Mexican Food Recipes

Mexican dishes are very expansive and a large variety of Mexican foodstuffs ranging from stews, sauces to soups can be prepared. Most Mexican food recipes are prepared in a number of ways ranging from slow roasting to quick-fry. Some key elements can however be found in almost all Mexican dishes. Below are some of these main ingredients that one is likely to find.

One of these is corn. Commonly used in the preparation of tortillas, corn is also used to make tacos which is tortillas that has been stuffed with beef, fish, chicken or cheese. Corn is also used to prepare tamales which are cooked by steaming and having the tamales stuffed with vegetables or meat.

Another key element in Mexican food recipes are the chilies. Chilies can usually be cooked either in their fresh or in their dried up state. The seed pods and the white veins of the chilies are the hottest parts and to an untrained palate, the heat and the flavor can be easily lost. However, to Mexicans, the heat is a distinguishing part of flavor. There are many chili varieties used in cooking Mexican dishes such as the poblana, chipotle, jalapeno, ancho, cascabel and the habanero.

Beans are also a common add-on to Mexican food recipes. Bean varieties run from lentils, fava beans to kidney beans and they can be found in many Mexican stews and soups. Some small bean types are served in light broths.

Another key ingredient in Mexican dishes is tomatoes. Tomatoes are an essential ingredient in salsa Mexicana and they also serve to spice up beef and fish dishes. Tomatillos are types of small green tomatoes that have a stiff husk. They are a bit bitter and they are excellent for preparing tomatillo salsa that has lots of spicy chilies in it.

Fruits are another key element in Mexican dishes. Fruits are mostly used in desserts and fruit sauces. Common fruit types are papaya, coconut, pineapple and others. In most cases, they are eaten raw. Some fruit types like nopales are used as a vegetable of sorts and are used to add a sweet taste to desserts. Other ingredients in Mexican foods are squash blossoms, pungent herbs like romeritos and epazote, and pumpkin seeds.

When serving chilies, Mexican food recipes specify that they first have to be cooked. Chilies are used for cooking a variety of foods. However, they first need to be roasted, cleaned and peeled along one side so that they can easily be reconstructed after stuffing. Meat is first boiled, and then spices and garlic are added after which the chilies are added, 15 minutes later to serving.

When preparing sauce to be cooked with other foods, boil the water first and then add the spices such as onions, garlic and chilies. Let the mixture cook for about 30 minutes after which you remove it from the heat, drain and reserve the liquid. Blend the already cooked ingredients and add other ingredients as stipulated in the recipe. Then season to taste. This type of cooking is done on both green and red sauce. It is no surprise then that Mexican food recipes are favored by many a food enthusiast.