Spring is in full swing. The tulips are blooming. The weather is perking up. There's a break in the unending summer rain that feels like it shouldn't happen because Wisconsin doesn't have a monsoon season and it really should be reserved for winter when the rain would be enough to do winter sports on. Although the rain has abated for the day and it's absolutely gorgeous out! Which means that I don't necessarily want to spend all day in the kitchen with the oven on. So, I'm going to take 15 minutes out of my day off to toss everything that I have in the refrigerator onto a baking sheet, cover it in cheese, and be on my merry way. Curry nachos might sound a bit odd for this, but bear with me.
I'm a huge fan of curry. It's a great comfort food in the winter when you need something to warm you up in the subfreezing temperatures. But there's also something almost similar to Mexican and Latin American food about it. Nachos were invented when someone who wasn't ordinarily a cook needed to toss something together in a pinch (The Sun Sentinal,The Legend of the Nacho's Appetizer). I go into the story on my article on The Fundamentals of Making Nachos, along with some more tips and tricks for utilizing leftovers in unconventional ways. But it is a quintessential part of nacho-making to be free form. I also use a lot of cumin, coriander, and cayenne in my cooking. Which goes incredibly well with both Thai and pseudo-American Latin food.
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Variations of Curry Nachos
I don't always turn curry into nachos. I tend to cook a lot of the excess moisture out of curries. This is both because I like a thicker curry and because I know that I'm inevitably going to do something like this where I toss all of my leftovers into nachos! Regardless, this certainly isn't the first time that I've made nachos out of curry and I highly recommend it if you've never tried the more gourmet nacho route. I also like to turn curry into various burritos, scrambled eggs, and omelettes if that's also your cup of tea.
These Curry Nachos consist of multicolored potato curry, Florida avocado dip with Greek yogurt and walnuts, cheddar cheese, and sprouts. Feel free to mix and match in your own leftovers or utilize this fun way to eat leftover curry of your own!
This Curry w/ Multicolored Potatoes, Peanuts, & Sprouts recipe requires a large bowl, large pot, skillet, stovetop, and paper towels. It takes about 20 minutes to toss together and then 4 hours to cook down.
I also topped these nachos with Florida Avocado Dip w/ Greek Yogurt & Walnuts.This is entirely optional. You can easily substitute sour cream or omit it entirely. Although this avocado dip is my new favorite thing and I highly recommend giving it a try. It's kind of a mix between hummus and guacamole. And is absolutely delicious!
Cook Nachos
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Meanwhile, lay out tortilla chips across a baking sheet.Cover until you can't see the baking sheet any longer. They should be touching, but not overlapping too much. You really just want to be able to add toppings to every chip without it getting too much on the baking sheet!Exactly how much chips you use is largely a matter of personal preference as well. I've never sat there carefully measuring chips! Roughly two handfuls usually equates to about a serving. I tend to cook far more than I actually need, though. So, as always, adjust to personal preference!
Spread toppings evenly across the tortilla chips.This acts largely like refried beans would in a typical nacho recipe. You can either spread across each of the chips or just drop little dollops across the chips.
Sprinkle with cheese.
Bake for 15 minutes, or until the cheese melts and the chips begin to toast.
Serve
Once the nachos are done cooking, remove from the oven and top with avocado dip, sprouts, and a dash of salt and pepper.
Serve immediately. Once the nachos begin to cool down, the tortilla chips will absorb too much moisture and soften. Once this happens, there isn't a lot that you can do to crisp them up again!
Tips, Tricks, & Notes
For a more in-depth article on nachos, check out my article on The Fundamentals of Making Nachos. I make suggestions on settling the microwave vs. oven debate and give suggestions on serving size, topping order, and potential reheating tips and tricks.
This Page Contains Edited Images
As a general rule, I don't like to edit images. Food styling, editing, alteration, and even faking entirely is just as rampant a problem in the recipe realm. Cooking is a very visual art and you can tell when a lot of foods are cooked based on the color. So, when this is altered and you can't use the coloration as a gauge, it makes it quite difficult to follow some recipes. I have an entire article about Food Styling and Unrealistic Expectations of Recipes. My place has very warm lighting, though. So, sometimes my camera overcompensates and ends up with an unnatural hues. I've adjusted the hues, levels, and/or cropped the following images:
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