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- Mexican cooking is synonymous with the use of tortillas, spices, maizes exotic vegetables like avocados, etc.
- Like bread, rices, etc. that form staple diet of people of other parts of the world, tortillas (thin round pancake like bread made of maize) form the mainstay of mexican food. The dough for these is made through a painstaking and interesting process. Maize is soaked in a solution of slaked lime and water, for 10-15 hours. The maize is then boiled in this same water till tender. Then it is drained and washed with plain water many times till all the lime is washed away. It is then pound to a smooth pasty soft dough. Small thin rounds of this dough are then rolled out and then either roasted on a griddle or fried as required. The mexican maize is particularly friendly to this process of maize pounding.
- A shortcut to making tortillas is to use fine maize flour and plain flour combination of 1:1. The individual recipes specify the remaining procedure.
- Another favourite of Mexicans is the use of avocados, (which grow
here in abundance) in so many delicious ways. The salad is a novel taste for salad lovers and refreshingly cool.
- Though some of the recipes like tacos, enchiladas, etc. may look tedious, the whole process may be broken down into 2 or three sessions to be made at leisure and stored till you want to make the final recipe. I have tried to give the individual timings required where possible. The end result is definitely a wonderful treat to the palates of friends and relatives alike.
- Mexicans are known for their informal hospitality which carries the warmth of the land. They love to call in friends for food. This is why many of their dishes though requiring prior preparation, have hardly any last minute tedium.
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