April 2, 2013

Home-made Tortillas

Tortillas, being the staple food of Mexicans, is the first thing that you need to work with Mexican recipes like tacos, burritos, chalupas, enchiladas etc. Soft/Medium, Small/Large, Flour/Corn/Wheat/Multi-grain -  yeah, there are lot of commercial tortillas available in the market. But, why buy them, when you can reproduce the same authentic taste at home, that too for less! 

Home made tortillas are way too thin, soft, chewy & simple!


Basic Info
Complexity - Simple
Prep time - 20 mins
Cook time - 30 mins
Serves - 8 tortillas

Ingredients
All-purpose flour - 2 cups
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Water - 3/4 cup
Olive oil - 3 tbsp

Method
In a large bowl, mix flour and salt. Stir in water and oil. Knead for about 10-12 mins until smooth on a floured surface (add little flour or water if needed). Let it rest for 10 mins. 

Divide dough into eight portions. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion into 7-inch discs. 

Heat a skillet, cook tortillas over medium heat for 1 minute on each side or until lightly browned. Keep them warm covered in aluminium foil / tortilla warmer.


Tips to get thin/soft tortillas
- Use a circular rolling board & rolling pin.
- Flour the surface before starting to roll-out.
- Initially, flatten the ball of dough and roll it into 3-4 inch thickness.
- After this, do not pick up the tortilla by hand. Due to its elastic nature, tortilla tends to spring back to its original size.
- For thinner tortillas, roll it outward from the center, rotating the rolling board occasionally to form an even circle.
- Roll it out as thin as possible.
- Cook tortillas on medium heat. High heat tends to cook tortillas faster.

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