In this recipe, we will make Aztec Tlahcos, which look almost similar to modern-day tacos. Along with tasty Tlahcos, we will also be putting an ancient recipe for hot chocolate, or Xocolatl, to good use. Aztec Tlahcos are very different from modern tacos. They have no lime, no cilantro, and no cheese. All these ingredients, which do not belong in the taco’s original recipe, were brought to central America by colonizers and would then be integrated into the dish.
The first account of the takisa or the taco party was written about in the book The True History of New Spain by Bernal Diaz in 1568.
Ingredients for filling
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 2 large tomatoes
- 1 onion
- 2–4 serrano peppers
- 2 poblano chiles
- 1 tablespoon dried epazote (oregano if you can’t find epazote)
- pinch of salt (according to the taste)
How to make the filling
- Preheat a clay comal on the stove.
- Core the tomatoes and peppers. Cut the onion into large slices. Keep the roots of the onion so it does not fall apart on the comal. With the serranos, only remove the stems. Take a bite of the pepper to find out if it’s spicy; smelling them is a good idea too. If they smell spicy, then they are, and if they are, do not use more than one or two.
(Removing the top of the peppers and their seeds won’t make it less hot. In fact, ribs are responsible for the heat in a pepper. It might lessen the heat just a little, and if you keep them in the dish, they will turn out tough and bitter.)
- Now we are ready to cook the vegetables on the comal. We are using a clay comal as that is what the Aztecs would have used. Lay the vegetables on the clay comal. Turn them often so they cook nicely. They should be soft and tender. Do not worry if they look burned.
- Once they become soft, chop the vegetables and add them to a cast iron pan or break them up directly in the pan with a wooden spoon.
- Fry the vegetables over medium heat. Add the turkey, epazote, and salt. Continue cooking and breaking things up until the turkey is cooked through.
(We are using turkey because, at that time, they did not have pigs, chickens, or cows.)
Food Notes
- Comals have been found at archaeological sites throughout Central America dating back to 700 BCE.
- Capsaicin is the chemical in chili peppers that makes them spicy.
- Serrano peppers are the second most used chili peppers in Mexican cuisine, behind only the jalapeno.
- The Aztecs never developed iron tools, so their cookware was made of ceramic or wood.
- Epazote is also known as “Mexican tea.”
- The Aztec god of disease and plague, Chalchiuhtotolin, was said to shapeshift into a green-feathered turkey.
- The Aztecs pressed their tortillas by hand.
Ingredients for Tortillas
- 2 cups masa harina
- 2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon of sea salt
How to Make Tortillas
- Add some salt to the masa and mix it well. We are not trying to develop any starch, but it still needs good kneading. When you are done kneading, take some dough and try to make a ball. If it forms into a nice smooth ball without any cracks and sticks to your hand, then you do not need to add more water. Cover the dough with a wet and warm towel and let it rest until you prepare the filling.
- Using your hands, create balls from the dough. Make ping-pong-sized balls to get nice, evenly sized tortillas. To make a tortilla, either use your hand or a tortilla press. In India, they press it using a rolling pin.
- Put tortillas on the clay comal or iron pan on medium heat. Cook for about a minute per side util they start showing freckled brown spots.
Food Notes
- Masa is made from nixtamalized corn, which is done by simmering the corn in calcium hydroxide by soaking it for a while before rinsing it in cool water. Then the corn is gridded to make masa. It is used to make tortillas, tamales, etc.
- Corn is naturally vitamin deficient. Nixtamalization ensured that the Aztecs and Incas got a healthy dose of niacin (B3) in their diets.
- The tortilla dates back to 10,000 BCE. They were originally made from maize.
Making of Tlahcos
Take one tortilla and put filling on it. Here is your Tlahco! Even though there is no fat on Tlahcos, you won’t miss it. The roasted vegetables taste really nice.
Making of Xocolatl
Ingredients for Xocolatl
- 2 3/4 cups water
- 1 green chile pepper, including the seeds
- 1/8 cup of Mexican drinking chocolate or cocoa powder
- 1/2 a vanilla bean
How to Make Xocolatl
- Take a pan and boil some water with one sliced serrano chili. Let it simmer for a bit.
- Take a vanilla bean and split it open. We are only going to use vanilla seeds, but you can also use the bean in other things.
- Strain to remove the chile seeds. Return the strained water to the pot. Add vanilla seeds into the water and stir. Boil it again.
- Once boiling, bring it down to medium heat and add the drinking chocolate or cocoa powder. Heat and continuously stir for 5 minutes.
- Let it cool a bit. Get another pot. To create froth, pour the chocolate mixture from one pot to another. Do it from as high as possible.
Food Notes
- Aztecs used to drink a lot of this hot chocolate. They thought it had mind-opening powers and health benefits.
- Aztecs probably used cacao mass, just like cacao beans that had been fermented and mashed into a paste.
- Montezuma was said to have consumed a hundred of these a day out of a gold goblet.
If hot and bitter is to your taste, then you will definitely like Xocolatl. Eat Tlahcos with Xocolatl. The taste will grow on you until you love it. Xocolatl cuts down on the heaviness of the turkey and the salsa. They go together really well.
