In honor of the Day of the Dead Celebrations and Halloween we’ve got some recipes for five top Mayan dishes so you can incorporate a Mayan and cultural twist to this fun holiday. I think it’s time for another Mexican-themed night or better yet a trip to the source very soon!

Some of the most popular Cancun Mayan dishes include:

Mucbipollo: Buried Chicken in Mayan, this traditional meal is eaten during Day of the Dead celebrations. It is considered the quintessential meal of the dead, made with corn dough and wrapped in leaves and then cooked in an underground pit.

Pan de Muerto: Spanish for Bread of the Dead, this sweet bread is eaten during Day of the Dead celebrations. It is often decorated with bone-shaped pieces and is usually eaten at the gravesite or altar of the deceased.

Papadzules: Traditional Yucatecan dish of Egg-stuffed tortillas in pumpkin seed sauce.

Yucatecan Tamales: This is a very traditional meal in the Yucatan and normally takes quite a long time to make, which is why locals only make these from scratch during special festivities like Christmas and Day of the Dead.

Sopa de Lima Yucateca: Spanish for Yucatecan Lime Soup, this is one of the most popular and common meals in the Yucatan. This would be considered the Mexican “chicken noodle soup.”

Mucbipollo
Makes 8 servings 

3.3 pounds (1 ½ kg) of masa
half a pound (¼ kg) of pork
1 pound (½ kg) of chicken
½ strand of xpelón
2 or 3 tomatoes
1 bunch of epazote
3.5 ounces of lard
Achiote to taste
Two plantain leaves
Salt to taste

Begin by cooking the meat, first the pork, with a little water and then add the chicken (the order is important because the pork takes longer to cook.). The water will become a broth that will be used to form the “kol” that bathes the interior of the mucbipollo. The meats should be left to cook at medium heat until the meats are cooked. Later, the achiote is added to the kol and a touch of salt and a little masa thickens it, thus forming that liquid that will bathe the meat.

Combine the masa with the lard, xpelón and salt to taste. Achiote should turn the masa red.

The masa is placed on the banana leaf and becomes a basin for what is to be placed on top. The meats are placed on top and bathed with kol, then slices of onion, tomato, chile and epazote leaves. Finally, a topping of masa is added and everything is wrapped in the banana leaf, placed in a baking sheet and then baked for 1.5 hours at 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

*Mayas bury the banana leafs in an earth oven previously prepared and filled with hot stones. The earth oven is covered with banana leaves and dirt to retain heat and steam.

Papadzules
Makes 12 servings  

1 cup shelled pumpkin seeds*(4 oz.)
1 4-oz. can green chili peppers, rinsed, seeded, and finely chopped
1/2 tsp. dried epazote, crushed (optional)
1/4 tsp. salt
12 6-inch corn tortillas
1 16-oz. can tomatoes
1 medium onion, cut up
2 tsps. cornstarch
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. pepper
2 tbsps. cooking oil
6 hard-cooked eggs, choppe

Toast pumpkin seeds in a 350 degree F. oven for 15 minutes. Place pumpkin seeds in blender; cover and blend till coarsely chopped.

In a saucepan, add chopped chili peppers, half the epazote, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Slowly add water. Cook and stir over low heat for 20 minutes; do not boil. Cover and keep warm

Meanwhile, wrap stack of tortillas tightly in foil; heat about 15 minutes in 350 degree oven. In same blender combine undrained tomatoes, onion, cornstarch, 1 teaspoon salt, sugar, pepper, and remaining epazote. Cover and blend till smooth. Pour into saucepan; add oil. Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly.

Season eggs lightly with salt and pepper. Spread about 2 teaspoons of the pumpkin seed mixture on each tortilla. Top each with about 2 tablespoons chopped egg. Roll up. Place seam side down in a 13x9x2-inch baking dish. Pour remaining pumpkin seed sauce over tortillas; top with tomato sauce mixture. Bake, covered, in 350 degree F. oven for 20 to 25 minutes or till hot.

