There is something about the tangy, spicy and appeasing flavours of Mexican food that makes it an easy Friday night dinner. We’ve taken some of our favourite cuisines of the country and made our own mash up for a quick, halal, healthy and most importantly tasty night in. Give it a go, it’s easy and great for those summer flavours.
Halal Mexican Food
We love Mexican cuisine, not the Tex Mex stuff you’ll find everywhere, but genuine cuisine inspired from Baja, Poblano and Jaliscence. Yes, we all love a great Taco, but finding halal-friendly Tostadas or Chilpachole is really difficult to find. High street brands like Tortilla, who serve halal chicken and a Vegan menu are great for a quick fix, but if you’re looking to delve into the world of really great Mexican cuisine, you may need to do a trip to Mexico City. That said, when you get there, you’ll have to stick to seafood and vegetarian options as there are almost no halal restaurants to be found.
Ingredients
For the Beef
- 500g Beef (Round, Rump or Brisket is usually best)
- 2 sliced red Onions
- 2 sliced red Chillis (deseeded if you prefer)
- 2 sliced cloves of Garlic
- 2 tsp of Muscavado Sugar
- 1 tsp of Paprika
- 1 tsp of Salt
- 2 tbsp of Coconut Oil
- 1 cup of boiling water
For the Rice
- 1 cup of long grain rice
- 1 sliced sweet pepper
- 1 chopped white onion
- 2 chopped tomatoes
- 1 tbsp of canola oil
- 1 tsp of salt
- 1 tsp of garlic powder
- 2 cups of boiling water
For the Salad
- 1/2 Iceberg Lettuce or 1 Romain Lettuce
- 1/2 Cucumber
- Handful of fresh Parsley, chopped
- 2 tbsp of Sumac
- Drizzle of Avocado Oil
Instructions
- Take the 500g of beef and blanche in hot water for 8 minutes until tender.
- Shred the beef (or pull the beef if you have the right cut) and set aside
- Heat the Coconut oil and fry off your red onion, followed by the garlic and chilis
- Sauté until soft then add in shredded/pulled beef
- Add in your Paprika, Muscavado and Salt and stir to mix in well
- Add in the water and leave on a low heat to simmer until serving
- Next, for the rice fry your onions in the canola oil until soft (don’t burn!)
- Add the peppers and tomato and sauté till soft
- Stir in the rice and mix together well. Add your garlic powder and salt
- Pour over your boiling water, cover and leave on a low heat for 15 minutes or until all the water has gone
- For the salad, simply slice the lettuce, cucumber and parsley.
- Mix in the Sumac and ensure it’s mixed through well
- Drizzle the Avocado oil
- Serve by plating up the salad, rice and beef in three rows on your plate. Healthy and generous servings make for a great first impression to those Friday night dinner guests too!
If you’re looking for more Mexican inspired dishes, then subscribe to this blog for the latest updates on how to spice up your evening meals. If you’re heading out to your local supermarket soon, there are plenty of raw ingredients that will help to make your dishes come to life. Pick up some limes, avocados and different peppers to give your dishes a new dimension.
Also, it’s great to be adventurous and mix things up a bit. Mexican food can be complimentary to lots of other cuisines like Caribbean, Portugese and if you’re clever with your flavours even some Arabic cuisines. So go ahead, try things out, don’t be afraid to mix up your halal recipes between cuisines and you’ll be surprised with what you may come up!