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Posts Tagged ‘mexican recipes’

Mexican dishes potray colourfulness, a shade of merriment and diversity in flavours. The balmy weather conditions and ethnic variations of the region have a played an important role in shaping cooking culture.

Past conquests have led to a considerable influence of Spanish cooking. Its roots lies in the local staples of the Mayan Indians of the Yucatan Isthmus.

The staples of a Mexican cuisine comprise of

Tortillas a kind of pancake comprised of wheat or maize flour. The versatility of the tortilla as a wrap is limitless. Tortillas can be utilized as a taco, tostada.

All of them are topped or filled with a wide range of stuffings both vegetarian and meat centred and served often with a dipping sauce such as guacamole, salsa, chipotle etc.

Chipotle Bean Dip These are smoked jalapeno chili peppers also called ‘chili ahumado’. These chillies are usually a dull greyish tan to coffee color and measure 2-four in. in length and 1inch girth.

1 tablespoon – Olive oil

three/4 cup – Black beans/pinto beans drained

1/4 cup – Rice (brown or white) cooked

one No – Spring white onions thinly diced

two tbsp – Chipotle Tabasco sauce

two No – Garlic clove powdered

1/2 tsp – Parsley leaves powdered Salt to taste

Fetch a pot of water to boil, add the rice and cook dinner until tender. Wash, rinse and soak the beans overnight.

Get a pot of water to boil, add the beans and bay leaf simmer and cook till tender. Drain and set aside. Or you could, steam in a pressure cooker.

Warm oil in a pan add onion, garlic and cook.

Add the beans and seasoning and mix well. Stir in the chipotle sauce. Spread over rice. Garnish with lettuce and serve.

For additional information on some delicious mexican video recipes please visit Mexican Recipe. Also, if you are interested in Salsa then you can visit Mexican Salsa Recipes

categories: mexican recipes,mexican food,recipes,food,women,fitness

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Kids should be having fun on Cinco de Mayo. Give them extra fun with games that will make the day even more entertaining. Adults even love games at parties, do let them all take part in the festivities.

Break the Pinata

Everyone loves a good pinata smashing. Blindfold each contestant when it is his or her turn. Spin them around slowly a few times then hand them the bat, rod, or broom. Guide them in the general direction of the pinata, making sure no one is in the way. You may want to either use a timer or count how many tries each participant gets depending on how many people line up to try.

The Mexican hat relay is another great game for using up any extra energy. You can pick up a couple sombreros at your local party store or draw a some on sheets of paper. Split everyone who wants to play into two even teams. Set each hat down at the far side of the room. Racing against each other, players must run to the hat, dance around it in a circle three times, and then race back to tag the next person. The first team whose members have all completed the task is deemed the winner.

Gather items together, hide them around the house, and have a scavenger hunt. Makes sure that the items are connected to celebrating Cinco de Mayo. You could hide sombreros, dried chili peppers, avocados or other exotic item for teams to find. Be sure to hide enough of each item for all the teams to find. Pairing up kids with adults makes sure everyone gets involved. Give them written clues to help them. The winning team is the first back with all the listed items.

Make a place for the kids to color pictures. Provide lots of Mexican themed coloring sheets and markers. Other fun things that keep kids occupied include maracas to shake, colorful hats and ponchos they can dress themselves in, and music they can play.

Cinco de Mayo should entertain everyone involved. Provide party favors for all who attend, young and old. Straw party sombreros, maracas or other fun items will help keep the atmosphere playful. Play some music and encourage your guests to dance.

Of course, you cannot forget the food and beverages. Every party needs food! Choose some of your favorite Mexican food. If you want to keep it simple, make finger food like nachos, salsa and chips or quesadilla wedges. Provide plenty of dip for everyone to enjoy.

Authentic Cinco de Mayo recipes can be fun for all. If you want to add an air of tradition to your dishes, add peppers, corn (maize), beans and other Mexican staples that are used in Mexican cuisine. Make it easy and have fun with your friends and family.

