Popular Mexican food. Mexican cuisine - traditional national recipes with photos, as well as its features

Mexican cuisine to match the people of Mexico themselves - bright and unforgettable. Colorful colors, creative decor and spicy flavors set it apart from all other traditional dishes. Gourmets assure that even the most fastidious tourist will find their favorite delicacy in its variety. It's interesting that Mexican cuisine was included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List.
Mexican edible attractions are a mouth-watering mix of Spanish and Native American culinary traditions. The conquistadors who arrived in Tenochtitlan (present) in the 16th century discovered that the Mexican cuisine of that era consisted of beans, corn, chocolate and tomatoes, richly seasoned with herbs. The Spaniards introduced the locals to rice, garlic, wine and meat. The symbiosis of new products and food of pre-Columbian America is the diet of the average Mexican today.

Main dishes

Mexican cuisine First of all, it's corn. It is boiled, fried, steamed and turned into flour. No less popular on the menu are beans and rice. Beans are the food of working people because they are high in calories and satisfying. And seafood is added to rice with minimal thermal processing on the coasts. Some dishes are quite spicy, because they have chili peppers and jalapenos as an essential ingredient. The most refractory are offered to try chipotle - red jalapeno smoked on wood smoke.

Sauces

It is difficult to imagine a Mexican table without salsa - a sauce based on tomatoes and chili peppers. Lesser known in the world, pico de gallo is a fresh mass of tomatoes, onions and chili. Mole has an original taste - chili and cocoa sauce. Guacamole is a spiced avocado sauce. This dish has Aztec roots and used to be considered "mashed potatoes for the poor." Chili con queso is a chili and tomato cheese sauce that pairs perfectly with corn chips.

tortilla

The basis of many dishes mexican food- It's a tortilla. They have been baked since ancient times by the natives, and the Spaniards came up with the name - it painfully reminded them of a traditional Spanish omelette. Tortilla is made with wheat or corn flour in flat clay pans to keep them soft and dense. Tortillas replace bread for Mexicans - they are served just like that, used as a side dish or even a fork! Tortilla is the food of both the poor and the masters. It is difficult to list all the dishes that this corn tortilla is based on - burritos, pies, rolls, canapes ... The main thing is to eat the tortilla right away while it is warm, because the corn dough quickly hardens.
Nachos are tortilla chips. Mexican sauces, dressings, salads are served with them. Sometimes this is a separate dish, which is brought on a special tray with a recess for salsa.
No decent Mexican will throw away the remains of a tortilla - everything will turn into a new dish for him. Chilaquiles are dried pieces of corn tortillas that are covered with chili sauce and heated until they are soft. You can eat them with meat, vegetables, eggs or sour cream.

Burrito and its varieties

As soon as the name of the most famous dish of Mexican cuisine is not translated: “donkey” from Spanish, and “bangs” from the Mexican dialect, and “hard worker” from slang. Probably the name comes from the nickname of the businessman Juan Mendoza, who was affectionately called the Donkey. He sold meat and vegetables on the Mexican border and wrapped them in corn tortillas to save money on pottery. Soon the Mexicans could not imagine a full meal without this addition. They called it "bangs" because of the protruding stuffing and "hard worker" - as a popular high-calorie food for workers. The basis is a tortilla, in which a filling of beef, beans, rice, avocado, cheese, and beans is wrapped. Salsa sauce adds a special spiciness to the dish.
Fajita is a type of burrito. The name comes from the Spanish word for "stripe", as the meat is cut into strips. Vegetables, sour cream, salsa, pico de gallo and cheese are added to it. A distinctive feature is that the filling for fajita is served separately, so that everyone can decide for himself what to wrap in a flatbread.
Enchilada - “chili-flavored” - is also somewhat reminiscent of a burrito. The cornmeal cake is thin, meat stuffing or eggs with vegetables are wrapped in it. The resulting treat is lightly fried or baked in the oven under a layer of cheese. Enchiladas are usually eaten with a spicy mole sauce.
Taco also has tortilla as its basis, only the fillings are much more diverse: meat, cheese, seafood, beans, vegetables, even a Mexican cactus! The filling is densely superimposed on the cake, which is then wrapped.
If you put cheese, vegetables, or chorizo ​​(a savory sausage stuffed with chili and paprika) on top of a tortilla and fold the tortilla in half, you have a quesadilla. A properly fried burrito would be called a chimichanga.

Soups

Tortilla soup is another "hot" item. Onions and garlic are lightly sautéed in corn oil, then simmered with tomatoes, chili, jalapenos and black pepper in a simmering chicken broth. It turns out a very spicy stew, which is served in bowls with grated cheese and fried tortilla.
Pozole is a meat and corn soup. The grains are boiled so that they lose their shell, after which they burst. Then meat is added and put on the table. Guests can add sauce to the soup according to their taste.

Main courses

Mexican cuisine, as you already understood, does not exist without spicy dishes! Chili con carne is a thick stew of meat and chili peppers, where vegetables, beans, onions and tomatoes are also added.
Tamale came to us from time immemorial. It is assumed that it was with them that the Indians treated the conquistadors. The dish is a cornmeal dough wrapped with banana leaves. Inside is a filling of meat, vegetables, cheese - in a word, everything that a good Mexican housewife has in the refrigerator.
Mexican cuisine, of course, mainly meat, but there are seafood dishes. For example, fish or shrimp ceviche. Marine inhabitants are marinated and cut into small pieces, after which they are mixed with red onion, chili, lemon and sprinkled with black pepper and spices.

