Mexican Cuisine
Mexican Food & Health

Mexican Cuisine

Undoubtedly, an important part of the Mexican culture is its varied gastronomy. When Christopher Columbus in 1492 went out on his search for India and for the valuable black pepper, instead he found America, sparking off the conquest of countries which, like Mexico, opened the world to new culinary horizons with its universal donation of vanilla, chilli peppers, avocado, corn, tomato and chocolate, among others.
Mexican food is popular throughout the world. But the kind you might be used to – tacos, nachos with guacamole, quesadillas, and enchiladas - is only a small part of this country's culinary repertoire. The fundamental Mexican food is based on corn, black beans and chillies, but due to the variety of cultures and communities in Mexico, each region is marked by a distinct aroma, taste and texture. Due to their great gastronomic variety, the States of Puebla, Oaxaca and Yucatán stand out; however one must not forget the recipes from Bajío (central part of the country) or the cuisine of the border states.
In central Mexico you will find a blend of Aztec and Spanish food. Typical is the centuries old mole poblano, a thick, dark sauce made with dried chilli peppers, nuts, seeds, spices, Mexican chocolate, etc. Southern Mexico, with its variety of dried peppers and chillies, is famous for its savoury herbed stews and sauces. Seafood, garnished with tomatoes and herbs followed by strong coffee is the basic meal along the Pacific Coast. And in the Peninsula of Yucatán, dinner is likely to be a Mayan delicacy like cochinita pibil, which is pork meat cooked in banana leaves, served with the famous achiote-sauce.


Why is Mexican food so popular all over the world?

Perhaps it is the way in which meat; vegetables and spices are so cleverly combined to result in delicious yet healthy meals. Alternatively, maybe it is because Mexican food is so inimitable and no other cuisine quite compares.
Many people find that heavy Mexican foods such as tacos and burritos come to mind first and these are traditional recipes from Northern Mexico. However, Mexican food recipes vary throughout Mexico and include Mayan, Aztec, Spanish, Caribbean and French influences. The way Mexican food originates in one area is a reflection of the cultural, religious, and historical orientation, as well as the natural resources. Authentic Mexican recipes are very different to the inferior, high fat Tex Mex offerings found in fast food chains.
Mexican staple ingredients include meat such as chicken or beef, fish and seafood, vegetables such as onions, garlic, tomatoes and beans and spices like cayenne pepper, chili pepper and many more. Corn, sour cream, and cheese are also widely used in traditional Mexican food. Mexican desserts are also very special and there are hundreds of types of cakes, puddings, and cookies to choose from. If you have not tasted real Mexican food, you are in for a treat when you try out some Mexican recipes!


Traditional Mexican Recipes

Tomatoes and chilies, along with garlic and onion are very popular flavorings in Mexican cuisine and are meld into many traditional Mexican food recipes. You will find these ingredients as a foundation in most main dishes. Popular Mexican dishes include salsas, quesadillas, tacos, enchiladas, burritos, fajitas, tostadas, and guacamole. Traditional Mexican meals are often paired with rice, beans, and fresh tortillas; they contain many fresh vegetables, and are one of the healthiest of the world's cuisines.


Authentic Mexican Recipes

Mexican food varies from region to region in Mexico, a result of the different climates, local ingredients, and techniques learned over the centuries. Traditional Mexican recipes also vary because of the many different influences from the Mayan and Aztec Indians to the French and Spanish settlers of years gone by. Mexican food recipes are a blend of these different groups, their cooking techniques, different spices, and ingredients of the old and new world flavors combined.

Make Your Own Mexican Recipes

Mexican food recipes are so easy

There is nothing hard or mysterious about making Mexican food and there are even quick and easy Mexican recipes, which you can put together in ten or fifteen minutes. Some dishes might need to be slow cooked but there are others, which are perfect for a quick lunch.


Cooking at home is economical and convenient

Making Mexican food recipes at home means that you do not have to drive across town to a Mexican restaurant or takeout. It is also much more economical. A lot of Mexican recipes are based on fresh produce, herbs, and spices and if you use seasonal produce, you will not be spending much but you can still make delicious and authentic Mexican food.