The main ingredient to your party should be fun. Cinco de Mayo planning is worth all the effort to see everyone is smiling faces as they enjoy all your hard work.

Mexicans love chilies so much they even use them to flavor their candy and ice cream! Not everything Mexican is spicy though. You can use fresh chilies, dried chilies or even reconstitute dried chilies to make really good Mexican recipes which taste authentic and are bursting with the unmistakable flavor of Mexico.

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Mexican rice is a dish that is served at every Mexican restaurant all over the world. This rice is flavored with tomatoes and spices and has become an expected dish with Mexican food. This has not always been true, however. Rice is not a native plant in Mexico. Rice was introduced to Mexico through the Philippines. When the Spanish discovered how well rice grew around Veracruz, rice became a permanent ingredient in Mexican cuisine.

Rice is traditionally served at midday in Mexico. It is usually served with beans or fish. The rice and beans you get in restaurants are not how they are served in Mexico. Learning more about traditional Mexican food will really open your eyes. Mexican cuisine uses rice in many ways beyond the savory rice discussed here. They also use it in cakes, desserts and horchata, a tasty drink.

In Mexico, rice is often served in a pilaf style. What this means is the rice is browned before being simmered in broth. The rice is seasoned by adding carrots, peas, onions and other vegetables while the rice cooks. In some parts of Mexico, a creamier rice may be served that is similar to risotto.

A traditional way to cook rice in Mexico uses a clay vessel known as a cazuela. Rice cooked this way gets an earthy flavor. Soaked rice is drained and then fried until a golden brown. Liquid is then added to the vessel so the rice can simmer until it is tender.

To get fluffy rice, rinse the rice in a colander until the rinse water runs clear. This washes off any excess starch that will make the rice sticky. Mexican rice should be as fluffy as you can get it. Soaking rice ahead of time decrease your cooking time and help prepare the rice to absorb the flavor of the broth and seasonings you add during cooking. In Mexico, they prefer to use a long grain rice that still has a small portion of the germ attached. Medium grained rice that is available in the United States works well for Mexican rice.

When you have leftover rice, just freeze it. Take a sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil and spread the rice out in a thin sheet. Seal up the foil and place it in the freezer. When you want to use it again, just pop it in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit to reheat it. You do not need to thaw it first.

When you choose a Mexican rice recipe, follow the directions carefully for the best results. You may be adding ingredients like olive oil, carrots, parsley, and chilies. They will add a lot of flavor to your finished meal. Serve up your rice with a simply prepared fish or other entre.

Knowing how to make Mexican rice will really fill out your menu when you choose other Mexican entrees. The recipe is easy to do once you learn it. It makes a wonderful change instead of potatoes or pasta. It is a great choice when you want something different. Many people rate Mexican food as one of their favorites; when you can add this and other Mexican dishes to your menu, your family will cheer.

If you are a lover of fish and seafood, Mexican ceviche will definitely please you. This wonderful fishy dish is “cooked” with lemon or lime juice rather than with heat. You can enjoy ceviche as an appetizer, part of a salad recipe or as a main course and the recipe is simple to follow.

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Instead of heading to the bar, why not plan your own Cinco de Mayo blowout? It is a great excuse to indulge in delicious Mexican food, dress in colorful clothing and enjoy your favorite Mexican beverages. By planning your own party, you are in total control of the menu, the decorations, the entertainment, and the guest list.

Plan your menu carefully. Delegate dishes to friends and family if you wish so you do not have to prepare it all yourself. Catering may also be an option to think about. Choose some exotic dishes you love like tamales, quesadillas, and individual flans. Set up a taco or a salsa bar. Provide enough beverages for all of your guests. If you are providing alcoholic drinks, a nice Mexican beer or tequila may be a good choice. Do not forget a non-alcoholic option for those who choose not to imbibe. Horchata and agua fresco are refreshing Mexican beverages suitable for any age.

