Serves: 5

GRINDING, BLENDING, AND FRYING:

Nowadays electric blenders and spice grinders do most of the grinding and blending of ingredients for seasoning pastes and sauces. Of course, some cooks still prefer to do some parts of the job by hand with a basalt mortar and pestle (molcajete and tejolote) or on a flat stone (metate). To them, the differences in the final sauce is worth the hard work.

After these steps are completed for cooked sauces, the remaining recipe ingredients are combined, and liquid is added if called for, such as broth, stock, or water. The frying step is next: Here, fat is heated in a deep pot (to control splatters) and the combined ingredients are quickly fried to intensify flavors and to reduce the sauce to the desired thickness.

From "1,000 Mexican Recipes." Copyright 2001 by Marge Poore. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

More Recipes from the 1,000 Mexican Recipes Cookbook:
01- Introduction
02- Ingredients for the Mexican Pantry
03- Kitchen Equipment
04- Techniques
05- Menus
06- Mexican Cooking Glossary
07- Mail-Order Sources for Ingredients
08- About Author
__Chicharrón, a National Snack
__Fried Corn Tortilla Chips and Strips
__Grinding, Blending, and Frying
__Handling and Preparing Cactus
__Hot Tamales For Every Taste
__Making Beans Easier to Digest
__Mexican Chocolate
__Moles with Poultry
__Pan Tip for Baking Bread
__Pressing Tortillas
__Roasting Tomatoes
__Roasting, Peeling and Seeding Fresh Chiles
__Toasting Dried Chiles
__Toasting Dried Herbs and Spices
__Toasting Nuts and Seeds
__Using Banana Leaves
__Using Fresh Cactus Paddles
__Yucatán Seasoning Pastes