There are hundreds of mexican recipes to make

Mexico is such a huge country and the cuisine is incredibly varied. Whether you are a fan of fish, a meat lover, a vegetarian, or somebody who likes trying all kinds of new and exciting dishes, there is a Mexican food recipe for everybody. You will never get bored with Mexican food because there are so many recipes to try.


You control the ingredients

Controlling the ingredients means that not only do you get to choose exactly what goes into your meal but you also get to choose how spicy it is. If you really do not like spicy food, you can use aromatic Mexican herbs like cilantro or perhaps some mild chili powder for a hint of spice. If you like it hot, you can try some of the most famous Mexican chili peppers in your authentic Mexican meals.

There are hundreds of mexican recipes to make

Mexico is such a huge country and the cuisine is incredibly varied. Whether you are a fan of fish, a meat lover, a vegetarian, or somebody who likes trying all kinds of new and exciting dishes, there is a Mexican food recipe for everybody. You will never get bored with Mexican food because there are so many recipes to try.


Impress your family

If you usually serve up the same fried chicken, lasagna and meatloaf dishes every week, why not make an easy Mexican food recipe to impress your family tonight? Just imagine how thrilled they will be!.

Mexican Dishes

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Mouthwatering Fajitas
One of the most famous mexican dishes.

Whether you like meat, poultry, fish, or vegetarian food, fajitas are a delicious Mexican recipe. Technically, they might be more Tex Mex than Mexican but we can overlook that fact because they are so delicious and well worth making. Fajitas are one of the most popular dishes on Mexican restaurant menus and they are also easy to make yourself. Typical fajita fillings include chicken, shredded beef or shrimp. Crunchy fried onions and bell peppers are often served in restaurants with fajitas, and sour cream, guacamole, and salsa go well too. In restaurants, the tortillas and accompaniments are often served on individual platters, with the meat served on a sizzling hotplate, so you can assemble your own.

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Mexican Casserole
Tasty and Satisfying.

Mexican style casserole recipes are easy to make and they tend to be thick, rich, and filling. You might find ground beef, onion, tortillas, carrots and lots more traditional Mexican ingredients in easy Mexican casseroles. Some are aromatic and mild and others are spicy and bursting with Mexican heat. It is very handy to learn some easy Mexican casserole recipes because they are tasty and satisfying. The word "casserole" technically refers to the dish that the dish is made in, which means that there are many kinds of casseroles you can make. Because casserole recipes are so diverse, there is something for everybody, no matter what your preferences and favorite ingredients might be.

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Mexican Salads
Healthy and Delicious.

Mexican salad recipes are never boring. A lot of people might have never tried a Mexican salad but not all Mexican foods are spicy hot and served in a tortilla wrap! Popular Mexican ingredients for salad include lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, garlic, beef and more. When the weather is hot, a Mexican salad is a great recipe for a light lunch. You can serve these salad recipes alone or accompanied by cornbread or tortillas. Salads can be served as appetizers or entrees, depending on the ingredients and portion size and traditional Mexican ingredients like kidney beans, avocado, and corn are often added to these recipes to add vibrant color as well as an authentic flavor of Mexico.


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Aztec Soup
The most satisfying mexican food.

Just like with Mexican salad recipes, many people have never tasted Mexican soup recipes either. This is a shame because Mexican soups are incredibly good. They are hearty, rich, and very satisfying. Corn and chicken are popular ingredients in Mexican soup, as are chilies, beef, tomatoes and more. You can make a Mexican soup for the family to enjoy as an appetizer or for lunch. Some of the thicker, stew-like soups make a delicious dinner. Soup is very popular all over Mexico and there are many Mexican soup recipes that you can recreate in your own kitchen. Mexican chicken tortilla soup, for example, is easy yet really flavorful.


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Salsa
Perfect for any ocassion.

Most people enjoy dipping Doritos into a pot of mild or hot tomato salsa but have you ever tried an authentic Mexican salsa recipe? Salsa can be made with tomatoes, fruit, black beans, tomatillo and more. You can enjoy a fruity mango or papaya salsa with a fish or seafood dish or a tomato salsa with your favorite beef or pork dish. There are so many different varieties of salsa. A salsa is a Mexican sauce, which is usually made with raw ingredients. Salsa ingredients might include onion, garlic, tomato, black beans, fruit, chili, or corn. Some salsas are quite thin, making them good to use in fajitas or tacos, and others are chunky, making them ideal for scooping up with tortilla chips or corn chips.

