Nachos w/ Chocolate Curry, Saffron Rice, & Avocados
Chocolate curry nachos might not be the most traditional thing that you've ever made, but meals don't need conventionality to be delicious! And the combination of chocolate and avocados is one of my favorite. Paired with coconut curry and a little kick of habaneros? This sweet and savory meal is sure to impression all of your fusion lovers.
Equipment
- Oven
- Baking Sheet
Ingredients
Calabaza Chocolate Curry
- 2 ½ c. calabaza roasted & puréed
- 2 c. walnuts raw, unsalted
- 5 habaneros
- 1/2 c. cocoa powder unsweetened
- 1 ½ cans coconut cream
- 3 ½ cans water
- dash cayenne pepper
- dash coriander
- dash cumin
- dash nutmeg
- 16 oz. tofu (1 package)
- 1 tbsp. oil
Saffron Rice
- 1/4 tsp. turmeric minced
- 1/4 red onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 habanero minced
- 1/4 tsp. saffron
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- dash cumin
- dash smoked paprika
- dash salt
- dash pepper
- 1 ½ c. brown rice
- 3 ⅛ c. water
Nachos
- 1/4 c. calabaza chocolate curry
- 2 handfulls tortilla chips
- 1/4 c. saffron rice
- 1/4 c. white cheddar cheese shredded
- hefty dollop Greek yogurt (or sour cream)
- 2 tbsp. avocado sliced
- dollop hot sauce
Instructions
Prepare Ingredients
- Cook Chocolate and Calabaza Squash Curry. This takes several hours to cook and should be done at least the day before. It primarily consists of calabaza, tofu, chocolate, and coconut milk.
- Cook Saffron Rice. This takes about an hour and requires a rice cooker or stove. You can also easily create a different flavor profile or utilize the produce that you have on hand. I almost always keep a batch of rice or quinoa in the fridge for exactly this purpose. This one primarily consists of saffron, red onion, garlic, and habaneros.
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 curry and rice 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 white cheddar cheese.
- Top with a couple dollops of Greek yogurt or sour cream.
- Bake for 10 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 hot sauce of choice.
- 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
- You can add sour cream, or Greek yogurt, either before or after cooking. I oscillate between the two. A high quality sour cream that melts into the nachos as they cook is incredibly delicious. However, sometimes it's nice to have a cold sour cream to dip the chips into. Particularly when they're both spicy and hot out of the oven.
- 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.