Decorations will help set the mood. Many party stores now carry supplies for Mexican themed gatherings. You can get brightly colored plates and cups as well as banners to hang on the walls. Strings of multicolor pennants are fun to string outdoors. Put up some red chili lights around the food table and hand out some fun sombreros or maracas to your guests to enjoy. Make some beautiful tissue paper flowers and use them to adorn your home. Hang streamers in the colors of the Mexican flag: red, green, and white. You can even go all out and hang up a piata.

Before putting together your guest list, you will need to figure out how many people your home can accommodate. Always add that the guest needs to RSVP on the invitations so you will be prepared. Give your invitation color and splash. Do not forget to get it out in a timely manner for all to respond.

What about music? Mariachi bands are the perfect choice for these parties. You can find some CDs with this type of music at your local Latino shops. After eating, move some of the furniture out of the way, so your guests can dance during the party.

If children will be at the party, add some games for them to play. Hang a piata they can break. Let them play pin the tail on the burro. You can probably convince the adults to join in with the kids for a fun Mexican-themed scavenger hunt.

Hosting Cinco de Mayo parties can be fun and rewarding for all. You might even make it an annual occurrence. The key to a great party is planning and delegation; you will not have disappointment when you plan for success.

Once the partygoers are gone, you can gauge how the party went for all of your guests and yourself. Did it look like people were having a good time? How did you enjoy it? Would you do it again? The true test is: did the guest ask when the next party will be?

Whether you prefer chicken, steak, fish or vegetarian food, fajitas make a great dinner because they come in all these varieties and you can even make fajitas with different fillings easily enough if your family do not all like the same thing. Fajitas make a nicely filling snack or dinner.

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While you may be familiar with many methods of cooking used in Mexico, there are a few that you may want to learn about. Sure, you have grilled, fried, and boiled food before. But have you ever used a steaming bucket? What about a molcajete?

Steaming is a popular method in Mexican cookery. A dish known as barbacoa is cooked by wrapping meat in a cactus or banana leaf and steaming it over water that is boiling inside a pit. Steaming buckets are the traditional way to cook tamales. Steam keeps the masa on the outside of the filling moist. Today, many Mexican cooks use special kettles that allow them to cook many types of tamale at the same time. Sweating is another method used, especially to remove the skin on fresh chilies. Onions and chilies are also soaked frequently to make them a bit more mild. Letting them soak in milk or a water and vinegar solution for half an hour to an hour will remove some of the heat.

What about the molcajete? A molcajete is a small mortar and pestle used to grind ingredients like herbs or corn. A larger version, known as a metate y mano, is made of stone. It has a slight concave surface on which to grind corn. Before corn masa could be purchased, every family used one of these to prepare their own masa.

Boiling and simmering are often used in Mexican cuisine. Meat and vegetables are often placed into a pot to cook all day long. At the end of the day, the meat is so tender it just falls apart. This is perfect for shredded beef tacos, carnitas, and other dishes.

Grilling is a popular method of cooking in Mexico. The open flame adds so much flavor to the dish. Many meats are marinated in spices and peppers and then grilled so they can be used in various recipes. Grilling and roasting increases the flavor of tomatoes, garlic, onions, chilies and tomatillos. The flame kisses the ingredients, caramelizing the sugars and creating delicious flavors.

Stewing is a traditional method of cooking that has been used in Mexico since time immemorial. The long cooking times needed for proper stewing were common. At times, the vegetables and meats were cooked separately and then combined for further simmering before serving. Today, this is often done in a Dutch oven. In days gone by, this was done in a clay cazuela.

You can also use some quick Mexican recipes that will have you eating dinner before you know it. Not every dish needs to be cooked all day long. Do not be afraid to try some new techniques now and then. Learn about new cooking methods and adapt them to your needs. Incorporating new cooking techniques can increase your cooking skills and it is a lot of fun to try new foods.