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Guacamole
Very tasty!!

Many of us became familiar with guacamole after buying it at a grocery store or trying it at a restaurant but, as you might expect, homemade Mexican guacamole bears very little resemblance to the store-bought kind. This mouthwatering combination of avocado, lime juice, chili and more is great as a tostada topping, as an addition to the best Mexican salad recipes, as a dip or as an accompaniment to hundreds of different dishes. If you enjoy the taste and texture of avocado, you will love our authentic Mexican guacamole recipes.

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Pico de Gallo
The perfect garnish.

Pico de gallo is a chunky salad, which contains less liquid than a salsa. Onion, chilies, and tomato are popular pico de gallo ingredients, and avocado, cilantro, tomatillo, fruit, garlic, and bell pepper might also feature in some pico de gallo recipes. Like Mexican salsa recipes, pico de gallo is made with raw ingredients. Fruit salads with hot sauce and limejuice are also known as pico de gallo in Mexico. Pico de gallo is often eaten with the fingers or used as a condiment.


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Burritos
You can't taste only one.

Chicken burritos are as popular in Mexican as beef burritos and this chicken burritos recipe includes sour cream, chili powder, cheese, and tomatoes for an authentic Mexican recipe flavor. You can double the recipe and use two baking dishes or one large one to cook the burritos if you want to make more. Burritos are a classic Mexican recipe and they are one of the most popular dishes ordered at Mexican restaurants.


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Chiles en Nogada
A wonderful dish

The chile en nogada is a traditional Mexican dish made with poblano chiles stuffed with a mixture of meat and dried fruits, covered in walnut sauce, and garnished with pomegranate seeds. It is said that this dish was invented in the 1800s by nuns in the town of Puebla. It is prepared and eaten during the months of August and September, which is the time of year when one of the key ingredients, the pomegranate, is in season. Chile en nogada season also coincides with the Mexican Independence day festivities. Since this dish contains ingredients that are the colors of Mexico's flag - red, white, and green - it is considered a very patriotic and festive dish. If you happen to be in Mexico during Chile en Nogada season, be sure to try this scrumptious dish.

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Tamales
You have to try them!

In Mexican food, tamales are typically made with a corn masa dough and a filling of beans, meats, corn, or chiles and cooked over an open fire. Today, these little packages of perfection are simply steamed in their corn husk wrapper. The wrappings provide a portable device for the filling and add a little flavor. Tamales can be considered the Mexican version of a sandwich and are open to many interpretations.
What Makes Tamales Special? An authentic Mexican tamale recipe is unique because of its soft tamale corn masa, which is made by "nixtamalization", a interesting process of mixing field corn with wood ash or lime to soften the corn. This process makes the tamales healthier: it increases the body's ability to absorb the corn's nutrition.

...

Tacos
The light lunch.

Tacos are the Mexican equivalent to a hot sandwich. In other words, it is the generic name for a corn tortilla which is spread with a filling of your choice, folded or rolled up and eaten with the hands. They are a popular snack in Mexico, often sold by street vendors to passers-by. Please note that the stiff shells dubiously called tacos which are sold outside of Mexico are an industrial invention unknown in Mexico. Authentic Mexican tacos are made with SOFT corn tortillas, which are warmed through then spread with a filling and often topped with a spicy salsa, lettuce and some sour cream before being rolled or folded up and eaten with the hands.


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Pozole
The mexican comfort food.

Pozole, is a quintessential Mexican comfort food--a soup fit for a king. Basically, it's a hearty meat broth, laced with chili and augmented with hominy (known as cacahuazintle in Mexico). The hominy is prepared by a process called nixtamalización, that is, soaked in lime, as for corn tortillas, which softens the kernels. It is sometimes eaten at home, often for festive occasions, celebrating las fiestas patrias, the evening of the 15th of September, at the home of his in-laws with a big family pozole. But more often it is enjoyed at pozolerías, restaurants devoted to this sumptuous dish, or at market and street stalls.


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Mole Poblano
Get ready for a fiesta!

