Mexican cuisine

Before the coming of the Spaniards, the inhabitants of Mexico had not been familiar with fat or oil. Food used to be baked, cooked in water or steamed, often it was cooked in pits dug in the ground. Spanish colonizers very quickly became “americanized”, having adopted the living and eating habits of the natives. New cooking techniques – such as frying, grilling etc. – inspired the creation of many extraordinary recipes. 

 

Corn masa is used for making tortilla – Mexican bread. In order to make a dough, dry seeds need to be soaked in warm water with calcium, cooked until soft and left overnight. The following day seeds need to be drained and rinsed, then ground. Such paste is shaped into thin chips and placed on a heated clay tray called comal. Another kind of tortillas are totopos – thin chips cut into pieces, made from powder of cooked and ground corn mixed with salt and chili. The Americans made it popular under the name of „Nachos”.

 

In Mexico chili was, is, and will be the queen of spices. Mexicans became so fond of chili that even the best and finest meal is considered unfinished if this  seasoning is missing .  Most frequently they prepared chili sauces: minced peppers with red or green tomatoes, thickened with pasta made from pumpkin or sunflower seeds, peanuts or cocoa, seasoned with all kinds of herbs. There are over 90 varieties of chili of a different colour, shape and taste.