(Beef Chimichanga, Chicken Chimichanga)

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             Chimichanga (deep fried burrito) is yet another Mexican dish in which the tortilla is stuffed with filling of choice and then deep fried. The filling may include beef, chicken, beans etc. After frying, it is served with toppings of individuals choice like cheese, guacomole, salsa, sauce etc.
 
Ingredients
Tortillas - 4 (10 inch)
Cooked Beef - 1 lb (See procedure for cooking beef below)
Refried Beans - 1 can (You could also use a can of black beans instead)
Bell Pepper - 1 (chopped)
Onion - 1 (chopped)
Cheese of your choice  - 1 cup
Cilantro - hanful (chopped)
Oil/ Cooking spray - as needed
Method
1. Warm all the tortillas in the microwave for about 10 seconds.
2. Take a tortilla on a flat surface and spoon in little bit of the refried beans in the center of the tortilla.
3. Put some beef mixture on it. Top it with little  onions, bell peppers, cilantro and shredded cheese.
4. Fold the two sides of the tortilla inwards to cover the filling.
5. Now fold in the opposite two sides so the the filling is completely enclosed. 
6. Use toothpicks to tighty secure the filling so that it does not come out while frying/baking.
7. Now use any of the following methods to complete the cooking process
  (a) Deep Frying  - Gently put the chimichangas in a frying pan/kadai with about 1 "of hot oil. Fry till both the sides become golden brown. If all the edges are not tightly sealed, the filling may ooze out into the oil and splatter all around. 
  (b) Shallow Frying - Spray oil in a flat tawa/frying pan and place the chimichangas on it. Fry for about 3 minutes on one side. Flip gently and fry the other side too.
  (c) Baking (Oven frying) - Preheat oven to 450 F. Place all the chimichangas on a cookie sheet. Spray with butter flavoured cooking spray and bake for about 20 minutes. Turn the chimichangas after 10 minutes so that both the sides are evenly browned and crispy.
8. Garnish the the chimichangas with  some chopped olives or chopped tomatoes or some shredded lettuce or shredded cheese. Serve with guacomole or sour cream or salsa.
 
Cooking Beef (for filling)
      I cooked the beef with all indian flavours. Feel free to cook it with seasonings of your choice. Here is my procedure.
      Cut the beef into small pieces. Heat oil in a pan, saute some chopped onions, minced garlic, minced ginger and some chopped tomatoes. Add some chilly powder, pepper powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder and corriander powder. Add beef and required salt and let it cook till the beef is cooked and all the juiced have cooked down. Since we use this as a filling, we need it to be as dry as possible.
 
Vegetarian Variation of filling
      Use Potatoes or black beans instead of beef. Boil the beans/Fry the potatoes with your choice of seasonings like cumin powder, pepper, chilly powder etc