Most people associate mole with either with Puebla or Oaxaca , but the origin of mole poblano, the thick, rich, chocolate-tinged sauce made so famous in the colonial mountain city of Puebla, Mexico. Each Mexican woman has her own mole recipe, probably passed down from her mother. Because mole takes so much time to prepare, it is usually made in huge batches, too large for the home blender to handle. Therefore, women take their mole ingredients, all cooked and ready to blend, to large "molinos" or grinders in their neighborhood. The mole is passed through the grinders and comes out smoother than you could get from your home blender. It is not unusual to see women walking home from the molinos with buckets of mole for a fiesta.

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Chalupas
Tasty little craving.

A chalupa is a tostada platter in Mexican cuisine. It is a specialty of south-central Mexico, such as the states of Puebla, Guerrero and Oaxaca. Chalupas are made by pressing a thin layer of masa dough around the outside of a small mold, and deep frying to produce crisp, shallow corn cups. These are filled with various ingredients such as shredded chicken, pork, chopped onion, chipotle pepper, red salsa, and green salsa.

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Tostadas
Toasty and crunchy.

Tostadas are like flat tacos that are usually made by layering frijoles (refried beans) on op of a fried, flat corn tortilla and then adding a variety of different toppings, like meat, lettuce, guacamole, cheese and salsa. They're colorful and festive. They're easy to make and perfect for a casual spring or summer Mexican dinner buffet. Eating a tostada with style will take some skill and experience, but the taste of these varied mexican dishes is quite worth that effort!


...

Pambazos
Not only white, crispy bread.

Pambazo is the name of a Mexican white bread. It is also the name of the dish or antojito (very similar to the torta) made with this bread dipped in a red guajillo pepper sauce and filled with papas con chorizo (potatoes with chorizo). The bread used for pambazos is white and lacks a crispy crust. This particular bread is made of flour, lard, eggs, and its tougher and dried than the similar bolillo (also used for sandwiches), which allows it to retain its shape while being soaked in sauce. Pambazos are usually found in Mexican bakeries where they are sold just as any other white bread. However, since its exterior surface is a bit dry and fragile, is usually reserved for other uses than a meals companion.


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Enchiladas
Simply delicious!

An enchilada is a corn or flour tortilla rolled around a filling and covered with a chili pepper sauce. Enchiladas can be filled with a variety of ingredients, including meat, cheese, beans, potatoes, vegetables, seafood or combinations. In their original form as Mexican street food, enchiladas were simply corn tortillas dipped in chili sauce and eaten without fillings. They now have taken many varieties, which are distinguished primarily by their sauces, fillings and, in one instance, by their form. Various adjectives may be used to describe the recipe content or origin, e.g. enchilada tapatia would be a recipe from Jalisco.

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Chilaquiles
The Cure for hangover.

Chilaquiles are a traditional Mexican dish. Typically, corn tortillas cut in quarters and lightly fried are the basis of the dish.[1] Green or red salsa or mole, is poured over the crisp tortilla triangles, called totopos. The mixture is simmered until the tortilla starts softening. Eggs (scrambled or fried) and pulled chicken are sometimes added to the mix. The dish is topped with cheese (typically queso fresco) and/or sour cream (crema), and it is served with refried beans. Like many dishes, regional and familiar variation are quite common. Usually, chilaquiles are eaten at breakfast or brunch. This makes them a popular recipe to use leftover tortillas and salsas.

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Barbacoa
Food for kings.

The word "barbacoa" is Mexican in origin and refers to a whole animal or a cut of meat cooked slowly over an open fire. Traditionally a barbacoa referred to a fire pit dug into the ground but today it can mean any kind of barbecued or even steamed meat. Slow-cooked cow head, or "barbacoa de cabeza" is a famous Mexican food in the north of the country. Most Mexican barbacoa recipes do not use marinades or sauces while the meat is cooking, although sometimes a sauce is added when the meat is ready.
A traditional Mexican way of eating barbacoa is having it served on a warm soft taco style corn tortilla with guacamole and salsa for added flavor; the meat or the tacos are often served in the banana leaves they were cooked in.


...

Cochinita Pibil
Mexican slow-roasted pork dish.

Cochinita means baby pig, so true cochinita pibil involves roasting a whole suckling pig. Alternatively, pork shoulder (butt roast), or pork loin is used in many recipes. The high acid content of the marinade and the slow cooking time tenderizes the meat, allowing otherwise tough pieces of meat to be used. The Yucatecan recipes always employ the juice of Seville or bitter oranges for marinating. In areas where bitter oranges are not common, juice of sweet oranges combined with lemons, limes, or vinegar are employed to approximate the effect of the bitter orange on the meat. Another important ingredient in all pibil recipes is achiote (annatto), which gives the meat its characteristic color and adds to flavor.


