SLC-S23//Week#1-Exploring The Global Cuisine (Mexican Cuisine)

Welcome to Steemit Learning Challenge Season 23. I would like to thank @steemit blog for giving me this opportunity. In this course we will explore the different country cuisines every week, their spices, their cooking style, and a food recipe that is the most popular.

Mexican Cuisine

I welcome you to the best Mexican cuisine you have ever seen, with its amazing and rich history,crazy ingredients, and amazing regional flavours. You will feel Mexican warmth and hospitality in this cuisine.

Mexican cuisine is a kick of all in one taste of chillies, a taste of lime juice, and a mouthwatering combination of Spanish and African influences. With its amazing tacos, Mexico has captured the stage of world cuisine.In this episode we will discuss different tastes, basic flavours, and Mexican traditions that made cuisine so different and amazing.

Why I choose Mexican cuisine first: mostly spices that are used in their food are matched with Pakistan's cuisine. Let's dive into the world of Mexican cuisine.

Favorite Foods:

1. Tacos al pastor: A taco filled with marinated pork, onions, cilantro, and pineapple .
2. Tacos de carnitas: A taco filled with pork cookedon low flame, salsa, and lime .
3. Enchiladas: Meat or cheese, covered in sauce and melted cheese is rolled in a tortilla.
4. Chiles rellenos: A delicious recipe of roasted poblano peppers stuffed with cheese, battered, and fried.
5. Sopes: Thick, round tortillas topped with beans, cheese, and various meats.

Mexican Essential Spices And Seasonings:

Maxican cuisine has a blend of spices, including chili peppers, garlic, and cumin, used to add heat and flavor. Sweet paprika adds colour to Mexican food, Oregano is used with different spices give a unique taste to Mexican food. Fresh lime ,onion ,garlic common ingredients in Mexican cuisine, adding brightness and acidity to dishes.

Traditional Cooking Techniques:

Mexican cuisine has different cooking techniques in different recipes. Grilling is used for meat and vegetables. It is most common technique in their cuisine. Roasting of vegetables, tomatoes, chilies and garlic is common to bring out their natural sweetness and flavour. Braising is used to make sauce or soups like recipes. Frying is used to crips or add cruch to the food. Tostado is used to toast tortilla.

Some well-known Mexican recipes all over the world that showcase these mentioned techniques and ingredients include:

• Chiles rellenos
• Enchiladas
• Carne asada
• Chiles en nogada
• Pozole

These are just a few examples of the diverse and flavorful world of Mexican cuisine.

Enchiladas

Enchiladas are a Mexican dish of tortillas ( of corn or flour) wrapped around a filling and covered in sauce. They can include a variety of fillings and sauces.

Mexican Spanish word "enchilar" (meaning "to season with chilli") is where the word "enchilada" originates. Originally it was a basic street food in Mexico, enchiladas gained popularity among Spanish conquistadors. Today we learn how to make it.

Ingredients:

Making :

For Tortilla

• Make dough by adding salt and butter in flour by using warm water. Knead it properly until dough becomes soft and smooth. Cover it with cloth and rest it for ten minutes.

• Make small size balls from dough, roll it and cook it on a flat pan from both sides. Try to make equal sized tortilla. Cover tortillas with cloth to keep them soft.

Enchiladas Sauce :

• Heat frying pan,place tomatoes,cover and roast for 8-10 minutes and keep turning sides in between then remove skin and cut into cubes.
• Add cooking oil, chopped onion, chopped garlic,tomato paste,black pepper ,paprika powder,cumin powder,dried oregano,sugar,cayenne powder,salt and vinegar,mix well.
• then add water and mix well,cover and cook on low flame for 10-15 minutes then mash it, let it cool.
• In grinder,add cooked tomato mixture,grind well & Enchiladas sauce is ready keep it aside.

Chicken Filling:

• In saucepan,add water,chicken fillets,onion,fresh corinader,salt,black pepper crushed,garlic,mix well and bring it to boil.
• Cover and cook on medium flame for 15-20 minutes then cook on high flame until water dries up then shred it & set aside.

Assembling:

• On shredded chicken,add ¼ Cup of prepared tomato sauce and mix well (optional,you can add sauce separately too).
• On tortilla,add chicken filling,onion,cheddar cheese,mozzarella cheese and roll it (makes 6-8).

• On baking dish,spread Enchilada sauce and place prepared rolls.
• Add & spread remaining prepared Enchilada sauce,cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven at 200 C until cheese melts (approx. 10-15 minutes).
• Garnish with fresh coriander & serve it.

^{Final presentation}

Students task

1- Have you ever tried any Mexican food? Is there any resembles of their food with your local cuisine?(2 points)

2- Which flavour or spice do you like from Mexico cuisine ?(1point)

3- Make the detailed step by step recipe of Enchiladas from the above recipe or any that you like,Include your name tag with date in final presentationof recipe. (4 points)

4- Do you face any difficulty during making the recipe?(2points )

Presentation of food matter , 1 mark for good presentation of food.

Rules and criteria:

✓ The post can be written on your blog or any community.

✓ The title of your post must be: SLC23-W1 // "Mexican Cuisine"

✓ Use your own images, plagiarism and use of AI are prohibited, the publication must contain a minimum of 300 words.

✓ Make sure to use the tags #globalcuisine-s23w1 , #learnwhitsteem #steemexclusive #food and your country tag. (example, #pakistan)

✓ Include a handwritten identification sign next to your food, containing the user name and date .

✓ Invite at least three friends to participate: @lirvic , @shiftitamanna , @sualeha .

✓ Leave the link to your post in the comments section.

✓ Any language is accepted.

✓ Promote on social networks like X.

✓ This contest will be open for 7 days starting at 00:00 UTC on Monday, February 17, 2025, 00:00 UTC to Sunday, February 23, 2025, 23:59 UTC.

Rewards:

SC01/SC02 will evaluate posts across all participating teaching teams. Upvotes are not guaranteed for all articles.

At the end of the week, top 4 users will be nominated based on content quality and presentation not on comment count.

Best regards
@suboohi