By Paola Velasco
With the arrival of September and the celebration of the national holidays, it is also the time of year when one of the most popular dishes in Mexico, pozole, is served. This soup is made with cacahuazintle corn kernels, pork, chicken, and even seafood, accompanied with radishes, lettuce, onion, chili, and oregano. Green, red, or white, we can find as much variety in the pozoles of Mexico as there are regions and tastes in the country.
The word pozole comes from the Nahuatl word pozolli, which means “foam” because it is prepared with kernels of a special corn called cacahuazintle , which is precooked in a solution of water with calcium oxide. In this way, the grains of corn lose the fibrous shell that covers them, and, when boiled, they open like a flower, which gives them a foamy appearance.
It is believed that this dish was consumed by the Emperor Moctezuma during ceremonies to honor Xipe Tótec, the Aztec god of spring, and as an offering to pray for good harvests.
Fray Bernardino de Sahagún, in the “Historia General de las Cosas de Nueva España,” (“General History of the Things of New Spain”) recounts, «They cooked that meat with corn and gave each one a piece of that meat in a bowl or caxete, with its broth and its cooked corn, and called that soup tlacatlaolli.» The “meat” mentioned in the historical account was human meat. The book referenced said that the pozole offered to Moctezuma was topped with the thigh of a sacrificed prisoner. The word tlacatlaolli means “corn of man” in Nahuatl.
The dish survived over time and is today a delicacy, typical of the national holidays, because its ingredients are a hallmark of all that is Mexico. The current tradition of eating pozole in September is linked to the corn harvest, which is normally sown at the beginning of the year and which is ripe by this date.
Types of pozole
White pozole: this is the most popular. It is prepared with dried cacahuazintle corn and pork meat, seasoned with lemon juice, salt, hot sauce or ground piquín chili, lettuce, sliced radishes, chopped onion, and ground oregano.
Red pozole: it is believed that this comes from the state of Jalisco, the main difference is that it is prepared with ancho chili and guajillo chili. They commonly eat it with pork, but there are those who prepare it with chicken or turkey.
Green pozole: prepared with green tomatoes, epazote, and pumpkin seeds. It is said that it comes from the state of Guerrero, and in some cases pork rinds and avocado are added to accompany it.
Seafood pozole: this is prepared mainly along the coasts of Colima, Jalisco, and Nayarit, although it is also consumed in other states. The main ingredient is the shrimp broth that is prepared combined with pork lard. At the end you add shrimp, fish, octopus, and clams.
Vegetarian Pozole: if you are one of those who leads a vegetarian lifestyle, there is a recipe for pozole made with different types of mushrooms (champiñones and setas). In this case it is prepared with bay leaves, garlic, onion, guajillo chili, and mushrooms.
Do you fancy a pozolito? In San Miguel de Allende you can find a wide variety of restaurants where they serve this delicious dish. The most popular are La Alborada (Sollano 11), Birria Xalisco Jardín (Calzada de la Estación 153), El Itacate (Libramiento Manuel Zavala 165), Las Golondrinas (Mesones 49) and, of course, at the Ignacio Ramírez Market (Colegio s/n, Centro).
References: gob.mx
