Tandoori Quesadillas
Leftover chicken gets an Indian flair with tandoori spices, a toasted flour tortilla with melted spicy cheese, this tandoori quesadillas recipe has an impressive taste with little work.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil plus more for the tortillas
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 green chili, minced optional
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ tablespoon ginger, minced
- 2 cups cooked chicken, small diced See notes
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 tablespoon tandoori masala powder
- ¼ cup chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 cup pepperjack cheese shredded
- 4 8-inch flour tortillas See notes
Quesadilla Toppings (optional)
- ½ cup sliced red onion
- ½ cup chopped tomatoes
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- Pickled or fresh sliced jalapenos optional
Cilantro Lime Crema
- 1 cup yogurt/sour cream See Notes
- 10 sprigs cilantro
- 2 green chilis
- 1 clove garlic
- ½ lime, juiced
- Salt to taste
To Serve
- Guacamole See Notes
- Pico de gallo/Salsa See Notes
Instructions
To make tandoori filling
- Set a cast iron skillet on high heat. Add olive oil and let it get shiny. Now add in the garlic, onions, and green chili. Mix and cook for a minute. Then add minced ginger and mix.
- Add the turmeric powder and tandoori masala and cook the mixture for a minute.
- Now add the cooked chicken, salt and broth. Lower the heat to medium low. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. This will soften and reheat the leftover chicken evenly while infusing it with deeper tandoori flavor.
- After five minutes turn the heat off, take the mixture out in a bowl and set aside.
To assemble the quesadillas
- Return the cast iron skillet that you used to cook chicken in back to heat, wipe with a kitchen towel and heat up over medium heat.
- Start warming up the tortilla, add some oil on both sides and get it slightly toasted. Turn the heat to low so that you do not burn the tortilla while you add the other ingredients.
- Top half of the tortilla with shredded pepperjack cheese first, then top with tandoori chicken and chopped onions, cilantro, tomatoes and jalapenos (if using).
- Fold the other half of the tortilla over the chicken and cheese. Cook till the cheese is melted and both sides of quesadilla are crisp and golden brown.
- Remove from heat, slice into three slices.
- Serve hot with cilantro lime crema and other condiments.
To make Cilantro Lime Crema
- Blend together all the ingredients and serve with tandoori quesadillas.
Notes
To make vegetarian tandoori quesadillas, use diced paneer. You don't need to add broth while cooking tandoori paneer.
Use whole wheat tortillas to make this recipe healthier.
Using homemade yogurt makes the sauce a little liquidy. Preferably, use greek yogurt or sour cream to make the crema.
Find the guacamole recipe here
Find Salsa or Pico de gallo recipe here
