Recipe: How to make tortillas, by Mary Carmen from Fire Works
// April 3rd, 2010 // No Comments » // Recipes
We’re starting a new series here at mawai.org to share recipes of Mexican food with everyone. When possible, we’ll include tips to find the ingredients here in Australia.
This week, the first one comes from our friends at Fireworks Foods.
TORTILLAS
The word “tortilla” originally comes from the Spanish word “torta” meaning flat round bread.
Corn tortillas have been the basis of Meso-American cooking for many centuries especially in Mexico, with archaeological record indicating its use at dawn of civilization, at least from 1000 BC.
A versatile staple food, a tortilla can contain anything and can be used to make tacos, quesadillas, enchiladas, taquitos & much more.
BASIC RECIPE TO PREPARE CORN TORTILLAS:
1. PREPARING THE CORN MASA
Ingredients:
- 2 Cups corn flour
- 2 Cups water
Pour corn flour into a bowl. Pour one cup of water commence kneading to make a soft dough. Continue to pour the second cup of water & continue to knead for 2 to 3 minutes until the corn flour it’s smooth and pliable with a plasticine like consistency. If the dough feels too dry, wet your hands and continue kneading.
2. PREPARING THE TORTILLAS
Ingredients:
- Corn Masa already prepared
- 35cms plastic wrap (or enough to cover both sides of the tortilla press)
- Comal or Tortilla pan
- Tortilla press
- Kitchen towel or napkin
- Water
- Small bowl
Pre-heat the comal in high temperature for 10minutes then lower the temperature to medium.
Keep a small bowl of water available to dip your hand into. Moisten your hands, take a piece of dough, and roll it into a sphere slightly smaller than a golf ball. Place this ball on a piece of plastic wrap on the bottom of the tortilla press. Place the other piece of plastic wrap on top of the ball and gently press down with the top of the tortilla press. The flattened tortilla will be just smaller than the press.
Carefully peel back the top layer of plastic wrap and place the tortilla in the palm of your hand (dry at this point). Carefully peel back the other layer of plastic wrap and lay the tortilla on the comal or Tortilla Pan.
Allow to cook for 30 to 45 seconds on each side. Remove the cooked tortilla and place on a dry kitchen towel or napkin, fold the corners to keep the tortilla warm.
Note: Tortillas should have little brown spots, if they’re brown all over, the comal is too hot.
You can download a pdf with the recipe by clicking on the image above.
If you want to share your recipes of Mexican food with the MAWAI community just drop us a note using the Contact Us link above or by clicking here. We’d love to hear from you!