Dessert

Polvoron is a cookie that came from Spain, which is usually baked for various holidays. It is made from flour, sugar, milk and nuts, after which it is shaped into a ball and sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Beverages

Mexico is the birthplace of tequila. This strong alcoholic drink is obtained from the juice of the blue agave - even the very name of Mexico comes from the Aztec "the place where the agave grows." Tequila is credited with a divine origin - they say, an awkward god hit the agave with lightning, after which the fermented juice appeared, intoxicating the locals. Healing properties are attributed to this drink - Mexican scientists claim that it is an excellent antiseptic. Tequila is known, first of all, thanks to the ritual of use: lick, drink, eat. True, this method is popular only in Western countries, in Mexico they drink tequila in one gulp and add salsa sauce for spiciness.
From soft drinks, tejate made from cocoa, corn, cinnamon and fruit seeds is very tasty. All this is crushed into a paste and seasoned with sugar syrup, after which it is cooled. The main thing is that there should be a thick cocoa foam on the surface. Champurrado is a hot drink made from chocolate and cornmeal. It can be mixed with alcohol or chicken eggs.

exotic dishes

Fans of exotic dishes will be happy to taste fried nopal - or cactus.
In the villages, you can easily treat yourself to ant eggs, iguana, deer or spider meat. And those who are lucky enough to visit Mexico during the celebration of the Day of the Dead can see a special bread made from wheat flour. It is called the Bread of the Dead and is prepared especially for the holiday. It is baked in a round loaf, after which it is sprinkled with powdered sugar. The decoration is stripes and a bread ball, symbolizing the skull and bones.

Do you love Mexican food?

The national cuisine of Mexico is a kind of synthesis of Spanish, Aztec and Indian cuisines. The dishes of this cuisine are very diverse and enjoy constant success all over the world. The very fact that Mexican cuisine is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List speaks of the uniqueness and uniqueness of the dishes that all tourists and guests of this beautiful and hospitable country simply need to try.

For the preparation of national dishes, meat, vegetables, legumes and cereals, seafood are widely used. But corn dominates. Corn is boiled, fried, served with meat, pepper, mayonnaise, grated cheese. In addition, cornmeal is widely used. Here are just some of the dishes from this wonderful plant, the cereal family:

• "" - a very popular Mexican tortilla, made from cornmeal.
• "tacos" - corn tortilla, stuffed.
• "pinoles" - toasted cornmeal, with cocoa.
• Posoles - meat cooked in cornmeal, there is also a corn drink of the same name.
• "tamales" - pieces of corn dough, steamed with sauce.
• "Tostados", "quesadilla", "chimichangi", "nachos" - amazing cakes, with various fillings.

Separately, I would like to say about "tortilla", which has long become the hallmark of the national cuisine of Mexico. This thin corn tortilla with spices is used not only separately, but also as part of many dishes.

• "burrito" - a kind of tortilla roll, stuffed with beans, minced meat, tomatoes, avocado, rice and cheese.
• "enchiladas" - a tortilla rolled into a tube and stuffed with meat, tomato or cheese.
• "Tartilla soup" - fried pieces of tartilla, with chicken broth, cheese, chili peppers, garlic, onions and tomatoes.
• "fajita" - grilled beef meat, with vegetables and wrapped in a tortilla.
• "papatzules" - fried flatbread, with pumpkin seeds and an egg.

Mexican cuisine is famous for its spiciness and wide use of various spices and seasonings. Local chefs like to add hot chili peppers, cilantro, pepperoni, chaya, cumin seeds, serrano peppers, avocado leaves, helaneno peppers, onions, garlic to their dishes ... In general, in Mexico, there are more than a hundred types of peppers that differ in taste and degree sharpness.
Mexican sauces are usually served with meat and fish dishes. The most famous and popular are salsa sauce (made from tomatoes, garlic, chili peppers, pepperoni and black pepper) and guacamole sauce (made from fresh avocados, peppers, onions and tomatoes).

I bring to your attention a few more dishes that vividly characterize the national cuisine of Mexico:

• "" - minced meat wrapped in corn leaves. There are over 500 species of these peculiar Mexican cabbage rolls. The dish is so popular that there is an annual tamale cooking festival.
• "chicharoni" - a roll of pieces of fried pork skin.
• ceviche - fresh fish marinated in citrus juice.
• « peeled cactus salad.
• « mexican salad"- made from lettuce, black beans, tomatoes, cheese, onions, sour cream and salsa sauce.
• "nacho" - a dish of chicken fillet, sour cream, cheese, chopped chips and salso sauce.
• "chipotle" - tomato soup in chicken broth.
• "olla podrida" - Mexican goulash.
• "chipile" - pork with vegetables.
• "carne asados" - fried pork, with a side dish of beans.
• "monte lablano" - stewed or fried turkey.
• « tacos al pastor» — pork slices fried on a spit.
• mexicali is a dish similar to tobacco chicken.
• "sopa de marisco" - seafood soup.

Will please, the national cuisine of Mexico, fans to feast on. First of all, these are wonderful and juicy local fruits, fruit desserts, sweet buns, muffins, puddings. Popular with tourists are:

• "kanas asadas" - an original and unusual dessert made from roasted sugar cane.
• "" - sweet royal bread, with dried fruits.
• « cherry chimichangi".
• « mango with whipped cream.
• « sweet corn soufflé".
• pumpkin in syrup.

1. Dish Pico de Gallo

Ingredients needed to prepare this characteristic Mexican cuisine sauce (rather salad) not much, but they are all important. Tomatoes and spiced onions form the basis of a popular sauce in Mexico, which can be served with wheat or corn tortillas with a variety of fillings. Fresh tomatoes, fragrant garlic and cilantro make this seasoning healthy and surprisingly delicious. In its own way, it is a variety mexican salsa sauce.

Pico de Gaio can be served with different dishes, but it is especially harmonious with grilled meat, which includes kebabs and steaks. Seasoning is also good as an independent light snack.

This one is being prepared sauce So:
Tomatoes and onions should be cut into small cubes of about 0.5 cm, add finely chopped garlic and hot pepper without seeds, chop cilantro and combine with the rest of the ingredients, squeeze the juice of one lemon, pepper and salt the dish, and then mix everything thoroughly . Pico de Gaio ready to use. Bon appetit!

Healthy food lovers will be able to appreciate the beneficial properties of the salad dressing, as it is prepared without heat treatment with the full preservation of all vitamins in the products.

2. Guacamole recipe

Guacamole sauce in Mexico it is used as often as mayonnaise in European countries, being the main ingredient for many dishes. IN classic guacamole includes avocado, lime or lemon, which explains its rare use in Russia, since avocados are quite expensive here. mexican guacamole has a significantly lower calorie content than our respected mayonnaise, which affects its unconditional health benefits. Guacamole ingredients plant origin allow it to be consumed by fasting people.

