Typically Mexican

[Felix Pizarro R.]

* VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF MEXICAN LIFE*

Would you like to taste a typical Mexican meal? then, please take a
seat at the table. Just look at the variety of dishes placed on the
colorful Mexican zarape used as a tablecloth, and smell the
appetizing aroma of the food!
Of course, nearly every country has great veriety of food, but in
Mexico the list of local dishes is endless. We have several types of
moles; all kinds of hot sauces to put on top of the food; Mexican
appetazers, such as tostadas , enchiladas, sopes, quesadillas, and
tlacoyos. Also, there are the delicious tacos. The are almost as many
kinds of tamales as there are states in Mexico. There is even a great
veriety of dishes prepared with seafood.
Is your mouth begin to water? Then we will try to acquaint you with
some of our betterknow Mexican dishes.

*Mole -Typically Mexican*

The word mole (pronounced mo'lay) comes from mulli, a term used in the
Aztec Nahuatl dialect that means "sauce." Mole is the paste or souce
that is spread over pieces of chicken and turkey or over rice, and it
is what gives a fiesta flavor to the food, since mole is normally used
on special occasions. Patricia Quintana tells us in her book Mexico's
Feasts of Life that "moles differ from region to region, from village
to village, from cook to cook in the same village."
This paste is made with dried chili peppers, red tomatoes, onions,
almonds, prunes, plantains, toasted bread, cloves, cinnamon, and
vegetable oil, salted and peppered to taste.
Chocolate is added so that the paste has a taste between spicy and
sweetish. May we serve you some on top of your chicken and rice? Be
careful! Some palates and stomachs take a while to get used to this
heavy mixture.

*Stuffed Hot Peppers*

Stuffed hot peppers is a very common dish. This is made with poblanos,
big chili peppers, which are lightly fried in hot grease to remove the
fine skin and also to make them tender. Veins and seeds are then
removed. A mixture of chopped meat and nuts is prepared and fried
along with spices and prunes; it is then stuffed into the peppers. The
Peppers are closed with toothpicks. Cheese may also be used as a
stuffing. Then the peppers are batter fried. They are served covered
with a red tomato sauce. They are so delicious that you have to be
careful not to eat the toothpicks!
There ia an even more sophisticated stuffed pepper called chiles en
nogada. The stuffing is prepared with nuts and several kinds of
chopped meats, such as beef, veal, and pork. Sometimes the ingredients
include different fruits chopped up fine along with sweet bisnaga
plant. The stuffed chili is cooked, then chilled and covered with
light sweet cream and sprinkled with pulp-covered seeds of the
pomegranate.

*A Tempting Mexican Appetizer*

The principal ingredients for making Mexican appetizers are tortillas
and the great variety of hot chili sauces. Tortillas have become known
all over the world. They are usually thin, flexible pancakes of
cornmeal dough that are baked on top of a comal (hot iron slab).
Generally the sauces are made from green peppers like jalapeños (witch
are about two inches long and plump) or serranos (smaller and
thinner). These hot peppers are used worldwide, since they are
preserved in vinegar and exported.
The most common sauce is the easiest to make. It uses green peppers,
red tomatoes, and onions- all raw. They are chopped up fine and
seasoned with salt as desired. If you mix this sauce with mashed
avocados, you have a delicious guacamole, which can be used as a sauce
or eaten as a (a rolled up or folded tortilla with filling). There is
also a green sauce made with green peppers and green tomatillos that
are grilled and then put in the blender. Red sauces are made with red
peppers and red tomatoes that have been grilled. Some sauces are made
with pure chili peppers, but this depends on how hot you want it.
The tostada is a crisp, fried tortilla on which you put a layer of
refried beans, a layer of shredded chicken or other meat, and onion
rings, topped off with sauce. Sopes are a little like tostadas, but
the tortilla is thicker and smaller and not crisp. Tlacoyos are plump
tortillas with refried beans inside. Onion rings and a sauce go on on
top of these. Enchiladas are similar to rolled up tacos, usually with
a little chicken meat inside. These are covered with mole, then with
freshly grated cheese and onion rings. If you like, fresh cream can be
added to any of these appetizers.
Everybody loves quesadillas! The name comes from its principal
ingredient, queso, cheese, but quesadillas are made from a variety of
ingredients: crisp pork rinds, huitlacoche (a corn fungus), flowers of
the squash plant, tinga (hot shredded beef), and pork sausage, to name
a few. There are a great many ways to make these , but the ones that
taste the best are those that are made at the same time the tortillas
are made. The tortilla is formed and cheese put on one side, and then
it is folded and placed on the comal with a little oil and baked. It
is turned at least once to make sure it is cooked on both sides.
Before it is served , sauce is put inside and then, still steming-down
the hatch! Hmmm, what a treat!

*Only for Brave Ones*

But there are some Mexican dishes that are only for the brave! Would
you like to try a delicious iguana- yes, iguana in mole? It looks
better in the dish, and believe it or not, the flavor can be inviting.
How about some fried red ants made into tacos? Experts say they are
delicious with either red or green sauce. A dish that is still more
difficult to come by is ant's eggs in tacos-Mexican caviar! Or why
don't you try grasshoppers that have turned red upon being fried in
the skillet? They come in all sizes, but for beginners the small ones
are the best. These dishes, however, are only for Mexican palates of
for confirmed gourmets.
We have just skimmed the surface. You will have to find time to get
acquainted with the great variety of tamales (corn dough with meat
inside, shaped like an ear of corn, and cooked slowly in the thin skin
of the maguey plant), ceviches (raw fish and seafood marinated with
lemon juice), soups, and the ever-present bean, wich comes in all
colors.
Come! Sit down atthe table! Don't worry about the hot chilies. Most of
the food is prepared without peppers, and you can add hot sauces
according to your palate. Even the Mexican people vary in their tastes
for chili peppers, and there are some who will not touch them at all.
But accept our Mexican hospitality and try the great variety of food
that is set before you, since variety is the spice of Mexican life!

Article taken from Awake!