CHERAN: a sierra TARASCAN village — BEALS 



49 



and as a daily food by all who can afford it, 

 which in Cheran would probably constitute a 

 considerable majority of the population. It is 

 often eaten with tamales of the type known as 

 kuriindas, or with boiled chayote. Meat, if not 

 made into curipo, usually is boiled." 



Mole is a less common meat dish, probably 

 derived from the Mestizos. It consists of a 

 stew, preferably of turkey, but if this is not 

 obtainable, of chicken, pork, or beef in descend- 

 ing order of frequency as well as preference. 

 Pieces of the boiled meat are served in a sauce 

 made in various ways, according to the avail- 

 ability of the ingredients and the knowledge 

 of the cook. The sauce may include the follow- 

 ing ingredients: Cloves, gingei-, chocolate, cin- 

 namon, ground toasted bread or tortillas, pump- 

 kin seeds, garlic, onion, and chile of the type 

 known as pasiya or "chUeancho." The chiles 

 are either fried in lard or dipped in hot water, 

 ground with the other ingredients, and cooked 

 in the meat broth. A thick, rich, and usually 

 rather greasy sauce or gravy is the result. 

 Mole is usually eaten on special occasions. 



Fish are brought to Cheran either fresh, 

 broiled, or dried. Fresh fish come from Eron- 

 garicuaro on Lake Patzcuaro only a limit&d 

 part of the year, usually just after the rainy 

 season in the fall. It is expensive compared 

 with meat, but is much liked. During the 

 rainy season, broiled fish are brought from 

 Lake Chapala; in the dry season, from Eron- 

 garicuaro. 



The fish are washed carefully in hot water 

 before cooking. Fish is boiled in water with 

 onion and silantro (a pungent herb). Some 

 people eat the intestines, removing only the bile. 

 Seasoning with chile and tomato, ground to- 

 gether, is common; sometimes the broth is 

 thickened with maize dough and sometimes 

 onion is added. Fish may also be fried with 

 eggs in lard, making a sort of fish hash. 



Small dry fish (carales), resembling small 

 dried minnows, are on sale on market day 

 throughout the year and also at many of the 

 stores. They are toasted on the comal and 

 eaten with chile and tortillas, especially for 

 breakfast. They are also made into a broth 

 with chile sauce. 



It is believed to be injurious to eat any kind 

 of fish when ill of the "bilis." 



Game is eaten to some extent when available. 

 Deer meat is sold in pieces or in retail quanti- 

 ties by the hunters in much the same fashion 

 as beef. Squirrels, doves, and ducks are all 

 liked. Squirrels are sold at 10 centavos, doves 

 at 5 centavos, and ducks at 50 centavos to 1 

 peso. Ducks come from Zacapu. A few people 

 eat pigeons. Only adult pigeons are eaten." 



Eggs are eaten to a considerable extent, 

 fried, mixed with fish, or scrambled with cheese. 

 But poor families, even if they have chickens, 

 prefer to sell the eggs and buy beans. 



MAIZE FOODS 



Maize is made into tortillas, gordos, posole, 

 or tamales, and is also used to thicken some 

 types of broths and sauces. It is also eaten 

 green, and certain foods are made from green 

 corn. No maize foods are salted. Maize types 

 include white, yellow, red, and black, the latter 

 two types not being common. White maize is 

 sold chiefly outside the village. 



Methods of initial preparation vary. For 

 tortillas and gordos the maize is boiled with 

 lime. This softens and to some extent dis- 

 solves the outer shell of the grain. After thor- 

 ough washing in a special basket, it is ground 

 into nixtamal or dough. If economically possi- 

 ble, grinding is done at the power mills in the 

 town, 'followed by further grinding at home. 

 Some people are too poor to pay for the mill, 

 and the women do all the grinding on the 

 metate. 



Tortillas are made of the nixtamal or maize 

 dough. A quantity is scooped off the metate 

 and shaped into a flat disk in the hands. This 

 is then skillfully slapped between the palms until 

 it becomes a thin sheet about one-eighth inch in 

 thickness and 6 or 7 inches in diameter. This 

 sheet is baked on a dry flat clay dish, the comal, 

 with moderate heat. Usually the tortilla is 

 turned two or tliree times in the process. Tor- 

 tillas are served at virtually every meal, re- 

 gardless of the rest of the menu, and are the 

 main article of diet. 



Gordos are smaller and thicker cakes fried 



^* The majority of the recipes were collected by Silvia Rendon. 



1=* The people of Ichan in La Canada are well known for their 

 fondness for small wild birds such as kongotos, doves ihiiiiotas) , 

 wild piseons. torcazes, and jarrines. 