Cooking guacamole consists of the following steps:
Cut the avocado and separate the seeds from the pulp, and with the help of a spoon, free the pulp from the peel. To prevent the pulp from becoming dark, it should be immediately sprinkled with lime juice, and then chopped in a blender to a puree consistency. Squeeze lemon or lime juice into the resulting mass, add ground black pepper, salt, a couple of tablespoons of sour cream and three tablespoons of olive oil to taste and mix again in a blender until smooth. Your guacamole ready!
It harmonizes perfectly with tomatoes, all types of meat, fillings for shawarma, pita bread and many other dishes.

3. Burrito recipe with beef and cheese sauce

Burrito. Mexican cuisine

Burrito- This is a meat dish, very tasty and nutritious. Can cook chicken burrito, and we will tell you how it is done with beef meat. To prepare the dish you will need the following products:

200 g of beef, 100 g of rice and beans, mexican tortilla, two tomatoes and chili peppers, red onion, 100 g cheddar cheese, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, ground black pepper, parsley, 100 ml cream and white wine and onion greens.
You need to boil the rice until tender and put it in a colander. For cooking sauce randomly chop the cheese and beat it in a blender with the addition of cream, white wine and a small amount of starch. The meat, previously peeled, is cut into strips. Tomatoes with cut stalks are immersed first in boiling water and then in low temperature water so that the peel can be removed. Tomatoes are cut into four slices with seeds and pulp removed, after which they need to be cut into cubes, which are laid out in a deep plate. Chopped tomatoes are added chilli, onion and parsley, the resulting mass is salted, seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice and mixed.

A frying pan with vegetable oil is heated, where beef, pepper and garlic are laid out. Do not forget to add salt, pepper and mix the ingredients. When the meat is almost ready, you need to add boiled rice, pre-mashed beans in canned form, cheese sauce and mix the resulting mass. The filling for the burrito is ready. Putting it in the center tortillas and wrap in a cake. Above Burrito smeared with vegetable oil and fried on all sides. The dish is served on a warmed plate, poured over with cheese sauce with the addition of concasse tomatoes. Garnished with jalapeno peppers and green onions and parsley. Eat for health!

4. Fajitas

mexican fajitas were considered the food of cowboys, who had the right, after slaughtering cattle, to take the remains of meat for their work. From the word "faja", which means "stripe" in translation, the name of this meat dish comes from, which is very popular with all fans. mexican food For cooking fajitas also needed tortillas. In institutions Mexican cuisine in St. Petersburg or Moscow You can also try fajitas with chicken or beef. No less delicious pork fajitas.

To prepare the dish you will need:
half a kilo of meat, eight tortillas, three tomatoes, a large onion, 50 g of hard cheese, avocado - 1 piece, lettuce and seasonings in the form of salt, ground pepper, cumin and paprika.

Cut the onion into small pieces and fry in a small amount of vegetable oil until transparent. Then add the meat, cut into small strips, to the onion and fry over high heat. Tomatoes with skin removed and cut into small cubes are added to the meat with onions. Salt, pepper the dish and add the planned seasonings. Bring the resulting mixture to a boil, then continue to simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes.

In parallel with the preparation of meat, we heat the tortillas in the oven with a temperature regime of 180 degrees (about 10 minutes). We rub the cheese, and chop the avocado with a knife. Alternatively, you can prepare avocado guacamole.
Fajitas are served as follows:
tortillas, meat stuffing with sauce, guacamole, grated cheese, lettuce leaves - all separately. At the table, everyone wraps the ingredients in tortillas for himself.

5. Quesadia recipe

Word " quesadia" or " quesadilla" literally means " cheese tortilla". The dish consists of two Mexican tortillas with different fillings, the indispensable ingredient of which is cheese. Tortillas are fried in boiling oil, due to which the cheese located inside melts and securely connects the two tortillas to each other. Alternatively, you can fold one corn tortilla in half. Most popular with tourists and lovers of Mexican dishes quesadilla with chicken, quesadilla with mushrooms, quesadilla with minced meat. Instead of classic tortillas in Russia, they often use lavash or pita.

For the filling, you can take any kind of meat, vegetables, mushrooms and cheese. To the table quesadium served cut into quarters with spicy sauces such as salsa or sour cream. A light vegetable salad goes well with this dish.

classic quesadia recipe as follows:
The tortilla is fried for half a minute in a hot pan, then a filling of grated cheese mixed with finely chopped onion, pre-fried meat of any kind, sour cream and chili is laid out on it, and closed with a second tortilla. Tortilla is fried on both sides for two minutes (one minute on each side). During this time, the cheese inside should melt, the more cheese, the stronger the cakes will connect. You can cut the dish into pieces of any size. Bon appetit!

6. Ceviche recipe

There are many options for preparing this wonderful Mexican dish, which features seafood as a must-have ingredient. The main characteristic of ceviche is raw marinated fish and shrimp in lemon juice. Can cook salmon ceviche and shrimp ceviche. Many varieties of red and white fish mixed with other seafood are suitable for this dish. We'll tell you how cook ceviche white fish and shrimp.

We will need the following components:
about 800 g of boneless white fish fillet;
300-350 g shrimp;
half a green and red sweet pepper, as well as half a hot pepper;
a large head of onion, preferably red;
lemon;
salt, coriander, a little sugar, ground pepper.

Wash the fish thoroughly and cut it into small pieces. Defrost frozen fish in the refrigerator, it is not recommended to do this with a microwave. To the fish, add shrimp boiled until half cooked and onion, cut into half rings and soaked a little in salt water. Finely chop the pepper and coriander, removing all the grains, add to the dish. Season the resulting mass with salt, ground pepper, lemon juice and sugar, which will help make the taste of the dish less sour and spicy. Leave for half an hour in the refrigerator, after which seafood ceviche can be served with white wine. Bon appetit!