Mexican Drinks

Mexican Drinks

Mexico is also known worldwide for their drinks. They offer a wide range of unique beverages, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic.
One of their most popular non-alcoholic drinks is aguas frescas. Aguas frescas are composed of fruits or seeds mixed with water and sugar. Fruits typically used are mango, papaya, melon, orange, pineapple, strawberry and tamarind. Meanwhile, popular seeds used include horchata, jamaica and alfalfa.
These beverages can easily be bought from street vendors. Popular flavors of the drink include agua de tamarindo and agua de jamaica.
Chocolate is also made into a drink in Mexico. The chocolate drink is generally more popular in Mexico than the candy.
Also from Mexico are a few well-known alcoholic beverages. Of these, the three most popular are tequila, mezcal and pulque. These three drinks, incidentally, are all produced from the same plant. The agave plant, or maguey plant, can be planted throughout the country. These three beverages are popular exports to various countries.
Tequila is the most popular Mexican beverage in the world. It is produced from a specific agave plant known as the blue agave. The blue agave only grows in western Mexico, near the town of Tequila in Jalisco. There are tours in Tequila, Jalisco that you can attend to learn more about the history and the process of making tequila.
There are generally two ways to drink tequila, the more popular method known as shooting the tequila. Tequila shots are typically made with salt and lime. However, some experts suggest that tequila should be sipped, with or without a sangrita.
Mezcal can be produced from different agave plants. The heart, or piña, of the plant is used. Meanwhile, pulque is produced from the sap of the agave plant. Fruits and nuts may be added to add flavor to the drink.

Try these unique Mexican beverages!


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Aguas Frescas
A mexican non-alcoholic drink.

Translated literally as "cool water," agua fresca is a non-alcholic drink that's incredibly popular in Mexico. When you're eating hot food, the coolness of an agua fresca is a perfect balancing point. That's probably why you see this beverage on nearly every street vendor's stand in Mexico. Better still, agua fresca is good for you and incredibly easy to make.

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Café de Olla
Tasty and Satisfying.

If you like rich, sweet coffee then this is a cup you shouldn't miss. While people create this traditional Mexican drink in Ollas (an earthenware pot), you can make it in a cup nearly as well. The touch of aniseed is wonderful and makes for an authentic flavor. But if you don't like it, feel free to leave it out!

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Ponche de Frutas
The Traditional Hot Christmas Punch of Mexico.

It looks like a bubbling pot of hot fruit salad. It smells like heaven. It's a classic symbol of Christmas in all over Mexico and it belongs in your Christmas plans too. As the "posadas" wind through the streets, ponche is ladeled out to the "pilgrims" at the doors of the houses. A pot is always kept hot and ready for guests. The smell drifting through the house as it simmers on the stove is heady stuff indeed.


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Chocolate
Theobroma, food of the gods.

Mexican chocolate is a type of chocolate which is prepared with an assortment of spices for a very distinctive and rich flavor. It is available in many markets, especially those which stock basic Mexican foods, and it can be found in the form of bars and discs of solid chocolate, along with powders and syrups. In addition to being used to make hot chocolate, Mexican chocolate can also be used in traditional Mexican dishes like mole, and it can be used in baking for an unusual flavor.


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Atole
Perfect for any ocassion.

O n a chilly morning or evening, this authentic atole recipe will let you whip up a traditional hot Mexican drink that will warm your body and cheer your soul. This is good stuff. Atole has a really long history. The name comes from the Nahuatl (Aztec) word atolli, and like so many foods in Mexico and throughout the Americas, it's based on corn. Sometimes it's made with cornstarch, but the more traditional versions, like this one, use masa, the same cornmeal dough used to make tortillas and tamales.

...

Guacamole
Very tasty!!

Many of us became familiar with guacamole after buying it at a grocery store or trying it at a restaurant but, as you might expect, homemade Mexican guacamole bears very little resemblance to the store-bought kind. This mouthwatering combination of avocado, lime juice, chili and more is great as a tostada topping, as an addition to the best Mexican salad recipes, as a dip or as an accompaniment to hundreds of different dishes. If you enjoy the taste and texture of avocado, you will love our authentic Mexican guacamole recipes.