There is so much to learn about the fascinating tapestry of Mexican cuisine. The depth of flavors and cooking methods that provide them are such an interesting study all by themselves.

Some peppers are mild and others are almost unbearably hot and spicy. The Scoville heat index is used to measure how hot chili peppers are. Different Mexican foods suit different levels of spiciness and whereas some recipes call for mild bell peppers, others are better with spicier jalapeos or habanero chilies.

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Food has enjoyed a long and varied history in Mexico. This diverse history is rich in influences that are now enjoyed all over in many countries. True Mexican cuisine is a fabulous blending of fresh foods that are lovingly made from scratch. It is delicious and finds new followers everywhere.

Mexican cuisine is a blending of Aztec, Spanish, and Mayan influences with a little French thrown in. It has a reputation for spicy foods, but not all of their dishes are known for their heat. Recipes will depend on what part of Mexico it comes from. Ingredients and tastes change.

When Cortez and his Conquistadors arrived in Mexico in 1521 from Spain, they found many different foods that they had never heard of before. Avocados, squash, chocolate, peanuts, beans, corn, vanilla, coconuts, and tomatoes were all new taste sensations to them. They also shared their bounty from Spain. Pork, lamb, beef, garlic, cheese, milk, wine, vinegar, and citrus fruits were all new to the native Mexicans. They lost no time in assimilating these new foods into their cuisine, blending them seamlessly with their staples into new recipes.

Every cuisine can trace back to a foundation of a few ingredients. Mexican cuisine is based on beans, squash, and corn. Each region added their own local products to this foundation. In the Yucatan, seafood and fresh fruit-based sauces were the focus. Northern Mexico has a lot of charcoal grilled meats on the menu. Around Oaxaca, corn was first domesticated by man. They still grow many varieties there that are unavailable anywhere else in the world. They also grow a lot of chilies and are known to have at least seven different mole sauces in this area.

In Veracruz and its area, most recipes contain fresh fish. Fish is found in tamales, tacos, burritos and more due to the abundance of this ingredient. They also use a lot of olives, chili peppers, and tomatoes in this area. True Mexican food is very different from what you get in the United States.

What we eat in the United States tends to be a fusion known as Tex-Mex food. For example, in Mexico it would be extremely rare to get both beans and rice in the same course, let alone the same meal. Here it is commonplace. In addition, salad is hardly ever made in Mexico. This is the influence from the cuisine here in the United States.

You can easily find traditional Mexican recipes in books or online, but do not expect them to be like what you eat at Mexican restaurants. Authentic Mexican cuisine is a delicious tradition you should try. Maybe you can try some of the regional recipes that use fresh ingredients like seafood or fruit. They are really amazing.

Eating Mexican food does not have to mean Spanish rice and tacos. Enjoy the true cuisine of Mexico with the richness of seafood, fresh ingredients, and all the variety they have in Mexico. It can easily be enjoyed in your own kitchen, even if you are far from Mexico. Make some for your family and see how they like this cuisine. It is so delicious they will want to try more recipes and learn more about them.

A lot of authentic Mexican recipes have stood the test of time and remained popular. Chalupas are one of these recipes. You can make chalupas at home for your family to enjoy and they are very easy to put together because you can use readymade corn tortillas for them and your favorite fillings.

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Most people do not think of seafood when they think of Mexico, but with six thousand miles of coastline, seafood is an important part of Mexican cuisine. Mexico lies right between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans and it borders a good portion of the Gulf of Mexico. This area provides a great variety of seafood that can be put to good use in Mexican recipes.

Ceviche is a very popular seafood dish from Mexico. Made with small pieces of raw fish, squid, or shrimp, the recipe includes onion, peppers, salt, and cilantro. The fish is “cooked” with lemon or limejuice. The citric acid in the juice changes the proteins in the fish just like cooking. Even so, some ingredients will be cooked for safety purposes. You can enjoy ceviche on its own or used as filling for a taco. It is also wonderful on crackers or tostadas.