7. Sopa Azteca

In Mexican cuisine, all kinds of peppers, known to the local population since ancient times, are widely used. sopa azteca fully meets the ideas of foreigners about spicy, juicy and unusual dishes from distant exotic countries. But you can also cook it in our usual conditions in order to feel the tart national flavor of the new food in your kitchen. Recipe for this Healthy Mexican Vegetarian soup uncomplicated. To prepare it, you need to take a quarter of an avocado, two onions, three fresh tomatoes, one sweet bell pepper, three canned tomatoes, two pickled jalapeno peppers, vegetable oil, salt and ground pepper.

Coarsely chop the onion and bell pepper, divide the tomatoes into four parts. Mash the canned tomatoes, finely chop the jalapeno peppers, removing the seeds. Simmer all the ingredients obtained for 20 minutes in vegetable oil, adding salt and ground pepper at the end. Grind the resulting mass in a blender to a puree state.
Put avocado slices in each serving and pour the finished dish on plates. The soup is well served with tortillas fried in oil. Eat for health!

8. Sopa de Lima

All types of legumes are widely used in Mexican cuisine, allowing you to diversify the menu with products high in vegetable proteins. Here's what the recipe looks like delicious and healthy vegetable soup with beans, which can be cooked not only with meat, but also in a vegetarian version.

In order to get real Sopa de Lima in Mexican style, you need to take 400 g of pumpkin, 1 cup of freshly frozen peas, 1 cup of white beans, two onions, 1 cup of red lentils, a few garlic cloves, salt, curry seasoning, vegetable oil (preferably olive), ground black pepper and any greens .

Boil the beans soaked in water until half cooked, cut the pumpkin into cubes, finely chop the onion and garlic. Fry the onion in oil, then add pumpkin, garlic and curry to it and continue to fry over high heat until yellow. Washed lentils should be put in a bowl where beans are boiled, boiled for five minutes, then adding pumpkin with onions and garlic and green peas. We continue to cook over medium heat until all the components of the soup are completely soft from 5 to 10 minutes, and then we insist the dish under the lid. Sopa de Lima is ready!

Fans of a hearty and tasty meal should like the recipe for traditional Mexican pork soup, which is often offered to its visitors by restaurants and cafes of Mexican cuisine. The soup recipe combines meat and vegetables in a balanced way, so its health benefits are undeniable.

To cook, you need to prepare a can of canned corn, two kilograms of diced pork meat, an onion, a few garlic cloves, salt and 150 g of dried pepper.

Soup is prepared like this:
Cut the pepper, removing the seeds and stalks, and cook until soft. In a thick-walled saucepan, fry the meat in oil for several minutes, then add onion and garlic to the pork, water to cover the food, and cook over low heat.
Pour the decoction of pepper into the soup, and grind the pepper itself to a puree state in a blender. Add corn and pepper to soup. If the dish is too thick, add more water. Cook until all ingredients are ready.
Serve Sopa de Posole with lime, chopped cabbage and tortilla chips. Eat for health!

10. Fried nopal

Nopal- This is a symbolic plant of Mexico, depicted on its coat of arms, the most common type of cactus in this country. Fried nopal- exotic food, which will be interesting to try for all fans of Mexican cuisine. Cactus is useful as it helps to get rid of excess fat. Cooking this dish is not too difficult.

To enjoy fried nopal, you need to take a glass of water, a few garlic cloves, a teaspoon of cumin, a bouillon cube, an onion, three nopal leaves, a glass of flour, four tomatoes, a glass of vegetable oil, a little salt to taste, a pound of hard cheese, one piece jalapeno pepper, ground pepper and four chicken eggs.

With the leaves of nopal, you need to remove the hard peel with a knife, stew the vegetables with the addition of seasonings for about 20 minutes and mix in a blender until mashed. Cook the cactus until cooked in salt water (about 40 minutes), and then dip in batter - beaten eggs with flour. Fry the nopal leaves in oil on both sides (8 minutes each). We serve an exotic dish to the table with vegetable gravy and grated cheese. Bon appetit!

11. Chili con carne

A thick soup with meat and chili con carne is loved by residents on the borders of Mexico. To taste it, you need to cook the following products:

800 g beef fillet;
vegetable oil;
two heads of red onion;
allspice and black peppercorns;
two chili peppers;
a few garlic cloves;
four fresh tomatoes (they can be replaced with tomato paste or canned tomatoes);
400 g red or green string beans;
spices: cumin, cloves, oregano;
cilantro;
lemon or lime;
bitter chocolate;
two tablespoons of cocoa;
salt;
sour cream for dressing.

We cut the meat into small cubes (as an option using a food processor). Carefully grind the spices in a mortar. We cut the sweet pepper in the form of a small straw, and free the chili pepper from the seeds and chop with a knife. Pour vegetable oil into a frying pan and put on fire. Fry the meat in oil until a crust appears and the water evaporates. Then we put it in a deep pan with thick walls or a cauldron and simmer over low heat until soft (it’s good to add a little red wine). Thoroughly fry the onion in oil, then adding vegetables, stew everything together with seasonings.

Put stewed vegetables, beans, tomatoes or pasta from them in a saucepan for meat. At the end, add lemon juice, heated chocolate and cocoa to the dish, diligently combining all the components into a homogeneous mass. When serving, season the soup with sour cream, crushed garlic and herbs. Chili con carne soup eaten with tortillas, Mexican nachos chips, boiled rice and, of course, tequila.

12. Tortillas stuffed

Tortillas - Mexican tortillas

mexican tortillas you can cook with any meat, vegetable and cheese fillings, there are a great many recipes for this traditional dish. We invite housewives to get acquainted with one of the options for delicious tortillas stuffed with chicken and vegetables. This wonderful snack can be made for a picnic or travel. Since it is delicious, both cold and heated.

Prepare 200 g of chicken or turkey fillet, 150 g of sweet bell peppers and tomatoes, 100 g of cucumbers and lettuce, leeks and five Mexican tortillas.
For the sauce you will need 300 g of tomatoes, 150 g of onions, a little garlic, vegetable oil, salt, ground pepper and herbs to taste.

