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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 13 



Tortillas form the basis for special dishes, such 

 as tochones and enchiladas. The first is made of 

 old, dry tortillas, which are cut in small pieces, 

 fried, and sprinkled with salt. Of enchiladas, 

 there are two principal kinds and a number of 

 variants. One type of enchilada is made by 

 brushing a fresh tortilla with chili sauce and 

 sprinkling it with salt; the cake generally is 

 doubled, so that the sauce is on the inner surfaces. 

 The other enchilada (tacu^la) is made by drop- 

 ping a fresh tortilla into boiling chili sauce; 

 it is removed and garnished with a bit of lard. 



Atole (kela). — Of maize gruels, there are many 

 different kinds and, probably by extension, sev- 

 eral other foodstuffs — sweetpotato, squash, and 

 rice — are also served in the form of atole. 



Young green ears, of any kind of corn not quite 

 ripe, often are prepared as atole : 



a. Atole de elote (gruel of fresh ears; Skulim). The 

 grains are cut from the ear and are ground on the metate. 

 They are boiled with brown sugar and the resulting gruel 

 served either hot or cold. One informant claims to soak 

 the grains a day before cooking them so that they may 

 ferment ; another says that this gruel is not fermented. 



Four different kinds of atole are made exclu- 

 sively from white corn. Of these, one is reserved 

 for very special occasions, while the others are 

 prepared more frequently. 



o. Atole bianco (ski'jakela). This is made in small 

 quantity, every 3 or 4 days. Its base is white corn steeped 

 in lime. The maize is ground, water added, and the mix- 

 ture boiled and strained. It is drunk thus, or brown sugar 

 is added for flavoring. 



c. Another atole is similar but is made of nixtamal 

 tnartajado (taqs'kela). The steeped white corn is broken 

 roughly on the metate hut is not thoroughly ground. The 

 half -broken kernels ai„ ^,ut in water to boil, and the gruel 

 is drunk without being strained. 



d. Atole de bolitas (gruel of little balls; skakakela) ; 

 called also atole del norte (northern atole ; no explanation 

 of name obtainable). This likewise is made of white 

 corn. The maize, which has been steeped in lime, is ground 

 finely, as though it were to be used for tortillas. To this, 

 dough, salt, lard, and goosefoot (No. 75) are added. Some, 

 perhaps not all, also add brown sugar. Wild dry chili is 

 ground and incorporated in the dough. The latter is 

 formed into small balls, about the size of marbles. These 

 are boiled, and, as they cook, they are stirred with a stick. 



For us, the resulting dish is characterized chiefly by its 

 overpowering chili flavor. The liquid is drunk and the 

 little balls of dough are speared and conveyed to the 

 mouth with a thin stick, either of capuUn or of orange 

 wood, which has been whittled to a point. 



e. Atole de espuma (foam gruel) or champurrado 

 (sakapu-put) . Basically, this is the same as atole bianco, 

 with the addition of brown sugar. Just before the gruel 

 is served, foam from rapidly beaten chocolate is dropped 

 on the top. This dish is prepared chiefly for the feast 

 which takes place SO days following the death of an 

 individual. 



We come now to a fermented atole which ordi- 

 narily is made from purple corn (maiz morado), 

 although white may be substituted in case of 

 necessity. Purple corn is grown exclusively for 

 this dish, but is not treated with lime. 



f. Atole agrio (sour gruel; skut'-kela, skuta?kela ; skuta, 

 agrio; kela, atole). The dry uncooked kernels are broken 

 lightly on the metate and are placed in warm water. The 

 vessel is covered tightly and is left for at least 12 hours — 

 longer, if necessary — until the contents ferment. "When 

 bubbles appear on the surface of the liquid, the maize is 

 beginning to sour. 



Then the broken corn, which has settled in the bottom 

 of the vessel, is removed and is ground — either on the 

 metate or in the metal mill. The liquid is heated and the 

 ground paste added to it. The whole then is strained, to 

 remove the hulls, which are discarded. The strained gruel 

 is returned to the fire and cooked for about 2 hours. Dur- 

 ing most of the time, it is stirred with a stick, sometimes 

 ornamentally carved (fig. 36). The cooked gruel is eaten 

 unsweetened, or with the addition of brown sugar. 



Atole agrio characteristically is a sort of mulberry color, 

 owing to the purple maize. It is considered "very refresh- 

 ing" and is especially popular during warm weather. It is 

 made in considerable quantity — using a quart illo (3 liters) 

 or half an almud (6 liters) of maize. Invariably, this is 

 the atole which is served to men who come to the house to 

 assist in clearing fields, in planting, or in any other major 

 chore. 



Moreover, it is said that years ago, atole agrio was 

 served at weddings instead of the chocolate and bread 

 which are favored today. The gruel was dished out in 

 small "cups" made of halves of the fruit of the calabash- 

 tree. On the surface of each serving of atole, a flower or 

 bird design was formed with powder prepared from 

 squash seed (pipiun), which had been toasted and ground. 

 In this case, the gruel was known as taka^oqnPi (taka, 

 cncima ; dDqni'i, pintado). 



In different parts of Mexico, there are quite dif- 

 ferent, ways of preparing atole, and while vir- 

 tually nothing is known of the distribution of 

 these recipes, 79 three of the principal ones are 



79 It is highly desirable that a study be made of maize cookery 

 in general, for there is every indication that recipes will fall into 

 well-defined zones. It is not unlikely that such zones will coin- 

 cide with old ethnic areas, or with the distribution of certain 

 kinds of maize. 



For example, in the Autlan-Tuxcacueseo district of Jalisco, 

 atole invariably is made of nixtamal, that is, of maize steeped 

 with lime. But in Tultithln, in the State of Mexico, nixtamal is 

 not used for atole. There, the maize is boiled without lime, or 



