Atole de Piloncillo

Swimming to the surface again to say hello. When I go to work in the mornings I see lazy dogs sleeping in the street, chickens in the grass by the side of the road, and old ladies selling tamales and atole. Back in the old days before the espanoles came and mucked it all up, people in Mexico ate corn all the time every day. This pretty much has not changed.

One of my favorite corn-based foods is called Atole (I capitalized it cause every time I tried to put it in quotes this crazy forren computer stuck an accent on it!). It is a thick, sweet drink made with corn masa (tortilla dough) as a base. It. Is. Delicious. And perfect for summer rainstorms.

I hope you enjoy! Thanks again to Lupita and her girls! (and Justin, who helped with all the stirring...)


cinnamon sticks


hunk of piloncillo sugar (it is like raw sugar)


raw masa


abuelita brand chocolate!


mooshing the masa with water


piloncillo melting...melting...


nutella break! sometimes on the way to chocolate you need to stop for chocolate.


I look like a giant person.


Lupita says she has been making this since she was a little girl, and her grandma made it when she was a little girl, and her grandma made it when she was a little girl...


many hands makes it easier.


action shot! stirring!


finished product. mmm it is like hot chocolate but thicker, like a meal. mmmm.


highly recommended with tamales.


bangarang.

Atole con Piloncillo

2 - 3 c raw masa (can be bought at Mexican stores my favorite in SLC is Rancho Markets)
1/2 cone piloncillo sugar (can be bought at Mexican stores, or Winco, usually in produce section for some reason)
Water
1.5 cinnamon sticks
4 - 5 oz dark chocolate
3 - 4 liters milk (like, a gallon and a half probably)

Put piloncillo in 1.5 - 2 c water and heat over medium, stirring occasionally, until piloncillo is dissolved. When sugar is dissolved, turn heat to low to keep it warm until you need it later.

While sugar is heating, put masa in a bowl and cover with water. Mush together with your hands until the masa is more or less dissolved and there are no large chunks. It will not be completely smooth, some parts will be heavy and float to the bottom, but it is okay as long as it is chunkless.

Put cinnamon sticks in a large saucepan (very large, this will be the main cookpot) with about 2 inches of water. Heat on medium or high. When boiling, add masa mix through a strainer, stirring all the while, and turn the heat to medium. Stir and stir and stir, until it boils. This may take a while, but keep it up, it's worth it. It will thicken as it goes because of the corn starch in the masa.

While stirring (it is okay to take small breaks, but not too big or it will burn!), add dark chocolate to 3 - 4 c milk in another pot. Heat this through, whisking constantly (you will need both hands for this recipe :)) until chocolate is melted and well incorporated. If you want it really frothy you can use a special Mexican chocolate mixer, or just pop it in the blender after it's melty. This isn't necessary though, as long as you whisk it up good.

Meanwhile, when masa mixture starts boiling, add the warm sugar mixture, stirring all the while. When it boils again, add milk, stirring all the way.

Continue stirring until it boils once more, and then finally add the chocolate mixture, stirring and/or whisking it so it's nice and frothy.

Take it off the heat and serve! Maybe with tamales? The double serving of corn is considered a good thing. :)

Enjoy!