What comes to your mind when I say “Mexican food”? To most people Mexican cuisine means tacos, enchiladas, Quesadillas and Tostadas. Of these, spicy Enchiladas, filled with beef, chicken, meat or vegetables, topped with sour cream with tangy enchilada sauce top the list. This snack is predominant in any Mexican restaurant though you’ll be surprised to find how different the enchilada offered outside Mexico is from the original dish.

Let’s take a look at the history of enchiladas to know more about the food we love. As everyone knows, the snack came from Mexico. “Enchilada” literally means to add chilli pepper. The first known Mexican enchilada was just a corn tortilla wrapped around a small fish and dipped in chilli sauce. As people from other countries and cultures started visiting Mexico, they started adding their own touches to the dish. The snack was a big hit with all foreign immigrants and soon it was more of a tourist specialty than a local delicacy. To cater to tourist tastes, enchiladas were made by filling corn tortillas with beef, chicken or vegetables and the sauce dip became a milder version of the original chilli pepper. Swiss immigrants in Mexico made cheese a part of the enchilada recipe; so now enchiladas are made in a casserole and coated with cheese, sauce and onions.

Of all fillings used in the snack, beef is the most popular. A beef enchilada is tasty, filling and nutritious. It’s easy to make your own beef enchiladas at home and surprise your family. Just follow this easy recipe –

You’ll need –

* Lean beef (minced) – 1 lb
* Chopped onion -1
* Enchilada sauce mix – 1.5 oz
* 10inch flour tortillas – 10
* Grated cheddar cheese – 2 cups
* Canned black olives – 2.25 oz

How To Proceed
* Preheat your oven to 350oF. Put a medium frying pan over medium fire and sauté minced beef and onions till the onion’s soft and beef is browned uniformly.
* Make the enchilada sauce as per instructions given in the packet. Take a 9x13 inch baking dish and spread ¼ of the sauce in it.
* Fill a portion of the beef-onion mixture along with an ounce of cheddar cheese. Wrap the tortillas and keep them in the baking dish, seam side down.
* Now, empty the rest of the enchilada sauce over the enchiladas along with the remaining cheese and drained olives.
* Keep the baking dish in the oven for 20 minutes or till you can see bubbles in the sauce and the cheese melts fully.

Flavorful enchiladas ready to be eaten hot. Try this once and find out for yourself how easy it is.