Let's start with the sauce. Finely chop onion and garlic, tomatoes release from the skin and cut into small pieces, finely chop the greens. Fry onion with garlic in vegetable oil, add tomatoes to them and continue to fry for about 3 minutes. In the resulting sauce, put the greens and remove fire.

finely we cut chicken fillet and fry in oil for a quarter of an hour, salt and pepper.
Tomatoes and cucumbers we cut small pieces, leek rings and mix vegetables with meat, adding tomato sauce, salt to taste.
We spread the resulting filling on the tortilla and wrap it on both sides. Fry on both sides in a frying pan or on the grill tortillas with filling. Your dish is ready!

To feel the peculiar Mexican culture and taste Mexican cuisine, it is not necessary to make a long journey. Food is an integral part of the national flavor, after drinking strong tequila and tasting a well-cooked Mexican recipe, you can immerse yourself in the exotic world of this amazing and mysterious country for the European consciousness.
Mexican cuisine recipes, despite their peculiar taste, are not difficult for hardworking and skilled housewives from Russia. In Mexican restaurants, dishes are prepared by highly qualified experienced chefs who create real miracles from ordinary products. All traditional dishes involve many options, so do not despair if one or another ingredient is not at hand. It can be easily replaced with another product. All Mexican recipes are designed for the inexhaustible imagination of the housewives, who, having fallen in love with the national traditions of a distant country, will do their best to please their guests and relatives with wonderful, healthy and tasty dishes.

Friends! If you have any questions - !do not hesitate! - ask them in the comments below or write to me on social networks!

From Minsk, she has been living and working in China for seven years, which means that her stomach (and nerves) are already hardened. The traveler is constantly trying something new, guided by the principle: "if the local stomachs digest it, mine can too." Before going to Mexico for a culinary experience, the girl prepared in advance, and for 34travel, Tanya spoke about the main dishes and drinks of Mexican cuisine.

BASICS

Mexican cuisine is a mix of Mayan and Aztec Indian cuisines, which used corn, beans, avocados, tomatoes, cacti, chilapeno peppers in their dishes, as well as Spanish - desserts and meat dishes were added from it. Warning for all tender stomachs: Mexican food is spicy. Very sharp!

Mexicans eat a lot of fruits, vegetables and beans. And they can't live without corn. It is present everywhere: in cornmeal products (tortillas), as an everyday snack in boiled and fried versions, in desserts and even in drinks.

What is a Mexican mil indispensable without?

salsa- a traditional sauce made from tomatoes and peppers with the addition of other seasonings. The most common are green (salsa verde) and red (salsa rojo). In general, there are many varieties. And its sharpness depends on the base pepper, of which there are a huge number in Mexico.

Mole (mole)- spicy pepper sauce. There are 7 colors in total in Mexico: the color depends on the color of the base pepper and the ingredients. Dried fruits, garlic, cloves, anise, tomatoes, and sometimes even chocolate are often added to the mole. The most popular option is mole poblano, which is considered the national dish of Mexico. Mole can be bought at the market (sometimes in the form of sauce or powder).

Guacamole (guacamole)- Pasty avocado sauce. Absolutely not spicy and is considered a favorite of "gringo" (foreigners).

Jalapeno (jalapeno)- Medium spicy green chili. In Mexico, it is eaten with all dishes! Even if you decide to try sushi, soy sauce will be with pieces of this king of peppers.

Lime- Mexicans add it to almost everything. A kind of salt substitute.

You will see the above products in front of you all the time. Usually they are put on the table in any restaurant and added to taste. Also look for them in any tacos tray. Don't like spicy? Then your choice is guacamole and lime.

BREAKFAST

Churros- this sweet came to Mexico thanks to the Spaniards. You can compare them with donuts, only oblong or in the form of a lasso. And in cross section, churros are in the form of stars and the usual circle. You can find them everywhere, from markets to breakfasts in hotels. Often served with chocolate sauce.

Price: from 5 pesos (€ 0.2).

Tamale (Tamale)- cornmeal cake wrapped with corn leaves. Often tamales come with meat, cheese or even fruit fillings.

Price: from 20 pesos (€ 0.8).

Chilaquiles- sliced ​​\u200b\u200band triangles and fried pieces of tortilla, which are filled with salsa on top. Meat, cheese, onions, lemon juice, avocado, sour cream or bean garnish are added to the dish, and everything is sprinkled with plenty of cheese. For some reason, they are not very loved by traveling foreigners.

TACOS

Tacos are different. And to figure out what you order them with is not so easy even with a dictionary. Here are some of the most common tacos and their toppings.

Tacos al pastor/de adobada- tacos with pork.

Tacos de asador- tacos with grilled meat.

Tacos de cabeza- tacos with a "head". In fact, this is what is used for the filling:

Cabeza (head muscles) - head muscles;
- Sesos (brains) - brains;
- Lengua (tongue) - language;
- Cachete (cheeks) - cheeks;
- Trompa (lips) - lips;
- Ojos (eyes) - eyes.

It's not as bad as it sounds. For starters, try tacos with tongue.

Tacos de camarones- shrimp tacos.

Tacos de cazo- tacos with insides:

Tripa - stomach;
- Saudero - tender beef slices;
- Carnitas - pork cuts.

Tacos de pescado- tacos with fish.

Taqioto – flauta/tacos dorados- fried crispy tacos.

Price: from 35 pesos (€ 1.5) for 5 pieces.

By the way, in Mexico you can have tacos for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The reason is simple - cheap and very affordable. There are taquerias literally on every corner.

SNACKS AND HOT DISHES

Huarache (Huarache)- a dish from Mexico City, which is an open large tortilla, with meat (as in tacos, chosen to taste), beans, potatoes, onions and salsa. Everything is topped with cheese.

Price: from 15 pesos (€ 0.7).

Elote- boiled corn on a stick. You can grease with mayonnaise and sprinkle with cheese.

Price: from 20 pesos (€ 0.9).

Esquites- the same corn, but peeled and in a glass.

Price: from 25 pesos (€ 1.1) per glass.

Ceviche- seafood marinated in lemon juice.

Price: from 45 pesos (€ 2).

Chapulines- fried grasshoppers. Mexicans like to eat them with lemon juice or add them to homemade cheese.

Price: 10 pesos (€0.5) per glass.

