Tejate is also a masa based drink, a specialty of Oaxaca (see also my Insta post) but atole appears to be a friendlier drink in terms of producing it from scratch, right in your very own kitchen. Lightly thickened by masa, with all the aroma heavy-hitters (cinnamon, vanilla), this drink is amazingly comforting. Enjoy hot on a cold winter day.
SPECIAL TOOLS:
None.
INGREDIENTS
Serves 1 solo drink.
- 1/2 cup milk + 1/2 cup water with
- Flavor: 1 large stick of cinnamon
- Sweetener: 1-2 tbsp brown sugar
- Flavor enhancer: a dash of salt
- Slurry: 1 tsp masa harina mixed with about 2 oz water
- Extra flavor: 2 drops of vanilla essence
- Garnish: dust of cinnamon powder
METHOD
In a thick-bottomed pot, bring the liquid base with its fortifying ingredients to a slow simmer. Then remove the cinnamon stick. Mix in the slurry and the vanilla essence. Simmer on low, while stirring so that lumps don’t form nor stick to the bottom. When it is thick enough (coats the back of a spoon). Pour into a serving latte cup and dust with cinnamon powder.
NOTES, HINTS, TIPS:
- Enjoy your atole in your atelier! 🙂
- The drink is adapted from https://www.isabeleats.com/mexican-atole/.
- I leave the cinnamon stick (if it does not break) till the very end.
- Atole is reminiscent of Turkish Salep, both in texture and a flavor array. The star in Salep is an orchid tuber (see wiki) and the flavors are orange blossom/ rose water with pistachio dustings. In my last trip to Istanbul, I brought back a box of Salep drink, but was disappointed to find that it had no tuber but substitutes like corn starch. A lesson learnt: read ingredients list very carefully.
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