Culinary Explorer

A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.

Discover Culinary Explorer
Codzitos con Chiltomate

Codzitos con Chiltomate

Created by

Yucatan's rolled and fried corn tortillas, empty inside, flooded with smoky chiltomate of charred tomato and habanero and dusted with queso sopero. The first botana that arrives with every cold beer in Merida.

Appetizers & Snacks
Mexican
Game Day
Potluck
Dinner Party
25 min
Active Time
35 min cook•1 hr total
Yield6 servings as a botana

Codzitos are from Yucatan. Not from a generic 'southern Mexico,' from Yucatan, and more specifically from Merida and the small towns around it where the word codzito comes straight from the Maya 'kots,' meaning roll. The Peninsula has its own grammar, sour orange, banana leaf, recado, pib, and codzitos belong inside that grammar. They are not taquitos. They are not flautas. Call them either of those at a cantina in Merida and watch the bartender's face.

What makes them codzitos is what is not inside them. Nothing. They are empty rolled tortillas, fried until rigid and hollow, made specifically to be a vehicle for chiltomate. This is the Yucatecan answer to the question of what to do with yesterday's tortillas, and it is a brilliant answer. The crispness of the tortilla, the smoky depth of the charred tomato salsa, the perfume of habanero, the salt of the queso seco de Bola, all of it works because nothing is fighting for attention. This is the first botana that arrives at your table when you order a beer at a Merida cantina, before you have even decided what else you want.

The chiltomate is the dish. Tomato charred on a comal until the skin blackens in patches, habanero blistered whole, garlic in its papery jacket, onion turned hard against the iron, all of it broken down with epazote and warmed in lard until the fat separates at the edge. The habanero stays whole. It perfumes, it does not burn. The cocineras at the Mercado Lucas de Galvez taught me that years ago, and I have not made it any other way since.

My mother did not cook Peninsula food. She was jalisciense. But there is a page in her notebook from a trip she took to Merida in 1982, the writing small and tight, with a note in the margin that says 'no se le pone nada adentro, va hueco' (nothing goes inside, it goes hollow). That margin note is the entire recipe. Cada estado, su propia cocina, and Yucatan keeps this one for itself.

The word 'codzito' descends from the Yucatec Maya verb 'kots,' meaning to roll or to coil, and the dish belongs to a family of Peninsula tortilla preparations, papadzules, salbutes, panuchos, codzitos, whose names and techniques predate the Spanish conquest and survived intact through colonization. Chiltomate, from the Maya 'chil' (chile) and the Nahuatl-derived 'tomate,' is one of the oldest documented salsa preparations in the Yucatan Peninsula, recorded by Franciscan friars in the 16th century as a daily condiment in Maya households. Yucatan's culinary isolation from central Mexico, maintained by geography and by the region's long-standing political identity as something culturally distinct from the rest of the country, allowed dishes like codzitos to remain anchored to their Maya roots while the rest of Mexican cuisine absorbed European, African, and Asian influences at a faster pace.

The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.

Discover Culinary Explorer

Ingredients

thin hand-pressed corn tortillas, 4 to 5 inches across

Quantity

24

slightly stale, left out for a few hours so they roll without cracking

lard (manteca de cerdo)

Quantity

2 cups

for frying

ripe Roma tomatoes

Quantity

6 medium

white onion

Quantity

1/2 medium

peeled, kept whole for charring

garlic cloves

Quantity

3

unpeeled

fresh chile habanero

Quantity

1

whole, charred with the tomatoes

fresh epazote

Quantity

1 sprig

kosher salt

Quantity

1 teaspoon, plus more to taste

sugar (optional)

Quantity

1 teaspoon

only if the tomatoes are tart

water (optional)

Quantity

1/4 cup

to loosen the salsa if needed

queso sopero (queso seco de Bola or aged cotija)

Quantity

1 cup

finely crumbled or grated

pickled red onion (cebolla morada en escabeche) (optional)

Quantity

for serving

whole chile habanero (optional)

Quantity

for serving, for the brave

Equipment Needed

  • •Cast iron comal or heavy dry skillet for charring
  • •Molcajete or blender for the chiltomate
  • •Small clay cazuela or heavy skillet for warming the salsa in lard
  • •Heavy 10-inch skillet or wide cazuela for frying
  • •Wooden toothpicks
  • •Wire rack set over a sheet pan
  • •Kitchen tongs

Instructions

  1. 1

    Char the chiltomate ingredients

    Heat a dry cast iron comal over medium-high. Lay the whole tomatoes, the onion half, the unpeeled garlic cloves, and the whole habanero on the comal. Do not crowd them. Turn each piece with tongs as the skins blister and blacken in patches. The tomatoes take about 8 to 10 minutes and should collapse softly when pressed. The garlic is ready in 4 minutes when the papery skin is brown and the clove inside is soft. The habanero blisters fast, watch it. This is the technique that defines chiltomate. Roasted, not boiled. The smoke is the flavor.

    Do not peel the tomatoes after charring. Those blackened patches of skin go into the salsa. That is where the chiltomate gets its smoky depth. Peel a chiltomate and you have made tomato sauce.
  2. 2

    Build the chiltomate

    Peel the garlic. Tear the stem off the habanero. Place the charred tomatoes, onion, garlic, and habanero in a molcajete or blender with the epazote and salt. If you are using the molcajete, work the ingredients into a rough, textured salsa with visible flecks of skin and seed. If you are using a blender, pulse, do not puree. Chiltomate is a rustic salsa with body, not a smooth puree. Taste it. If the tomatoes are sharp, add the sugar. Yucatecan cooks balance, they do not mask.

