What do you know about mexican cuisine?

When the Spanish conquistadors arrived in Mexico they found a very advanced civilization with, to them, very strange culinary customs.

The banquets served at the court of Moctezuma were, in fact, worthy of being featured in the most sumptuous feasts offered by the courts of the old continent.

The pre-Columbian diet was based on the use of corn, which was considered a sacred plant. Tortillas,tamales and many other dishes were made with its flour.

About corn flour                           

This corn diet was supplemented with meat, especially game, and vegetables such as tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and beans. Various qualities of beans were cultivated and it can be said that the poor never lacked a handful of beans with which to garnish the tortillas.

Chilli was the spice that gave the food taste and offered variation, thus avoiding the monotony of a diet based on corn and beans.

The Spanish brought new food with them; rice, onions, garlic, and also pets such as pigs, chickens, and later cows. With this came a new way of cooking, which was frying, and the use of new ingredients such as milk and butter. That's why the two kitchens mixed: tomatoes and chili peppers from the new continent were mixed with rice from the old continent and the natives learned to fry their meat instead of eating it boiled or stuffed in a piece of wood.

About Mexican food

Nowadays there isn’t a single Mexican cuisine, but instead a variety of them that change from region to region due to climatic, geographical and ethnic differences. You will have a cuisine of land in the northern and central states while a cuisine of sea in the states overlooking the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. Both kitchens, however, have one thing in common: the use of sauces made from different types of chilies, hot or mild depending on the recipe.

The Mexican national dish is the mole poblano. The name “mole dal atzeco molli” means “soft aromatic chilli sauce” which is the soul of this dish whose other ingredients are turkey and chocolate.

This dish has a very curious origin story; We are in the 16th century. The nuns of the convent of Santa Rosa in Puebla were panicked when they learned that the bishop of the diocese, without warning, was about to pay them a visit. Having nothing to offer that was worthy of such a guest, they gathered all the supplies of the convent.

How is mole poblano prepared?

The nuns mixed different types of chilies with almonds, tomatoes, onions, garlic, bread, tortillas, bananas, sesame grains, sugar, dried raisins, lard, avocado leaves, and lots of herbs and spices. They then crushed everything and cooked it for several hours, adding a little bit of chocolate to remove some of the harshness from the mole. While the sauce was boiling, they sacrificed and roasted the only turkey in the convent. When the bishop arrived, he was served the turkey covered with this miraculous sauce that was greatly appreciated. Since its preparation is long and laborious, it’s reserved only for large occasions. You can, however, find moles ready for use in specialized shops.