Recipes

Ingredients:

1. Vegetable oil - any kind – about 3-4 table spoons
2. 4 pounds chicken - sliced in small cubes
3. 3 pounds tomato sauce (more or less 48oz pasta sauce)
4. 2 cans of coconut milk (used lite, but can use any)
5. 2 small glass jars of sliced mushrooms
6. mustard - just a little bit
7. barbecue sauce - just a little bit
8. worcestershire sauce - just a little bit
9. salt – for seasoning the chicken
10. 2 full table spoons of cornstarch mixed with half a glass of COLD water

ENTOMATADAS

Entomatadas are a typical Mexican dish made of a folded corn tortilla which has first been fried in oil and then bathed in
a tomato sauce made from tomatoes, garlic, onion, oregano, chile serrano and salt.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 - 28 oz. can, whole peeled (stewed or diced) tomatoes
• 2 cups white onion, finely diced (1/2 c for sauce, 1.5 c for cheese mixture)
• 1 serrano pepper, charred on comal
• 1 to 2 teaspoons garlic powder, to taste
• 1 to 2 teaspoons ground cumin, to taste
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• Salt to taste
• 12 corn tortillas
• 3 tablespoons oil (vegetable, corn or canola)
• 2 cups, queso fresco

PREPARATION

1. Empty can of stewed tomatoes, add ½ cup onion, charred serrano pepper, garlic powder, cumin powder and
   oregano into blender. Blend until very smooth. Pour mixture into saucepan. Cook over medium heat and
   simmer for about 6-8 minutes. Season with salt to taste.
2. Mix the 1.5 cup of the onion with the crumbled cheese and set aside.
3. In a separate skillet, heat the rest of the oil over medium heat and briefly fry the tortillas one by one and dip
   them one by one into the warm tomato sauce. Make sure to flip the tortilla to cover both sides with the tomato
   sauce.
4. Place tortilla onto plate and spoon some cheese and onion mix. Fold the tortilla and proceed with the rest of the
   tortillas. Repeat 2-3 times. Once you have all your entomatadas ready, spoon some of the leftover sauce over
   them and top with more cheese and onion mix. Serve at once. Makes 3-4 servings

ENFRIJOLADAS

Enfrijoladas are one of Mexico’s most common ‘dinner in a hurry’ meals of warm corn tortillas drenched in a chili-infused bean puree.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 -15 oz cans, black beans
• ½ to 1 teaspoon garlic powder, to taste
• 1 to 2 teaspoons ground cumin, to taste
• ½ to 1 teaspoon ground mild chili powder (more to taste)
• Salt to taste
• 12 corn tortillas
• 3 tablespoons oil (vegetable, corn or canola)
• 1/2 white onion, sliced in half moon slivers
• 1/2 cup, queso fresco, sour cream or crema fresca
• Small bunch of cilantro for garnish (optional)

PREPARATION

1. Empty black beans into sauce pan. Add garlic powder, cumin, chili powder and salt. Cook over medium for 5
   minutes. Using an immersion blender or a potato masher coarsely puree the beans. The mixture should retain
   some texture and the consistency should be thick and creamy. Heat through, stirring the bottom of the sauce
   pan so the beans don’t stick. Taste and adjust salt. Keep warm.
2. Slice onion half crosswise into thin half-moons and cover with cold water while you assemble the enfrijoladas.
3. In a separate skillet, heat the rest of the oil over medium heat and briefly fry the tortillas one by one and place
   on a plate with paper towels to absorb any excess oil.
4. To assemble the enfrijoladas– place 3 fried tortillas (folded in half) or 4 fried tortillas folded in quarters in
   overlapping rows onto plate. Spoon black bean puree over the top of the tortillas. arranging the quartered
   bean-coated tortillas. Drain and rinse the onions, dry briefly on paper towels and sprinkle over the bean sauce.
   Garnish with queso fresco, sour cream, or crema fresca and cilantro. Serve at once. Makes 3 or 4 servings.

Ingredients:

• 2 green bananas
• 2 pounds of yuca
• 9 potatoes medium size
• 3 mazorcas/maiz (corn on the cob)
• 1 onion
• 1 cilantro bunch
• 3 tomatoes
• 4 dientes de ajos/garlic cloves
• 3 lbs Black angus beef/chuck roast boneless
• 3 Avocado
• Spices to taste -salt/tomillo (Thyme spice)/laurel/ curry powder
• Oil

Directions:

1. Chop veggies and meat, plus the bananas/yuca/potatoes/onion/cilantro/garlic/beef
2. Place oil on a cooking pot/crock pot etc. Heat up oil.
3. Add the meat.
4. Add the veggies & cut corn into half size pieces- add it to the pot.
5. Add spices.
6. Add water so that water is above the veggies and meat.
7. Close the lid and let it cook.

Rice Ingredients:

• 2 tazas de arroz/2 cups of rice
• 4 tablespoons of oil
• ½ chopped onion
• 4 tazas de agua/4 cups of water

Directions:

1. Add oil to cooking pot and heat.
2. Add chopped onion. Cook onion until it starts looking clear/ transparent.
3. Add rice and water.
4. Mango Juice
5. 3 mangos
6. 6 cups of water
7. Sugar to taste

Directions:

1. Peal the mangos.
2. Cut mangoes and place in blender.
3. Add water and sugar to taste.
4. Blend. (If it is too sweet, add more water to taste).
   