  3. 3

    Warm the chiltomate in lard

    In a small clay cazuela or skillet, melt one tablespoon of the lard over medium heat. Pour the chiltomate in. It will sputter. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring, until the salsa darkens slightly and the fat begins to separate at the edges. La manteca es el sabor. This step settles the rawness of the tomato and lets the habanero perfume the entire salsa without making it harsh. Loosen with the water only if it tightens too much. Keep warm.

    The habanero stays whole through this step in many Yucatecan kitchens. The cocineras at the Mercado Lucas de Galvez in Merida will tell you the same. Whole habanero gives perfume, not punishment. Burst it and you have changed the dish.
  4. 4

    Roll the codzitos tight

    Lay a tortilla flat on the counter. Roll it tightly into a thin cigar shape. Roll it like you mean it. A loose roll will unravel in the lard. Secure with a wooden toothpick through the center. Repeat with the remaining tortillas. The slightly stale tortillas are what make this work. A fresh tortilla cracks. A day-old tortilla bends. Pre-Columbian frugality at work, this is what you do with yesterday's tortillas in a Yucatecan kitchen.

    If your tortillas are too dry to bend, pass them lightly across a hot comal for 5 seconds per side and let them rest a minute. They will bend without cracking. No me vengas con atajos like microwaving them, the steam makes them soggy and they fry badly.
  5. 5

    Fry until crisp and golden

    In a heavy skillet or wide cazuela, heat the lard over medium-high until shimmering, about 350F. Test with the tip of a tortilla, it should sizzle on contact without browning instantly. Lower the rolled codzitos into the lard in batches of 6, never crowded. Fry for about 2 minutes, turning, until they are deep golden and rigid. They should sound hollow when you tap them with the tongs. Lift out and drain on a wire rack set over a sheet pan. Do not stack them on paper towels, they go soggy. Pull the toothpicks while they are still hot.

  6. 6

    Flood and serve at the table

    Arrange the codzitos on a Yucatecan slipware plate or a wide ceramic platter, lined up like firewood. Ladle the warm chiltomate generously over the top, flooding the plate so the bottoms of the codzitos sit in the salsa and start to soften while the tops stay crisp. That contrast is the dish. Shower with crumbled queso sopero. Serve immediately with pickled red onion and a whole habanero on the side for whoever can handle it. Eat with your fingers, with a cold beer, between conversations. Asi se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

  • •Use the right cheese. Queso seco de Bola, also called queso sopero or queso de la tierra, is Yucatan's aged dry cheese with a sharp, salty bite. If you cannot find it, aged cotija is the closest substitute. Do not use queso fresco. Do not use cheddar. The cheese has to be dry and salty enough to crumble into a dust, not melt into a layer.
  • •Slightly stale tortillas are the secret. If you only have fresh ones, leave them spread on the counter for 3 to 4 hours uncovered, or overnight in a paper bag. They need to lose enough moisture to roll tight without cracking, but stay flexible enough to bend without breaking.
  • •The whole habanero in the chiltomate is non-negotiable for the right flavor, but do not burst it in the salsa. It perfumes the pot. You can lift it out before serving and put it on the side for anyone who wants the heat directly.
  • •Make the chiltomate first and let it warm slowly while you roll and fry. The codzitos must be eaten immediately after frying, but the salsa is happy waiting on the back of the stove and only gets better as the flavors settle.

Advance Preparation

  • •The chiltomate can be made up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated. Rewarm gently in a clay cazuela with a small spoonful of lard before serving. The flavors deepen overnight and the second-day chiltomate is, if anything, better than the first.
  • •The tortillas can be rolled with toothpicks and held under a slightly damp cloth for up to 2 hours before frying.
  • •Codzitos must be fried at the last minute. They lose everything if they sit. The contrast of crisp shell and warm salsa happens only when both arrive at the table together.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 195g)

Calories
370 calories
Total Fat
22 g
Saturated Fat
10 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
12 g
Cholesterol
30 mg
Sodium
570 mg
Total Carbohydrates
38 g
Dietary Fiber
4 g
Sugars
3 g
Protein
9 g

Note: Chef personas and recipes are created with AI assistance. Cook with care: follow safe food-handling practices, check doneness with a thermometer when needed, and adapt for allergies and your kitchen.

Where cooking meets culture.

Culinary guides, cultural storytelling, and the editorial depth that makes cooking meaningful.

Discover Culinary Explorer

More from Yucatecan Appetizers & Snacks

Browse the full collection
Brazo de Reina (Dzotobichay)

Chef Lupita

Brazo de Reina (Dzotobichay)

Yucatan's chaya tamal, masa kneaded green with the leaves of the Peninsula, stuffed with hard-boiled egg and ground pepita, wrapped in banana leaf and sliced into rounds for the Cuaresma table.

Camarones al Coco Campechanos

Chef Lupita

Camarones al Coco Campechanos

Campeche's Gulf-port coconut shrimp, dipped in egg, rolled in grated dry coconut, fried to gold and served alongside a warm green-apple and naranja agria compote perfumed with habanero and canela.

Castacan Yucateco

Chef Lupita

Castacan Yucateco

Yucatan's pork belly chicharron, slow-rendered in lard until the meat surrenders and the skin cracks under the knife, folded into warm tortillas with xnipec and bright pink pickled onion.

Chayitas (Tortitas Yucatecas de Chaya)

Chef Lupita

Chayitas (Tortitas Yucatecas de Chaya)

Yucatan's small fried masa cakes shot through with chopped chaya leaf, pan-fried in lard until the edges crisp, eaten with charred chiltomate and a spoonful of habanero xnipec on top.