Chicken Quesadilla/ Quesadilla/ Grilled Chicken Quesadilla

Chicken Quesadilla makes an extremely fancy dinner meal if you know what I mean. Quesadilla is a Mexican dish, grilled tortilla wrap with your choice filling and melted cheese. All teen tummies in my home (all three) were extremely happy and we all had great fun folding the tortillas and having them straight from the pan after grilling. Happiness three ways- No dripping mess, more helping hands and happy teens!

My darling daughter is up to many surprises lately! Apart from her creative expeditions and music recitals, she is driving the scooter coolly, dutifully makes our evening tea and has also started experimenting in Savoury Cuisines (all this while it was pancakes, brownies, chocolate cakes and cookies!). After the four-fold Quesadillas started trending on social media, Tessa took up the dinner project one day and made everything including tortillas. The dough was smooth and well-formed. I watched in awe as she went on patiently, rolling out tortillas like a veteran chef. She took Joe’s help for filling and folding part, and I just had the tasting job. The kitchen sink full of vessels and the messy counters didn’t bother me for once; was extremely proud of my little girl; not so little anymore! Sigh!

Since my teens and hubby loved it, I thought I would give it a try and replace sausages with Chicken and veggies. Being an Indian, it is very hard for me to avoid spices and herbs, so, you may call this Indo- Mexican Chicken Quesadilla. You will not be disappointed as it tasted amazing with exquisite flavours. The four-fold Chicken Quesadilla reminded me of club sandwich with a different filling in each layer.

For other cheesy delights, check my Paneer Pizza, Vegetable Pizza, Chicken burgers, Chicken tikka Pizza, Cheesy Crescent rolls, Whole wheat Pizza, stuffed Garlic Bread etc. These Chicken quesadillas are easier to make than pizzas. It is quicker and less messy; crispy on the outside and soft and cheesy inside. I have used Mozzarella cheese and cheese slices; you can use a mix of cheddar and mozzarella or other Mexican favourites. Lime and cumin are mixed with the ingredients to add more zing and make it more enticing.

These Chicken Quesadillas are extremely delectable, rich in flavours and you can prepare the fillings and tortillas beforehand. This makes it a great choice for party meals. You can also try corn tortillas prepared with corn meal, for a healthier option. Also, you can prepare quesadillas with your own choice filling and savour with guacamole and salsa. Please do not get intimidated by the list of ingredients, both Guacamole and Salsa have similar ingredients. Get creative and customize your Chicken Quesadilla or vegetable quesadilla the way you like. Check the video for detailed making and subscribe to my YouTube channel if you like my videos. Here is the amazing recipe for Chicken Quesadillas! Enjoy!

Ingredients for Grilled Chicken filling:

Ingredients for Flour Tortilla:

Ingredients for Mexican Salsa:

Ingredients for Guacamole:

Other Ingredients for Chicken Quesadilla:

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Watch Video Recipe

Method for Chicken Quesadilla:

Clean the chicken breasts and slice into thin fillets. Pound lightly with a meat mallet. In a mixing bowl combine Chilli Powder, Pepper powder, Cumin Powder, salt, Onion powder, Garlic powder, Oregano and Rosemary. Rub the chicken fillets with lime juice and spice mix. Keep aside for half hour.

Heat a pan and pour 1 tbsp olive oil. Place the chicken fillets and fry both sides till done. Drain and let it rest for 5 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and chop into small pieces. Mix in 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, sweet chilli garlic sauce and give a good toss.

Your grilled chicken filling for Chicken Quesadilla is ready.

Making Tortilla:

For the tortillas, take the flour in a bowl, add salt, Baking powder, oil. Pour little hot water (medium hot) and mix. Add hot water in intervals and mix to make a dough.  Knead well for few minutes with your hands to make a smooth and soft dough. Cover and keep aside for half hour.

Make small lime sized balls. Dust some floor and with the help of a roller, make thin round tortillas. Heat a pan, place each round disc on the pan and cook the tortillas like you make rotis/ chappathi.

Mexican Salsa:

Next, prepare the salsa. Mix chopped onions, tomatoes, bell pepper, Jalapenos, coriander leaves, salt, pepper and lime juice. Salsa done.

Guacamole:

Cut Avocados lengthwise into halves and remove the pit. Scoop out the flesh with the help of a spoon and place in a bowl. Using a fork mash coarsely. Add lime juice and mix to avoid discoloring. Next, add the onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, Coriander leaves, salt and cumin powder. Taste and adjust salt, lime and if you need add little pepper too.

You can prepare this in advance, cover well and refrigerate till use.

Final Assembling of Chicken Quesadilla:

Keep everything ready. Mix little Oregano with Tomato ketchup. Grate the cheese. Slice more jalapenos if you prefer it spicy. Take one tortilla, cut halfway through and arrange different fillings. I put Tomato ketchup, cheese slice and jalapeno slice in one quadrant, lettuce and chicken filling in another, a little Guacamole in another quadrant and mozzarella cheese in the last. Start folding from one end and end with the cheese. Make more Chicken Quesadillas with salsa or guacamole fillings the same way.

Heat a grill pan and brush with oil. Place the quesadillas on the pan with cheese side down. Reduce the heat to medium to allow the cheese to melt slowly and make the tortillas crisp and golden without burning them. Turn the tortillas to make both sides crisp.

Serve hot with cheese dips or sour cream. Yum!

Tips:

• You can customize your fillings with vegetables or sausages or chicken as per your liking.
• Mozzarella cheese/ Cheddar cheese/Other Mexican cheese can be used for Quesadillas.
• Tortillas can be prepared with Corn meal as well for healthier options.
• The water should be medium hot for making tortillas.
• Fill one-half of the tortilla with your choice filling and cheese, fold once and grill both sides on low flame. However, fourfold quesadillas are less messy.
• Guacamole can be prepared in advance and stored in the fridge the day before.
• Do not add lime juice and salt to salsa mix until you are ready. Or there will be excess liquid from tomatoes and onions.

Please try this grilled Chicken Quesadilla and let me know how it turned out for you through comments and share with your friends using the share buttons on the sides. It would definitely encourage me. Thanks, and God Bless!!