There is one staple of Mexican food that everyone loves – the Tostadas. 
Tostadas is a cooked tortilla that is cooked further to make it crispy. “Tostada” in Spanish means “toasted”. This delicious Mexican classic is so easy to make and becomes even easier to cook with when you are familiar with the delicious and versatile food. The tortilla can be toasted or deep fried to make it crispy. It can be cooked flat as it is or it can be molded into a bowl shape to act as a container for a food item. Corn tortillas are generally used rather than the wheat ones.
Traditionally tostadas were dry roasted in a pan called “Comal,” without using any oil. But nowadays, because of convenience, people often fry the tortillas in a small amount of oil in a pan. In order to avoid the oil and make a healthier version of tostadas, you can arrange tortillas in a single layer in cookie sheet, spray some oil and bake in a pre-heated oven for about 3 minutes.
Talking about the versatility of the tortilla as a wrapper is endless. They are used for tacos and enchiladas. Among native Mexicans, tortillas are commonly used as eating utensils, as a plate, to make tostadas and much more. In the United States, the tortilla is no longer seen as just ethnic bread. This is partially due to the increase in Hispanic population and how easily people have developed a taste for Mexican cuisine. 
The mainstay of the Mexican diet was and still is the tortilla. It won’t be wrong to state that this cuisine revolves around tortilla and its different available versions. The tradition continues today with little change. The kernels are cooked with lime to remove the husk and then ground on a stone slab with a grinding stone. The dough is formed into little round balls and then patted out by hand into thin round cakes or wrapped in a corn husk. Tostada also refers to a food dish made with a tostada. Appetizer tostadas are often flat, covered with a layer of refried beans or meat toast as an “adhesive” anchor and then covered with other toppings on top of that.
I fell in love with this cuisine while I was on a cuisine ship sailing to the beautiful, clear waters of Mexico; I always visited nearby Mexican restaurants to savour local delicacies. It is such an easy meal to make but that doesn’t stop it from tasting or looking great! Another good thing about them is that they are inexpensive to make as well. Even on a low budget you can make this simple dish with some refried beans, ground meat, some vegetable and tortillas. 
Tostadas have a few necessary components – refried beans, ground meat traditionally ground beef, vegetables (lettuce and tomato) and tortillas. It is easy to go to the store and get ready to eat tostada shells. That said I prefer to fry my own. They taste better that way and are so much more authentic. For the beans, it is important that you can spread them, so refried beans (black or pinto) are the best.
In Mexico the beans are cooked and mashed but that takes a long time. Nowadays you also get premade refried beans in cans or bags, which makes your indulgence in Mexican Cuisine much simpler and even less time consuming.
One more interesting and economical aspect of preparing tostadas was to use the leftover tortilla and save money.


Tostadas


Ingredients
Corn tortillas 6 nos.
Olive oil 2 tbsp
Yellow onion 1 no.
Tomato 3 nos. 
Garlic 2-3 cloves
Serrano chilli 1-2 nos.
Iceberg lettuce, shredded 2 cups
Red radish 3-4 bulb
Cilantro, chopped 1/2 cup
Chicken breast, shredded 2 cups
Refried beans 2 cups
Avocado, halved 1 no.
Sour cream 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
White pepper powder to taste
Oil to fry
Monterrey jack cheese 1 cup
Lime wedges to accompany  
Method
Shred the roasted chicken breast and keep aside.
Slice half of onion into 3/4 inch wedges and chop the remaining.
Toss onion wedges, tomato, garlic and whole chili with some olive oil in a pan.
Broil until softened and charred for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile toss together shredded iceberg lettuce, sliced radish, chopped onion and half of cilantro.
Puree the tomato and onion mixture along with serrano and seasoning until smooth.
Transfer puree to a bowl and stir in chicken, the remaining cilantro; add salt and pepper to taste.
Heat the remaining 1 cup of oil in a medium skillet over medium heat until it shimmers. Fry tortillas 1 at a time turning once or twice and pressing with tongs to immerse until golden brown – 40-50 seconds per tortilla.
Drain briefly on paper towel and then transfer to plates.
Spread tortillas thickly with heated refried beans, then top with the chicken mixture.
Slice avocado over tostadas and add a dollop of sour cream.
Mound lettuce mixture on top and sprinkle with cheese; serve warm

* Chef Tarun Kapoor, 
Culinary Mastermind, USA. He may be contacted at [email protected]