PANEER NACHOS

Paneer Nachos loaded with layers of tortilla chips, spicy marinated paneer, beans and topped with onion-tomato salsa, yogurt, cilantro chutney, sweet chutney and crispy papdi!

These nachos with Indian twist will be your new favorite way to enjoy nachos!

These Spicy Paneer Nachos

✓ loaded with flavor

✓ would make a great snack for Diwali parties

✓ easy to make (with some prep in advance)

✓ makes a great vegetarian appetizer

There are several components to these Paneer Nachos. So it might look like a long list of ingredients but honestly with some prep work, you should be able to put this all together rather quickly!

Tortilla chips: use a brand that you like. I have used plain tortilla chips that I got from my local grocery store.

Paneer: of course the star of these nachos is the paneer. To make the paneer more flavorful, I marinate them with yogurt and spices and let it sit for few hours and then pan fry.

This marination gives them so much flavor.

Also remember if using store bought paneer, soak it in warm water for 15 to 20 minutes and then use in the recipe.

Refried beans: I have used canned refried beans here, I like the one from Trader Joe’s. You can use any that you like – homemade or store bought.

You can even black beans here in case you don’t have refried beans.

Cheese: of course a good cheese is must for nachos! I have used pepperjack cheese here. You can use the one you like.

You can also adjust the quantity of cheese to your liking. I haven’t used a ton of it.

Onion-Tomato salsa: this is just a super simple fresh salsa which I have used to top the nachos.

Yogurt: so this is actually a sweet yogurt sauce (slightly sweet) made with yogurt, salt, sugar and powdered mint.

Chutneys: the chutneys add so much flavor to these nachos. Cilantro chutney and sweet tamarind dates chutney is what I have used here.

Papdi: these add the final crunch to these nachos. For those who don’t know papdi are crispy crackers made with flour and deep fried.

All together, these flavors create a flavor explosion! You guys have to trust me on this.

Prep in Advance

So, if you are making these for your Diwali party, here’s what you can do in advance to make your life easier.

✓ Marinate the paneer overnight and keep it in the refrigerator. Next day, you have to only pan fry the paneer pieces.

✓ Make the chutneys in advance. You can make both at home or do what I did- make the cilantro chutney at home and buy tamarind date chutney from Indian store.

✓ Whisk the yogurt with salt, sugar and mint and keep it ready.

Once the prep work is done, next day you would pan fry the paneer. While the paneer is frying, grate the cheese.

Then arrange paneer, beans and cheese together and pop it in the oven. Meanwhile make the onion tomato salsa.

Take the plate out and top with salsa, yogurt, chutneys, papdi and you are done!

And these have to served immediately. So once everything is done, serve them immediately else the chips turn soggy and then it’s no fun.

Can you make these nachos vegan? I haven’t tried but you can try substituting paneer with tofu, plain yogurt with almond milk yogurt and vegan cheese in place of pepperjack cheese.

Hope you guys give these paneer nachos a try. I would love to know how they turned out!

Cre: CookwithManila