Seafood can also be simmered in the Veracruzana style. This is a sauce preparation made with tomatoes, chilies, olives, and capers. The resulting dish is both tangy and spicy. This sauce is often prepared with red snapper or shrimp. Veracruz and its surrounding region are well known for this and many other seafood dishes.

Another popular method of cooking seafood in Mexico is known as “a la Plancha.” This is a Spanish cooking method that uses a metal plate set over an open flame. The fish is grilled on this plate. The fish gets the wonderful taste of grilling, but it does not tend to stick like it does on the grill.

Winter is the most prolific season for fishing in Mexico. Many people follow the edicts of the Catholic Church in Mexico, and so they do not eat meat on Fridays or for Lent. Seafood comes to the rescue on these days since the Church exempts it from being classified as meat. Due to this, seafood plays a big part in Mexican religious celebrations. Every family has their own recipes for making the most of whatever type of seafood they can afford to buy, no matter if it is something humble or something luxurious.

When it comes to making food in your own kitchen, do not overlook the Mexican recipes for seafood. Fish is really a versatile ingredient. Many popular dishes in Mexico include spicy stuffed clams, red snapper and shrimp stuffed chilies. Let them tickle your taste buds without having to go on vacation.

Add some of these delicious Mexican recipes to your recipe file. Seafood soup, stews and other dishes are both delicious and filling. Shrimp is used in enchiladas, tacos, and many more favorite dishes. Seafood and rice is a common dish served in Veracruz that contains fish, shrimp, octopus, clams, and crabs. Seafood frittatas are made with octopus, shrimp, crab, fish, and shellfish such as oysters, mussels, or clams for an exciting way to enjoy eggs.

Do not skip Mexican recipes just because they are for seafood. Mexican cuisine really knows how to make seafood taste amazing. Explore Mexican culture through the use of seafood and see what you discover. It will give you a new perspective and respect for this diverse country. Seafood really provides the perfect foil for the many spices used in Mexican cuisine.

The great thing about Cinco de Mayo is that every family makes their favorite Mexican foods to celebrate with and traditional Cinco de Mayo food is whatever you want to make. There are no traditional foods associated with these festivities so you can make whichever Mexican dishes tantalize your taste buds.

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It is not news that the cuisine of America and the cuisine of Mexico are quite different things. Mexican food recipes, for example are certainly not all that similar to those found in America. Strangely enough, Canadian food is rather similar to our own, as is often the case with neighboring countries – so why is the culinary tradition of our southern neighbor so different than ours? Mexican recipes use different ingredients than we commonly see in the average grocery store and create flavors, which seem exotic to American palates.

Some Mexican Food History

One of the two biggest reasons for the differences between Mexican food and American food is historical. Mexico of course was once a Spanish territory; then again, so were parts of the United States! The difference is that Mexico remained a Spanish colony for a much longer time – and you can certainly see the influence of Spanish cooking in parts of the American southwest. These are regions, which were formerly held by the Spanish and of course, also bordering Mexico.

The US has a different history, being a former British colony with most of its early immigration coming from northern Europe and having different culinary traditions. This alone accounts for some of the divergence of Mexican and American cooking, since traditional Mexican recipes have a profound Spanish influence which is missing from most American cooking.

Colonists who came to Mexico from Europe came by and large from Spain and had a deep and lasting influence on what is now the nation of Mexico. Many classic Mexican recipes are either Spanish and are made much the same way as they are in Europe or are adaptations of Spanish dishes using local ingredients as substitutes for those, which were unavailable in the Americas.

Mexico has of course had significant numbers of arrivals from outside of Spain since, especially settlers from Syria and Lebanon, who brought one of their traditional dishes – shawarma with them. This has been adapted into the Mexican classic al pastor. However, the Spanish influence is stronger than any other in the Mexican kitchen is.