...

Pico de Gallo
The perfect garnish.

Pico de gallo is a chunky salad, which contains less liquid than a salsa. Onion, chilies, and tomato are popular pico de gallo ingredients, and avocado, cilantro, tomatillo, fruit, garlic, and bell pepper might also feature in some pico de gallo recipes. Like Mexican salsa recipes, pico de gallo is made with raw ingredients. Fruit salads with hot sauce and limejuice are also known as pico de gallo in Mexico. Pico de gallo is often eaten with the fingers or used as a condiment.


...

Burritos
You can't taste only one.

Chicken burritos are as popular in Mexican as beef burritos and this chicken burritos recipe includes sour cream, chili powder, cheese, and tomatoes for an authentic Mexican recipe flavor. You can double the recipe and use two baking dishes or one large one to cook the burritos if you want to make more. Burritos are a classic Mexican recipe and they are one of the most popular dishes ordered at Mexican restaurants.


...

Chiles en Nogada
A wonderful dish.

The chile en nogada is a traditional Mexican dish made with poblano chiles stuffed with a mixture of meat and dried fruits, covered in walnut sauce, and garnished with pomegranate seeds. It is said that this dish was invented in the 1800s by nuns in the town of Puebla. It is prepared and eaten during the months of August and September, which is the time of year when one of the key ingredients, the pomegranate, is in season. Chile en nogada season also coincides with the Mexican Independence day festivities. Since this dish contains ingredients that are the colors of Mexico's flag - red, white, and green - it is considered a very patriotic and festive dish. If you happen to be in Mexico during Chile en Nogada season, be sure to try this scrumptious dish.

...

Tamales
You have to try them!

In Mexican food, tamales are typically made with a corn masa dough and a filling of beans, meats, corn, or chiles and cooked over an open fire. Today, these little packages of perfection are simply steamed in their corn husk wrapper. The wrappings provide a portable device for the filling and add a little flavor. Tamales can be considered the Mexican version of a sandwich and are open to many interpretations.
What Makes Tamales Special? An authentic Mexican tamale recipe is unique because of its soft tamale corn masa, which is made by "nixtamalization", a interesting process of mixing field corn with wood ash or lime to soften the corn. This process makes the tamales healthier: it increases the body's ability to absorb the corn's nutrition.

...

Tacos
The light lunch.

Tacos are the Mexican equivalent to a hot sandwich. In other words, it is the generic name for a corn tortilla which is spread with a filling of your choice, folded or rolled up and eaten with the hands. They are a popular snack in Mexico, often sold by street vendors to passers-by. Please note that the stiff shells dubiously called tacos which are sold outside of Mexico are an industrial invention unknown in Mexico. Authentic Mexican tacos are made with SOFT corn tortillas, which are warmed through then spread with a filling and often topped with a spicy salsa, lettuce and some sour cream before being rolled or folded up and eaten with the hands.


...

Pozole
The mexican comfort food.

Pozole, is a quintessential Mexican comfort food--a soup fit for a king. Basically, it's a hearty meat broth, laced with chili and augmented with hominy (known as cacahuazintle in Mexico). The hominy is prepared by a process called nixtamalización, that is, soaked in lime, as for corn tortillas, which softens the kernels. It is sometimes eaten at home, often for festive occasions, celebrating las fiestas patrias, the evening of the 15th of September, at the home of his in-laws with a big family pozole. But more often it is enjoyed at pozolerías, restaurants devoted to this sumptuous dish, or at market and street stalls.


...

Mole Poblano
Get ready for a fiesta!.

Most people associate mole with either with Puebla or Oaxaca , but the origin of mole poblano, the thick, rich, chocolate-tinged sauce made so famous in the colonial mountain city of Puebla, Mexico. Each Mexican woman has her own mole recipe, probably passed down from her mother. Because mole takes so much time to prepare, it is usually made in huge batches, too large for the home blender to handle. Therefore, women take their mole ingredients, all cooked and ready to blend, to large "molinos" or grinders in their neighborhood. The mole is passed through the grinders and comes out smoother than you could get from your home blender. It is not unusual to see women walking home from the molinos with buckets of mole for a fiesta.