Escamoles- ant larvae fried in butter. But not ordinary ants, but feeding on agave roots (the plant from which tequila is made). The taste is somewhat reminiscent of cottage cheese fried with onions.

Price: from 80 pesos (€ 3.5).

Chicharron (Chicharron)- Mexican chips. These are fried crispy pork skins served with salsa and guacamole.

Chorizo- spicy pork sausages.

Fajitas- grilled and cut into strips of meat with vegetables. Served in a skillet, often with sour cream, fried onions, cheese and tomatoes.

Price: from 20 pesos (€ 0.9).

Chiles en nogada- stuffed peppers in a sweetish cream sauce. For minced meat, nuts, dried fruits are used, and on top everything is decorated with pomegranate seeds. Be sure to try!

Price: from 120 pesos (€ 5).

Quesadilla (Quesadilla)- Grilled corn tortilla with cheese.

Price: from 10 pesos (€ 0.5).

Enchilada (Enchilada)- tortilla, which is wrapped meat or vegetable filling.

Price: from 10 pesos (€ 0.5).

Oaxaca cheese (queso Oaxaca) It's actually the Mexican version of parmesan.

coctel de camaron- fresh shrimp marinated in lemon and other spicy sauces. Served with avocado and fried tortilla pieces.

Price: from 65 pesos (€ 2.7) per serving.

Tlayuda- a traditional dish of the city of Oaxaca. Pizza-shaped flatbread with various vegetables, meat of your choice, beans and local cheese.

Price: from 20 pesos (€ 0.9) per piece.

Birria A goat meat stew that is popular in the state of Jalisco.

Price: from 45 pesos (€ 2) per serving.

LOW ALCOHOL AND SOFT DRINKS

Pulque- an alcoholic drink made from the fermented juice of the American agave. It has a milky white color, viscous and sour taste. Pulka contains carbohydrates, vitamins C, B, D and E. The locals love it for its nutritional value.

Tehuino (Tejuino) is a cold drink made from fermented corn from the state of Jalisco.

Hamayka (Jamaica)- one of the most popular drinks in Mexico and Latin America. Cold hibiscus tea. It can be found in huge transparent barrels both in street stalls and restaurants (even in McDonald's in Guatemala).

Horchata (Horchata)- a drink made from rice, almonds, cinnamon and sesame, tastes like milk with cinnamon.

Pozol- a drink made from fermented corn dough with water and cocoa. He is adored by local Indians and hated by foreigners. Often sold in roadside stalls, along with horcha and hamayka. Pozol looks strange, but tastes like cold cocoa with cereals. It perfectly quenches thirst and a little hunger.

Tepache (Tepache) A fermented red drink made from corn and pineapple.

Licuado (Licuado)– homemade smoothies from milk and fruits of your choice.

Tejate- a hot soft drink made from corn, cocoa and cinnamon.

Drinks price: from 10 pesos (€ 0.5) per glass.

And yes - be sure to try the Mexican Coca-Cola. Sugar cane sugar is added to it, and it is considered healthier than regular cola.

COCKTAILS

Michelada- a beer-based cocktail with hot sauce, spices, lemon juice and a salt-pepper border.

Paloma- a cocktail-mixture of tequila and grapefruit soda.

Margarita (Margarita)- a cocktail based on tequila and lime juice.

TEQUILA AND MESCAL

For many, tequila and Mexico are inseparable concepts. And when an inexperienced tourist asks a question: “so what is the difference between tequila and mezcal?”, many inexperienced locals answer:

It is the same.

There is a worm in the bottle of mescal (yes, it's there, but that's not what distinguishes tequila from mezcal. It just proves that the mezcal is of good quality and the worm doesn't decompose).

Tequila is made from blue agave, and mezcal from green (it would be more correct to say that tequila is made only from cultivated blue agave, and mezcal from any other non-cultivated one).

In fact, Mezcal is tequila without further processing. And here are some more differences:

Mezcal is stronger than tequila.

Mezcal is an organic product.

For the production of tequila, only one variety of agave is used, and for mezcal - 30.

Mezcal is produced in the states of Oaxaca, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, San Luis Potosi, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas, Michoacan, Puebla, and tequila is produced in Jalisco, Guanajuato, Michoacan, Tamaulipas, Nayarit.

Tequila is distinguished by the aging period:

Blanco/plata- unaged tequila transparent color. Usually this is the most budget option. Most often it is used for cocktails. The taste is soft, with a pronounced taste of agave.

oro- yellowish unaged tequila (artificially colored, it is not recommended to buy).

Tequila reposado- aged 2-9 months, has a sharp and peppery taste.

Tequila anejo- Aged for at least 1 year. Sweet and soft.

Tequila extra anejo- aged 3 years or more.

Mezcal can be divided into 4 groups, depending on the flavor it acquires during production:

Smoky;

Green agave;

Baked agave;

fermented.

Tequila is often used in cocktails, mezcal almost never. But there is another big and important rule: tequila (as well as mezcal) should be drunk in small sips, savoring. No shots!

Tequila is not such a noble drink for another reason: it takes 7-12 years to grow a blue agave bush, but commercial production usually cannot wait that long. Therefore, often pesticides are added to the drink or (when the agave is not yet mature and it does not have enough of its own sweetness) sugar. And mixing two different types of sugar causes a headache. Mezcal is organic, and with its own natural sugar. Although more expensive, locals believe that mezcal is more fragrant and healthier.

Where to drink tequila?

For the ultimate tequila drinking experience, head to its homeland of Jalisco and its capital, Guadalajara. Almost every hotel will help you book a one-day tour, which will include: a tour of the factory, including a tasting of 7 types of tequila, a Mariachi performance, and free time in the village of Tequila, where three liters of underground drink can be bought for € 20. The tour will cost 400 pesos (€22).

Many locals also recommend the Tequila Express, a drunken train tour (the program is the same as the bus). Price 1550 pesos (€ 85).

Where to drink mezcal?

The best mezcal is waiting for you in the bars of the city of Oaxaca - there are no special mezcal tours (yes, in principle, they are not needed). There you need to go to mescaleries - a kind of mescal bars. Some of them offer testing, 150-200 pesos (€9) for three types. But we advise you to get stuck in each of them for 2-3 hours, and just try everything that your eye fell on. The owners of mescaleries are usually passionate fans of this drink - heed their valuable advice regarding mezcal.