Since the US has a much more diverse population, no single nationality’s cuisine ever assumed quite the dominance over American cooking as can be seen in Mexico with Spanish influence. The development of Mexican food is largely the product of two cuisines rather than many melding together over time.

Locally Available Ingredients

The other important factor behind the difference in the cuisines of the two countries is geographical. The Spanish had to adapt to the ingredients, which were available in Mexico, just like the pilgrims learned to cook the local produce in Massachusetts. In Mexico, ingredients like corn, chilies, avocados, pumpkins, tomatoes and others which were new to the conquistadores quickly became staples and were cooked along with old world ones like rice, coriander and olives.

This blend of native ingredients and recipes with those brought over by the Spanish is what made Mexican food what it is today and many of the most famous Mexican food recipes clearly show this marriage of old world and new world cuisines. From tacos to soups to Mexican casserole recipes, this is one very successful – and very popular type of fusion cuisine.

If you like Mexican food, you can learn a lot about its history and preparation at MexicanFoodRecipes.org. From favorites like tamales to enchiladas to lesser known treats like posole and authentic Mexican rice recipes, you can find all sorts of great recipes here.

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Each country has its own unique food traditions. Mexico is certainly no exception in this regard, with many fascinating (and delicious) Mexican food traditions which are all its own. Some of these Mexican food customs include preparing and serving special recipes for holidays and other important events. Some of these holiday dishes are world famous, while others are lesser known, being rarely seen outside of Mexico.

Mexican Holidays And Recipes

Cinco de Mayo is the most well known of any of the country’s national holidays. Every May 5th, celebrations are held in the Mexican state of Puebla – though it is considered a minor event in other parts of the country. Many people celebrate this holiday in the US, with a lot of Americans mistakenly thinking that this holiday commemorates Mexico’s independence from Spain. However, Cinco de Mayo is actually a holiday celebrating a victory over the French in Puebla back in’62!

It is in the state of Puebla that this holiday is celebrated with special Cinco de Mayo recipes. In the rest of the country, it is regarded as a minor holiday, despite how popular this commemoration is in the United States. Puebla’s Cinco de Mayo dishes often include mole, a traditional Mexican recipe which hails from this state.

A common Cinco de Mayo holiday dish you may find in Puebla on this day is turkey cooked in mole poblano. This is a spicy, nutty sauce, which is very labor intensive to make and offers an amazing complexity of flavor. Turkey is one of the most popular meats in much of Mexico; in fact, you will find this bird in many different Mexican recipes, including other Mexican holiday dishes.

Christmas And Epiphany Food Traditions

Mexico is a predominantly Catholic country, which celebrates Christmas (of course) as well as the feast days of many saints and other religious holidays. No country celebrates like Mexico, especially when it comes to holiday food! Christmas Mexican food traditions include the traditional Christmas morning “posada,” a sort of morning dinner party.

The traditional posada meal might include dishes like turkey soup, codfish with gravy, punch with marshmallows, and mashed potatoes served with a spicy cranberry sauce. Making this already festive holiday meal even more so is the presence of a piata, something which adds a fun Mexican flair to the holiday.

Epiphany is a holiday, which is celebrated in Mexico with festivity and food and has some Mexican food traditions of its own. On this day, a ring-shaped cake is served, a tradition introduced by the Spanish. Hot chocolate is traditionally served, a treat, which is native to the Americas.

Of course, no discussion of typical Mexican food traditions can omit the Mexican celebration of All Saints Day, or Dia de los Muertos as it is known here. On this day, pumpkin candy and other special treats are served, including pan de muertos, a small loaf of bread, which is glazed and sprinkled with colored sugar. These loaves are decorated with small pieces of bread shaped like bones and even skulls!

However, sugar skulls are without a doubt the best known of Mexico’s food traditions surrounding the day of the dead. These are skull shaped candies, which are made by pressing sugar into a mold. These candies are often decorated with great care, making for a holiday treat, which is so beautifully decorated that you may not want to eat them!

