Did you know that what the world perceives as flag bearers of ‘Mexican food’ i.e. bean burritos and nachos are as authentically Mexican as a masala dosa probably is? In fact, nachos are the ingenious American invention of a shrewd Eagle Pass, Texas dive bar owner named Ignacio ‘Nacho’ Anaya in the mid-20th century. And a bean burrito is as removed from authentic Mexican food as can be. True-blue Mexican food or Comida Mexicana is miles away from the ersatz versions we’re all collectively guilty of chowing down upon with a vengeance at the nearest fast food chain.
But fear not! The entire length and breadth of the Central American country is a virtual wonderland of highly complex, sophisticated dishes and preparations that will make your initiation into Mexico’s exotic world of food a rewarding one.
Mexico City on a platter
I soon realised that one of the best places to start one’s culinary innings is the country’s eponymous capital — Mexico City. Famous for its street food, you’re never too far away from a curbside torta kiosk in this heaving city.
The inexpensive tortas or sandwiches range from chorizo to grilled stringy Oaxacan cheese... and this is the common man’s snack. Wash it down with an exotic and refreshing drink of horchata made from ground rice, almonds and cinnamon at an agua fresca (fresh fruit juice) cart. The bustling Xochimilco Mercado — a suburban food market is where you can find some of Mexico’s most exotic street food classics plated out at colourful cantina bars and ubiquitous taquería stalls. Soft tortillas made with masa (maize dough) and stuffed with grilled chicken and meats, all drizzled with a smoky chipotle chilli sauce go into a taco.
Others like sopes (corn tartlets filled with beans and cheese), tostadas (deep-fried tortillas) topped with zucchini blossoms called flor de calabaza and the pre-Hispanic fried dough snack from the Yucatan called panuchos (filled with a savoury black bean paste) are equally scrumptious.
Tuck into a bowl of a spicy hominy and meat-based soup-like stew called pozole while balancing an elote corn on the cob slathered with mayonnaise and dusted with cotija cheese. End with a plate of divine tamales in which masa is smeared on corn husks and layered with meats, veggies or chicken.
The nation's favourite
oubt, the national dish of Mexico has got to be the mole. Pronounced mo-leh, this highly complex creation is as divine to eat, as cumbersome and tedium-inducing it is to make. And although its ubiquity is celebrated all over the country, Oaxaca is considered the progenitor of this rich, chocolate-based sauce that’s best had ladled over boiled chicken and served with herbed rice and freshly-made tortillas. Yes, chocolate is one of the main ingredients of a traditional mole. This along with an entire pantry-busting grocery list comprising of at least 30 ingredients like black pepper, almonds, cumin, cloves, anise, tomatoes, tomatillos, garlic, sesame seeds, dried fruit and indigenous spices like red achiote seeds, hoja santa and guaje among others.
The good thorn
If you happen to be in Mexico in the month of April, consider yourself very lucky. A virtual cactus ‘blitzkrieg’ takes place at the annual Feria de Nopales (Cactus Fair) in the central Mexican village of Tlaxcalancingo in the state of Puebla.
This homage to the nopal (cactus), the village’s most important crop, has stalls selling all sorts of cacti-centric dishes like huaraches which are stuffed with stewed nopales and the divine ensalada de nopalitos (cactus salad). But its most popular dish is always the tacos de nopalitos.
And as if the cactus-stuffed taco wasn’t exotic enough, this scrumptious iteration is made with rare blue corn and served with roast meat, all anointed with the green tomatillo sauce.