Photo: minimalistbaker.com, pinchofyum.com, scibosnian.com, veggiesdontbite.com, ambitiouskitchen.com, thenoshery.com, isabeleats.com, eatingwell.com, playswellwithbutter.com

Mexican appetizer tacos, or tacos are stuffed tortillas. And they can be made very simply and quickly at home for an interesting snack: with chicken, vegetables, meat, and even with avocados and olives!

Making stuffed tacos is easy. It is important that the tortillas are prepared in advance, not necessarily from cornmeal. I must say that wheat tortillas are just as good, and much easier to make. It is also important that by the time the tacos are prepared, all the components of the filling are ready, laid out in separate bowls or plates.

• 6-8 pcs Tortillas (wheat or corn)
• 150 gr Beef
• 1 pc Sweet pepper
• 2 pcs Hot pepper
• 1 pc Onion
• 1 pc Tomato
• 1 bunch cilantro, parsley
• 1 clove Garlic
• 1 pc Lime
• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• to taste Salt, coriander, sugar, dry aromatic herbs, chili

Tortillas are corn tortillas and are easy to make. You need good and high-quality finely ground cornmeal. If there are difficulties, it is quite possible to bake cakes from wheat flour, or mixtures, by frying them in a dry frying pan. Tortillas are baked quickly, it is important that they are fresh and bent.

The composition of the filling is arbitrary, but meat is desirable. And spiciness is still a traditional feature of Mexican cuisine. You will need fresh sweet pepper - red or green, a couple of hot pepper pods, an onion, a ripe tomato, lime and a bunch of greens. However, turn on your imagination, tasty additives are quite appropriate.

Cut the onion into thin strips, add the juice of half a medium-sized lime, a pinch of salt and sugar, as well as a pinch of a dry mixture of aromatic herbs rubbed with your fingers. Put the onion in the refrigerator for half an hour to marinate. Then squeeze the onion from excess liquid.

Prepare fresh tomato sauce if homemade is not available. But, do not use ketchup from a bag. Tomato - very ripe, scald with boiling water, remove the skin and seeds. Finely chop the flesh with a knife. One hot pepper carefully to clear of seeds and white internal partitions. Chop the pepper very finely with a knife.

In a frying pan, heat 1 tbsp. olive oil and fry a mixture of pepper and tomato on it, adding a pinch of salt, sugar and dry aromatic herbs. If the sauce is not hot enough, feel free to add dry chili powder. As a result, the sauce should be very thick, fragrant and spicy.

Finely chop all the greens and mix with pickled onions. Add finely chopped garlic clove, then stir. Meat - preferably veal without fat and films. Grind the meat with a meat grinder, making minced meat. Peppers - sweet and hot, which is left, peel and chop with a knife, a little larger than the hot pepper for the sauce.

In a frying pan, heat 1 tbsp. olive oil and fry the minced meat and chopped peppers on it. The fire under the pan should be above medium and the pan should not be covered with a lid. Meat and vegetables should be fried, not stewed.

5 minutes before the end of roasting, add a pinch of salt and ground coriander. The roasting time of meat with pepper is 15-20 minutes. It's enough. It is necessary that almost all the moisture from the minced meat has evaporated. Then the stuffing should cool to room temperature.

For each tortilla put 1-2 tbsp. minced meat with pepper, 1 tbsp. pickled onions with herbs, add tomato sauce with chili - to taste. Fold the cake in half so that the minced meat is evenly distributed inside the cake. Thus, fill all tacos with minced meat.

Actually, the tacos are ready. If you make a lot of these tacos, you can decorate them with greens and serve with cold Mexican beer and a lime wedge. Tacos can be prepared ahead of time, but freshly prepared tacos are the most delicious.

Recipe 2: Chicken Tacos (Step by Step with Photo)

Tacos are tortillas in which the Mexicans wrap a variety of fillings. These cakes resemble Armenian lavash, but are round in shape. They are packed in vacuum packaging, which is very convenient - they can be stored for up to six months, lying quietly in the closet. At the right time, when you need to quickly feed your family, you can create a small culinary masterpiece from them - just warm them up in the microwave and fill them with everything that is in the refrigerator.

• tortillas
• ketchup
• mayonnaise
• mozzarella cheese
• chicken breast
• Cherry tomatoes
• bell pepper
• watercress
• lettuce

Tortillas are sold in such packages and come in different sizes.

When I cook chicken breast fillets, I cut off the so-called arrow - a small part - it always gets in the way. Such arrows from four to five fillets by weight correspond to one full-fledged fillet. With them, you can cook tacos and feed the whole family with one breast.

Fry the chicken breasts and cut into pieces.

Prepare the filling: wash and dry the lettuce, chop the bell pepper, cherry tomatoes and cheese. As you already understood, the filling can be very diverse.

Place one flatbread on a microwave-safe plate.

Top with pieces of Mozzarella cheese and pieces of fried fillet. Other cheese that melts well is also suitable. Heat the tortilla in the microwave for 30-40 seconds on full power.

While the cake is hot, pour it with ketchup or mayonnaise, put tomatoes and peppers.

Add lettuce leaves.

Wrap the cake and secure with a toothpick. In the same way, cook the rest of the cakes and, when the last one is ready, send them all together for 15-20 seconds in the microwave.

Your homemade fast food is ready. It hasn't even been half an hour!

Recipe 3: Mexican Tacos with Meat

• Taco cakes - 2 pcs.
• Pork meat - 150 g
• Brie cheese - 50 g
• Sweet bell pepper - ½ pcs.
• Lettuce leaves - 2 pcs.
• Natural yogurt for dressing - 2 tbsp. l.
• Mustard - 1 tsp
• Honey - ½ tsp

Prepare everything you need to stuff the cakes. Lettuce leaves should be dipped in ice water for 5 minutes in advance and allowed to dry. This is done so that they are crispy.

Place the taco in a hot, dry skillet for 30 seconds. It should dry on one side first. Then repeat this with the second tortilla.