Mexican food traditions are a reflection of this nation’s rich cultural heritage and include traditional recipes of both indigenous and Spanish origin, a blend which is the hallmark of this country’s cuisine, one of the world’s most famous.

Fresh chili pepper has a very different flavor to ground chili and both kinds are used in Mexican recipes. Traditional chicken enchiladas use chili pepper to boost the spicy, tangy flavor and no piquant salsa would be complete without some chili to liven up the taste and complement the Mexican dish you are enjoying.

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One of the most widely grown crops in the world, rice is the most important dietary staple in much of the world. It is actually the most commonly eaten grain on earth and is the basis of the traditional diet in eastern and southeastern Asia, much of Africa, the Caribbean and the region known as Latin America, spanning South, Central, and parts of North America. While rice is grown in the US and is indeed a common food here, it is in Mexico that North America can be said to truly have a culinary tradition including rice in an important role. It is second only to corn in its importance to Mexican cooking and there are far too many Mexican rice recipes to list here.

As central as rice is to Mexican cooking, it is a relatively recent arrival in the grand scheme of things, having arrived in what is now Mexico with colonists and explorers from Spain and Portugal. The peoples of the new world took to the new grain with enthusiasm and rice was soon one of the most important staples in the Mexican kitchen. Some of the dishes, which are now considered to be traditional Mexican rice recipes date from the early days after rice, began to be cultivated in the Americas.

Authentic Mexican Rice Recipes

One of the best known and most popular of all Mexican rice dishes is arroz con pollo, which is also among the most popular Mexican chicken recipes. The name means “rice with chicken” and is the Mexican version of a classic comfort food combination.

In Mexico, this chicken recipe incorporates some new world ingredients into this Spanish recipe such as tomatoes. Mexican cooks tend to prepare this dish with Mexican oregano rather than the Greek oregano, which would be used by cooks in Spain. The addition of this similar tasting but slightly more assertively flavored herb puts a Mexican spin on the dish, making arroz con pollo translate perfectly into a wonderful Mexican rice dish.

Spanish Cuisine Adapts To The New World

After the Spanish began to grow rice in Mexico, it quickly became a hit, working its way into dishes, which combined old and new ingredients, with some of the results now known as authentic Mexican rice recipes. One dish, which we think of as Spanish as can be is paella, but a look at the ingredients commonly, used in this dish reveal something very interesting. For example, tomato is a common ingredient; a new world ingredient, which must inevitably have found its way into a pot of rice and seafood long before a cook in Valencia, thought to do the same.

Of course, even Spanish paella happens to have a slight Mexican accent due to the inclusion of tomatoes and quite often, bell peppers – both of which are native to the Americas and were brought back to Europe from the new world! Needless to say, this is also a very popular Mexican rice dish with many regional variations being found throughout Mexico, especially in coastal regions of the country.

Another well-known traditional Mexican rice recipe is the seasoned rice, which is often served along with bean dishes and almost everything else. This recipe is very similar to what is also called “Spanish rice” but just like paella, Mexico has its own version of this ubiquitous side dish and happens to be the original home of some of its ingredients!

Rice is an incredibly important ingredient in the Mexican pantry; this oldest of old world staples has become as essential to the Mexican diet as it is in Asia, Africa and much of the rest of the globe. Like many of the ingredients introduced by Europeans and later waves of immigrants to Mexico. it has been welcomed with open arms, combined with the native ingredients of the Americas, and become something all its own – from Mexican rice recipes to soups, which include this grain, Mexican food, is a distinct cuisine unto itself and rice has been a big part of its development.

If you like the sound of the above authentic Mexican recipes, why not try making some yourself? Mexican cuisine is both simple enough for the beginner to master and vast enough to maintain your interest. You will find plenty of recipes at MexicanFoodRecipes.org/ as well as handy cooking tips and more.

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