Mexican Vegetable Gumbo

We were in Chicago about 2 years back. One of our friends introduced us to Qdoba Mexican Grill there and also to a wonderful dish called the Mexican Gumbo. Myself and hubby became a great fan of it and we became a frequent visitor to Qdoba. The only thing we used to order was this gumbo. It was such a comforting food. But now we don't have a Qdoba grill nearby and we miss gumbo a lot. So I searched for the gumbo recipe in the web, found there were many recipes and finally came with one after referring to many sites.

Gumbo is referred to as a soup or stew. There are vegetarian as well as meat gumbo's. Usually how gumbo is served is by adding some rice in a bowl, then some black/pinto beans on top and finally the soup is poured  into the bowl. You can add salsa, tortilla chips, sour cream , guacamole or cheese as toppings. This recipe is for a vegetarian gumbo. My hubby just loved it and I too enjoyed it. It tasted a little similar to the one we used to get at Qdoba. So now I am happy that I can prepare a gumbo at home :). But if you go to Qdoba, please don't forget to try the Mexican Gumbo.

What you need?

2 cups cooked Rice

1 cup cooked Pinto/Black Beans 

(Soak beans for 6-8 hours and pressure cook by adding a little salt.I have used Pinto beans here)

For the soup:

1/2 cup chopped Onion

1/2 cup chopped Bell Pepper

1/2 cup Corn

1 Garlic clove minced

1 Jalapeno chopped

2 Tomatoes chopped or use the canned one

3/4 th of a 32 oz can Vegetable broth (approx)

2 tsp Olive oil

1 tsp Cumin powder

few Cilantro/Coriander leaves chopped

Lime

Salt

Pepper

Topping options:

Salsa

Cheese

Guacamole

Tortilla chips

Sour cream

How to prepare?

Heat oil in a large pan. Add the chopped garlic and onions. Saute until onion turns pink. Now add bell pepper and saute until they turn tender. Add the tomatoes,corn,jalapeno and cumin, saute for a minute or two. Now pour the broth, add salt and pepper.Bring this to a boil. Now simmer this for 15-20 minutes. It will get slight thick with a soup consistency.Add water if necessary. Add the coriander leaves and squeeze some lime juice.(or you can do this at the end)

To serve the gumbo, in a bowl add some rice. Now add some beans on top of the rice.

Pour the soup over this. Now use one or more of the topping options. I have used only Guacamole here.
View the recipe of Guacamole here. Mix everything well and enjoy this great dish :)

I would like to thank Laxmi of Samayal Diary to present me with a wonderful award - Innovative Blogger. She has taken lot of efforts to design some awards and pass on to some of her blogger friends. She has also listed which are her favourite recipes at each space. Kudos to you dear, I feel so happy today. It feels great when someone appreciates u and also takes time to let you know that!! Thanx a lot Laxmi :) Its not just an award for me, its an encouragement as well as a moment to know that there are friends who care about us :)