...

Chalupas
Tasty little craving..

A chalupa is a tostada platter in Mexican cuisine. It is a specialty of south-central Mexico, such as the states of Puebla, Guerrero and Oaxaca. Chalupas are made by pressing a thin layer of masa dough around the outside of a small mold, and deep frying to produce crisp, shallow corn cups. These are filled with various ingredients such as shredded chicken, pork, chopped onion, chipotle pepper, red salsa, and green salsa.

...

Tostadas
Toasty and crunchy.

Tostadas are like flat tacos that are usually made by layering frijoles (refried beans) on op of a fried, flat corn tortilla and then adding a variety of different toppings, like meat, lettuce, guacamole, cheese and salsa. They're colorful and festive. They're easy to make and perfect for a casual spring or summer Mexican dinner buffet. Eating a tostada with style will take some skill and experience, but the taste of these varied mexican dishes is quite worth that effort!


...

Pambazos
Not only white, crispy bread.

Pambazo is the name of a Mexican white bread. It is also the name of the dish or antojito (very similar to the torta) made with this bread dipped in a red guajillo pepper sauce and filled with papas con chorizo (potatoes with chorizo). The bread used for pambazos is white and lacks a crispy crust. This particular bread is made of flour, lard, eggs, and its tougher and dried than the similar bolillo (also used for sandwiches), which allows it to retain its shape while being soaked in sauce. Pambazos are usually found in Mexican bakeries where they are sold just as any other white bread. However, since its exterior surface is a bit dry and fragile, is usually reserved for other uses than a meals companion.


...

Enchiladas
Simply delicious!

An enchilada is a corn or flour tortilla rolled around a filling and covered with a chili pepper sauce. Enchiladas can be filled with a variety of ingredients, including meat, cheese, beans, potatoes, vegetables, seafood or combinations. In their original form as Mexican street food, enchiladas were simply corn tortillas dipped in chili sauce and eaten without fillings. They now have taken many varieties, which are distinguished primarily by their sauces, fillings and, in one instance, by their form. Various adjectives may be used to describe the recipe content or origin, e.g. enchilada tapatia would be a recipe from Jalisco.

...

Chilaquiles
The Cure for hangover.

Chilaquiles are a traditional Mexican dish. Typically, corn tortillas cut in quarters and lightly fried are the basis of the dish.[1] Green or red salsa or mole, is poured over the crisp tortilla triangles, called totopos. The mixture is simmered until the tortilla starts softening. Eggs (scrambled or fried) and pulled chicken are sometimes added to the mix. The dish is topped with cheese (typically queso fresco) and/or sour cream (crema), and it is served with refried beans. Like many dishes, regional and familiar variation are quite common. Usually, chilaquiles are eaten at breakfast or brunch. This makes them a popular recipe to use leftover tortillas and salsas.

...

Barbacoa
Food for kings.

The word "barbacoa" is Mexican in origin and refers to a whole animal or a cut of meat cooked slowly over an open fire. Traditionally a barbacoa referred to a fire pit dug into the ground but today it can mean any kind of barbecued or even steamed meat. Slow-cooked cow head, or "barbacoa de cabeza" is a famous Mexican food in the north of the country. Most Mexican barbacoa recipes do not use marinades or sauces while the meat is cooking, although sometimes a sauce is added when the meat is ready.
A traditional Mexican way of eating barbacoa is having it served on a warm soft taco style corn tortilla with guacamole and salsa for added flavor; the meat or the tacos are often served in the banana leaves they were cooked in.


...

Cochinita Pibil
Mexican slow-roasted pork dish.

Cochinita means baby pig, so true cochinita pibil involves roasting a whole suckling pig. Alternatively, pork shoulder (butt roast), or pork loin is used in many recipes. The high acid content of the marinade and the slow cooking time tenderizes the meat, allowing otherwise tough pieces of meat to be used. The Yucatecan recipes always employ the juice of Seville or bitter oranges for marinating. In areas where bitter oranges are not common, juice of sweet oranges combined with lemons, limes, or vinegar are employed to approximate the effect of the bitter orange on the meat. Another important ingredient in all pibil recipes is achiote (annatto), which gives the meat its characteristic color and adds to flavor.