 1 minute.
- Stir in the cauliflower and fry about 1 more minute.
- Add the rest of the vegetables, except the coriander leaves, add salt and mix well.
- Keep stirring for about 2 to 3 minutes; if you like the vegetables to have a crunch, do not overcook.
- Mix in the coriander leaves.
- Remove from heat.
- Now, heat a griddle on medium, and place a tortilla on it.
- On one half of the tortilla, spread some cheese evenly, top with half the vegetables and then spread some more cheese on top (use half a cup of cheese for each quesadilla).
- Cook on one side for about 1 minute and then flip it to cook the other side. Take care not to burn the tortilla. You can keep flipping the quesadilla, till the cheese is melted.
- Repeat with the other tortilla and serve hot with salsa, sour cream etc.
- I normally make my own salsa, but today, bottled salsa it was.
- Hope you enjoy this quick version of mine. Please let me know
Notes
You can use any vegetable you like in these; I have made them with cabbage, mushrooms, corn etc.
For protein, if you prefer, you can use black beans or red kidney beans or even tofu or paneer (an Indian cheese like tofu). Feel free to play around with the spices and vegetables.
If you do not enjoy pieces of green chilles in your quesadilla, you an either use crushed pepper or sometimes, use any hot sauce you have. At our home, we love the flavor of jalapenos or green chillies.
Handy Tip for today: I always use a fine grater to grate garlic and ginger for all my dishes. My children do not enjoy getting pieces of these, especially ginger when they are enjoying a good meal. You can even use them to grate cheese over pizza or pasta etc.
Step-by-step method:
To make the filling:
Heat oil in a pan.
Add the onion, garlic and green chillies and sauté for a few minutes till the onions are soft.
Add the dry spices (oregano, red chilli flakes, cumin etc.) and fry for a few seconds.
Stir in the vegetables and salt to taste and stir fry on high for a few minutes till the vegetables are slightly cooked but still have the crunch.
Remove from heat and keep aside.
To make the quesadillas:
Heat a tava or skillet on low heat. Add some butter or oil on the skillet.
Place a chapatti or tortilla. When slightly roasted, flip it over.
Sprinkle some cheese all over the tortilla (combination of both cheeses).
Top with vegetable filling and more cheese. Spread evenly over the whole tortilla.
Top with another tortilla and press gently.
Once the bottom is slightly roasted, flip the whole quesadilla over gently (take care not to spill the filling) to roast the other side with additional butter or oil.
Fry both sides till the cheese has completely melted (press gently) and the quesadilla is crisp and light golden.
Cut into triangles or wedges with a knife or pizza cutter and serve hot with salsa and your favorite toppings!!
Enjoy!!
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They look absolutely delicious. That's my kind of lunch 🙂