Recipes from Tabasco Mexico

Pozol

Ingredients

• 1 kilo corn
• 1 spoonful of quick lime
• 250 grams of roasted and peeledcocoa beans
• 3 litres water

Preparation

Heat corn in the water with the lime, until the husk of the corn comes away easily when the grains are rubbed between the fingers. Take off the heat and rinse several times to wash them perfectly. Grind the cocoa and the boiled corn separately. Mix both ingredients and then beat them together with 3 liters of cold water. Serve the pozol in 'jicaras'.

Remarks

Pozol is a traditional drink to which can be added chorote flowers, " piste " (roasted sapotilla seeds), " camote " (sweet potato), etc. It can be drunk on its own or accompanied by other dishes.

Tejate

Ingredients

• 3 litres water
• 250 g corn
• 2 kilos ground cinders
• 50 g roasted peeled cocoa beans
• 250 g sugar
• 3 pixtles (apricot tree seeds from the Antilles)
• 10 cocoa flowers

Preparation

Pour the water into an appropriate vessel, add the cinders, mix well and allow to rest. Then pour the water into another vessel keeping back the cinders residue, add the corn and place the mixture on the heat. When it is cooked, mix the paste obtained with the cocoa and the pixtles until a smooth, homogeneous paste is obtained. Then place the mixture into an appropriate vessel and add water. Beat vigorously until a rich mousse is obtained. Separately, dissolve the sugar in a cup of water to make syrup. Serve in individual glasses and sweeten to taste with the syrup.

Tabasco pepper chocolate

Ingredients

• 1 kilo dry cocoa
• 10 Tabasco peppers
• water or milk
• sugar to taste

Preparation

Finely crush the cocoa with the pepper in a heated metate (a kind of mortar) or in a hand mill. Make tablets of approximately 30 grams and let them harden. Then cut them into pieces and put them in a basin; add boiling water or milk (1 cup per tablet) and beat with a whisk ('molinillo'). This chocolate can be drunk in its bitter state or sweetened with sugar.

Remarks

Tabasco pepper is also known as Jamaica pepper (pimienta gorda) or earth pepper (pimienta de la tierra).

Old-style milled chocolate

Ingredients

• 1 kilo roasted cocoa beans
• 2 cups roasted almonds
• 2 spoons of milled cinnamon
• 2 cups of sugar
• 2 heated egg yolks

Preparation

Grind the cocoa in a metate (a kind of mortar) heated two or three times to obtain a creamy consistency. Then progressively add the almonds, the cinnamon, the sugar and the egg yolks. Pour the paste into special moulds or tin circles placed on greaseproof paper to form tablets of 500 g. Use a knife to mark out 16 portions in each tablet. To prepare the drink, dissolve each portion of chocolate in 250 ml of boiling water or milk. Beat with a whisk ('molinillo') until a rich mousse is obtained.

Remarks

You can grind the ingredients beforehand in a food mixer and continue to grind in the metate until the paste is obtained. For this recipe it is not necessary to remove the skin of the cocoa beans.

Tascalate

Ingredients

• 1 kilo grilled and crushed tortillas
• 250 g peeled and roasted cocoa beans
• 10 g cinnamon, cut into small pieces
• 5 g rocou paste
• water, as necessary
• sugar to taste

Preparation

Mix the crushed tortilla with the cocoa, cinnamon and the rocou and grind them in a hand mill To prepare the drink, add two spoonfuls of this preparation per glass of water, sweeten to taste with sugar and beat with a whisk ('molinillo') before serving.

Remarks

A tortilla is a sort of pancake made with corn flour The sugar can also be added during milling to be blend perfectly with the other ingredients.

Atole of tender corn with chocolate

Ingredients

• 6 de-seeded tender ears of corn
• 2 cups of water
• 1 litre of milk
• 2 tablets of chocolate broken into pieces

Preparation

Mix the grains of corn with half the water. Sieve the mixture and pour the residue into the other half of the water and again pass through a sieve. Repeat this operation until there is only clean residue left. Heat the mixture on a low heat and allow to boil, stirring constantly until it thickens Then progressively pour on the milk and add the chocolate. Continue to stir until the chocolate melts.

Grilled and crushed corn Champurrado

Ingredients

• 2 cups of grilled, crushed corn
• 1 ½ litres of water
• white or brown sugar according to taste
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 tablets of bitter chocolate cut into pieces

Preparation

Mix the corn with half the water. Sieve the mixture then pour it into a vessel containing the rest of the water which has been brought to the boil. Add the sugar, the cinnamon and the chocolate. Let the mixture boil on a low heat until the atole consistency has been achieved.

Variant

If you wish you can replace the grilled, crushed corn with tortilla dough.

Polvillo

Ingredients

• 250 g grilled crushed corn
• 50 g grilled crushed cocoa beans
• 1 teaspoon powdered cinnamon
• sugar to taste
• 2 litres water
• ice to taste

Preparation

Perfectly mix the corn with the cocoa, cinnamon and sugar. Pour water (cold or hot) on the mixture and beat until any lumps disappear. If you wish to drink it cold, you can add ice before serving.

Xochistle

Ingredients

• 1 kilo grilled, crushed cocoa beans
• 250 g sugar
• 10 g rocou paste

Preparation

Mix the cocoa, sugar and rocou. Add two soup spoons of this powder per glass of cold water and beat vigorously.

Remarks

The use of rocou in this recipe is to give a red colour to the drink.

Recipes from Jalapa Mexico

In the Churreria del Recuerdo we have assisted to the preparation of 4 chocolate drinks :