Now manually bend the cakes in half, but do not make an obvious sharp fold - you need a smooth transition - you will place the filling in this recess. Now dry the cakes in a pan on the other side.

In a frying pan heated with vegetable oil, fry the pork pieces until tender over high heat. No need to cut the meat too finely - pieces 4-5 cm long and 3-4 cm wide will do, salt and pepper the meat to your liking.

To dress the filling, prepare the sauce - mix yogurt with mustard and honey.

Finely chop the hot meat, chop the brie cheese, rinse the sweet pepper and cut into cubes. Mix the filling with the resulting sauce.

Fill the cakes with the filling - put everything on a lettuce leaf and form into a cake.

Recipe 4: tacos at home

• Chicken fillet 200 grams
• Sweet red pepper 100 grams
• Chili pepper 50 grams
• Canned red beans 50 grams
• Garlic 3 grams
• Oregano 3 grams
• Tomato sauce 50 grams
• Cheese hard and semi-hard 100 grams
• Vegetable oil 100 grams
• Cornmeal 1.5 cups
• Wheat flour 1.5 cups
• Drinking water 1 glass
• Baking powder 1 teaspoon

Cut chicken fillet.

Fry the fillet in vegetable oil.

Add sweet pepper and chili.

Add tomato paste.

Add beans and spices, simmer for 7 minutes.

Put the resulting mass on a tortilla, sprinkle with grated cheese.

Put in the oven for 10 minutes at 180 degrees.

Recipe 5, step by step: homemade tacos

• Flatbread (corn. These are sold now in stores. You can easily replace it with pita bread) - 6 pcs.
• Turkey (or chicken fillet) - 300 g
• Onion - 2 pcs
• Canned beans - 1 ban.
• Tomato - 3 pcs
• Cucumber - 1 pc.
• Lettuce leaves (leaves) - 6 pieces
• Dutch cheese - 100 g
• Greens (optional)
• Sauce (chili, to taste)
• Balsamic (for pickling onions. optional.)
• Soy sauce (for pickling onions. optional.)

We make minced turkey (or chicken) fillet. Saute with onions and your favorite spices.

When the stuffing is almost ready, add canned beans and 2 tomatoes (passed through a blender or grated. Peel off the tomato beforehand).

Cut the onion into strips and marinate: Art. spoon of balsamic vinegar + tbsp. a spoonful of soy sauce + a pinch of black pepper. By the way, a very tasty onion is obtained with this pickling (pickling time is only 10 minutes).

Cut the tomatoes into cubes.

Add greens (dill, basil) to the pickled onion, I also sprinkled a green onion).

Tortilla (it is called "tortillas") or pita bread, for lack of tortillas, spread with chili sauce. If you do not like spicy, then replace it with any other sauce or even ketchup.

In the middle of the cake lay out minced meat, tomatoes.

Then our pickled onions.

And hard cheese (shabby or cut into pieces, like mine).

Fasten the edges of the cake with toothpicks and send to the oven preheated to 200 degrees for 10-15 minutes. The cake should harden and become crispy.

Our Tacos are ready! Before serving, remove toothpicks, add chopped fresh cucumber and lettuce.
Bon appetit!

Recipe 6: Homemade Tacos (Step by Step Photos)

Mexican tacos are a very flavorful and spicy snack that is easy to make at home.

• Salt 10 gr
• Flatbread 4 pcs
• Pork tenderloin 400 gr
• Flour 1 tbsp. l
• Olive oil 1 tbsp
• Chicken egg 1
• Salad 20 gr
• Cherry tomatoes 5 pcs
• Sauce 50 gr
• Black pepper 5 gr

First, let's prepare the meat. You can use any meat for tacos. I will use pork tenderloin. We beat off the meat and salt and pepper it on both sides.

Let's prepare everything for the batter: beat one chicken egg with a teaspoon of water, pour flour into another container. Dip all the chops alternately first in the egg and then in the flour. Fry the chops on both sides over medium heat in a skillet with olive oil.

After the chops have cooled a little, cut them into longitudinal strips and fry a little in a pan.

Let's prepare the filling. I will be making a very simple and affordable tacos version, so I will chop some lettuce leaves and cut the cherry tomatoes into quarters.

I have store-bought tacos, as well as taco sauce. When there are no store-bought cakes at hand, I use either pita or homemade kefir donuts. Taco sauce can be replaced with any hot sauce.

Put the pork pieces in the middle of the tortilla.

Then add lettuce leaves. Place chopped cherry tomatoes on top.

Drizzle with taco sauce. That's it, our Mexican tacos are ready.

Recipe 7: Variety of Taco Toppings

• Lean ground beef (93%) - 250 g
• Minced turkey breast (99%) - 250 g
• Onion (chopped) - 1 pc.
• Green Chile Tomatoes (Rotel brand preferred), diced - 1 can
• or tomatoes, diced - 1 cup
• Ground cumin - ½ teaspoon
• Chili ground Chipotle - ½ teaspoon
• or chili powder - 1 teaspoon
• Dried oregano - ½ teaspoon
• Water - 2/3 cup
• Salsa sauce
• Sour cream
• Tomatoes - 2 pcs.
• Avocado - 2 pcs.
• Onion - 1 pc.
• cilantro
• Black olives
• Taco cheese - 1 pack (or finely grated cheddar cheese)
• Salad - ¼
• Corn tacos, purchased - 1 pack of 12

Place the minced meat in a frying pan, without oil, fry over medium heat for 7-8 minutes. Put the minced meat in a colander to drain the fat.

Wipe the skillet with paper towels, place the mince in the skillet, add the tomatoes, cumin, ground chipotle (or ground red pepper), oregano and water. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until most of the liquid has evaporated, 3 to 6 minutes.

Cut tomatoes, avocados, olives, onions, lettuce, cilantro.

We put cooked meat, vegetables and herbs on large plates, add sour cream and salsa.

Place the finished corn cakes on a baking sheet and put in a preheated oven at a temperature of 175 degrees for 5 minutes.

Arrange crunchy corn tacos on a plate.

We fill each cake with fillings - meat, cheese and all other ingredients.