   

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive oil or Canola oil
• 6 chicken breasts (or chicken parts of your choice)
• ¾ cup small onion, chopped
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
• Seasoned salt
• 1 cube chicken bouillon (can use granules)
• 1 red bell pepper (can use red and green peppers)
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon of low sodium Soy Sauce
• Salt and ground pepper to taste
• 2 small potatoes cut in cubes
• ¾ cup sweet red pepper, cut in chunks
• 1 small tomato, chopped
• 1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
• 1 packet Goya Sazon
• 1-2 tablespoons cilantro

Directions

• Heat oil in large nonstick pan over medium high
• Sprinkle chicken with seasoned salt to taste and brown in oil for about 5-8 minutes
  turning frequently
• Add onions and stir well; brown for 6 minutes
• Add garlic and oregano; continue browning
• Add Soy Sauce and mix well
• Add vegetables coating everything with the spices
• Pour sauce, chicken bouillon, and Goya Sazon; stir well
• Cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 30-35 minutes

Note: Check pan 15 minutes into the cooking time and add a bit of water, if needed, to ensure that vegetables have enough liquid to cook. Serve over white rice, if desired

This tamale recipe is from my mother. This is how she taught me to make tamales, with my own twist. There is no one way that is the correct to make tamales. Everyone has his or her own family recipe. My mother was from northern Mexico near Monterrey. I can remember her making tamales my whole life. I did not get interested in making tamales until I was in my 20s. I figured I had better learn before my sweet mom was not around to teach me. So let us begin.

Ingredients 

• 1 bag of Cornhusks: you can find these at Kroger or any of the Mexican or international grocery stores
• 1 to 2 small bags of Chili ancho: I use dried chili ancho. You can use fresh or other types of chili depending on your taste. You can find these at any Mexican or international grocery store
• Salt
• Adobo: seasoning found at Kroger or any of the Mexican or international grocery stores. This is a mix of garlic, salt and pepper
• Ground Cumin
• 1 large garlic bulb or minced garlic in a jar
• 1 large Onion
• Butter, instead of lard or olive oil
• Chicken, pork, beef or vegetable broth or bullion
• 2- 3 lbs. of meat of your choice: chicken or pork. You can make a vegetarian version with beans, vegetables and cheese.
• One bag or more of masa depending on how many tamales you want to make. One bag should be fine for your first time.
• Steamer pot

Prepping

Making tamales is an intensive day of prepping your ingredients before you even begin to make your tamales. I usually cook the meat and make the chili ancho paste the day before.

Meat prep

I cook my chicken or pork in a crock-pot to keep meat from getting too dry. Plus, I use the meat stock to add to the chili ancho paste and masa for flavor. I add half the large onion, 3-4 garlic cloves or 1-2 teaspoons of minced garlic, and 1 teaspoon of Adobo to the meat. Once meat is cooked shred and set aside. Save the broth.

Chili Ancho prep

I start with hydrating my dried chili ancho. I put about 8-10 of the chili anchoes into a 3 or 4 quart saucepan with water. I put enough water to cover the chilies. Bring water to a boil and then let simmer for 20-25 min. Remove from stove and let sit for 10 minutes. Open and remove seeds from chilies. I run water through chilies as I remove the seeds with a strainer underneath to catch the seeds.

I then add the chilies to a blender with other half of onion, ½ tsp Adobo, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp cumin and 1 c of broth. Puree until the thickness of a shake.

In a large sauté pan heat up ¼ cup of olive oil and then add pureed chili ancho and cook for about 5-8 minutes. Stir the paste to keep it from bubbling too much. Once you are done set it aside. Refrigerate it until we are ready to use it.

Seasoning Meat

Now that the meat and chili ancho sauce is completed, we can season the meat. In a large sauté pan,add ¼ cup of olive oil and heat. Add your meat and add about 1 tsp. of cumin, ½ tsp Adobo and salt to taste, stir this up. Now you can add in chili ancho paste, 3-4 Tablespoons. Stir and simmer for about 5-8 min. Once you are done set the meat aside.

Cornhusks

Soak your cornhusks in a large bowl of hot to warm water for at least an hour before starting to make your tamales.

Prepping the masa

I follow the directions on the bag of maseka. However, I use butter instead of lard or shortening. I also use the broth from the meat I cooked earlier along with store bought broth or bullion if needed. Here are the directions for the masa:

• Measure out 4 cups of maseka
• Add 1 tsp. baking powder and salt and mix dry ingredients
• Add 1 cup butter, cut up in pieces
• Add 3 cups of warm broth
• Add chili ancho paste, about 2 big spoons
• Mix with mixer or hands
• You want the mix the masa flour so it doesn’t stick to your hands.

Putting the tamales together

Now that we have all the components for the tamales, we are ready to put them together. Setup your table with the following:

• Small bowl of warm water and big spoon to spread masa with
• A bowl of the prepared meat
• A bowl of the prepared masa
• A plate of the pre-soaked cornhusks—Make sure you use the soft side of the husk, not the ridged side.
• We start with the cornhusk. You want to use the soft side of the cornhusk to add the masa to it. Place a ball about the size of a 3-inch diameter on the husk and then use the spoon or your hands to spread the masa evenly. If you use the spoon, dip it in the warm water so the masa does not stick to it. It’s like spreading plaster with the backside of the spoon.
• Once you have the masa on the husk you can take spoonful of the meat, place it on the masa, and then roll the husk closed. When you have enough to fill you steamer pot you can tie 3 to 4 together so they stand up in the steamer. Steam for one hour and 15 min to an hour and a half.
• The tamales are done when you can pull the cornhusk off without the masa sticking to it.Serve with your best salsa!

If you have any questions, you can email me at lzapata@iu.edu.