Polvillo Tabasqueño (Toasted Maize and Cacao)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Dry comal or heavy cast iron skillet
• •Grain mill, metate, or high-powered blender
• •Medium-fine sieve
• •Molinillo, whisk, or fork for serving

Instructions

1. 1

   Clean the maize

   Spread the dried maize on a tray and pick through it with your fingers. Remove stones, broken dark kernels, and dust. Market maize is not supermarket flour. You inspect it because your teeth deserve respect.

2. 2

   Toast the maize

   Heat a dry comal or heavy skillet over medium. Add the maize in a single layer and toast, stirring often, for 12 to 15 minutes. The kernels should turn patchy gold, smell nutty, and snap lightly against the comal. Do not blacken them. Burned maize gives the whole drink a harsh edge.

   Work in batches if your comal is small. Crowded maize sweats before it toasts, and polvillo needs that dry, roasted flavor.
3. 3

   Toast the cacao

   Lower the heat slightly and toast the cacao beans for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly, until the shells loosen and the cacao smells deep and warm. If using cacao nibs, toast only 90 seconds. Cacao burns faster than maize. Watch it like a señora from Comalcalco is standing beside you.

4. 4

   Peel the cacao

   If using whole cacao beans, rub them in a clean kitchen towel while still warm, then winnow away the loose shells. Keep the nibs. A little shell left behind will not ruin anything, but do not be lazy. The cleaner the cacao, the cleaner the drink.

5. 5

   Toast the canela

   Set the canela on the warm comal for 20 to 30 seconds, just until fragrant. Mexican canela is soft and sweet, not the hard cassia stick many stores sell as cinnamon. If it smells sharp and woody, use less.

6. 6

   Grind the powder

   Let the maize and cacao cool completely. Grind the maize first in a grain mill, metate, or high-powered blender until fine. Add the cacao, toasted canela, piloncillo, and salt, then grind again until the mix looks like sandy flour. Stop and shake the blender as needed. You want powder, not paste.

   If your blender heats the mixture and the cacao starts to smear, stop for 5 minutes. Warm cacao releases fat and turns the powder clumpy.
7. 7

   Sift and store

   Pass the mixture through a medium-fine sieve. Regrind anything coarse. Store the polvillo in a clean jar with a tight lid. This is the workday treasure: one afternoon of toasting gives you drinks for the week.

8. 8

   Whisk the drink

   For each serving, put 3 tablespoons polvillo in a jarro or tall glass. Add 1 cup cold water or cold whole milk and whisk with a molinillo or fork until the powder suspends and a light foam forms. Taste for sugar. Drink it cold, before the maize settles. Stir again as you drink. Así se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •Use cacao from Tabasco if you can find it, especially from Comalcalco or Cunduacán. If not, use unsweetened Mexican cacao nibs. Cocoa powder is a compromise, not an upgrade, because the fat and aroma are different.
• •Do not use popcorn kernels. Buy dried field maize from a Mexican market. Pregúntale a las señoras del mercado. They know which maize is for toasting.
• •Water gives you the cleaner workday version. Milk gives you a fuller evening drink. Both are Tabasqueño when the powder is right.
• •The maize will settle in the glass. That is normal. Stir and drink. Anyone who promises a perfectly smooth polvillo has confused this drink with a packaged shake.

Advance Preparation

• •The dry polvillo mix keeps for 3 weeks in an airtight jar in a cool pantry.
• •For longer storage, refrigerate the powder for up to 2 months because cacao fat can turn stale in a hot kitchen.
• •Whisk each drink only when you are ready to serve. Once mixed with water or milk, it should be drunk the same day.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 265g)