Yucatecan Tamales

Yields 12 servings

2 kg corn meal prepared for tortillas

Cheesecloth
3 ½ cups (750 grs) lard
Salt

Filling:
1 large chicken
2.2 pounds (1 kg) of pork cut in cubes
4.4 pounds (2 kg) of tomatoes, peeled, seeded and roasted
500 gr onion
1 head of garlic
Epazote
17 ounces (200 grs) achiote diluted in ½ cup water
9 ounces (250 gr) masa for kol
1 package banana leaves
Salt and pepper

Optional: 2 roasted habanero chilies, deveined and choppe

Basic dough

Dissolve the corn meal in 8 cups of cold water and strain in a cheesecloth. In a deep round pot combine the strained dough with the lard and the salt. Cook at medium heat and stir briskly with a wooden spoon for 30 minutes or until you can see the bottom of the pan

Filling 

Boil the chicken and the pork in a large pot with the tomatoes, onions, garlic, 2 sprigs of epazote, achiote paste, 1 tbs. lard, salt and pepper. When the chicken and pork is cooked, remove from heat and remove the meats and then strain the broth. Place the broth in a large pot and add the kol, which is prepared by diluting 250 g. of the masa in cold water until thick.

Building the tamales:

Cut the banana leaves in squares approx. 30 x 30 cm. Place in the center of each a chunk of the corn masa. Place on it a piece of the cooked chicken, a chunk of the cooked pork, a piece of tomato and a sprig of epazote. Add chile habanero if you want it spicy.

 

Sopa de Lima Yucateca
Serves 6 – 8

8 corn tortillas
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Salt
1 medium onion, chopped
1 celery rib, thinly sliced
1 carrot, thinly sliced
1 jalapeno or serrano pepper, stemmed, seeded and finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano, crumbled
1 large tomato, peeled and chopped
8 cups chicken stock or canned low sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 green onions, finely chopped
3 limes, juiced (about 1/3 cup)
1 large avocado, peeled, pitted and coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Cut the tortillas into ¼ inch strips. Heat the oil in a medium skillet and, when very hot, fry the tortilla strips in small batches, until lightly golden and crisp, 30 seconds to a minute. Transfer to paper towel-lined plate to drain. Season with salt to taste. Repeat until all tortilla strips have been fried. Set fried tortilla strips aside and save the vegetable oil

Transfer 1 tablespoon of the reserved cooking oil to a large saucepan and add the chopped onion, celery, carrot, and jalapeno pepper. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables have softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, bay leaf and Mexican oregano and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add the tomato and season lightly with salt. Cook, stirring, until the tomato is softened and has release its liquid and the mixture is nearly dry; 4 to 5 minutes

Add the chicken stock and chicken breasts and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a slow simmer and cook until the chicken is just cooked through; 12 to 15 minutes. Remove chicken from the soup and set aside until cool enough to handle. Allow soup to continue simmering

When the chicken has cooled a bit, shred into bite size pieces and return to the pot along with the green onions and lime juice. Cook for 5 minutes, or until the chicken is heated through and the soup is piping hot. Season the soup, to taste, with salt and ladle the soup into wide soup bowls, with a handful of tortilla strips added to each bowl. Garnish with the avocado and cilantro and serve immediately.

 

Pan de Muerto

Yields 2 loafs, each serves 6 – 8 people.

Ingredients for dough:
5 cups of all purpose flour (add more if needed)
½ cup of sugar
½ cup of milk
½ cup of butter
½ cup of water
4 eggs
2 packets of yeast
1 tsp of salt

Ingredients for glaze:
½ cup sugar
1/3 cup orange juice
2 tbls of grated orange zest

Put the following ingredients into a large bowl: 1 1/2 cups of flour (put the rest aside), 1/2 cup of sugar, 2 packets of yeast, 1 tsp of salt. Mix these ingredients together and put aside

In a saucepan heat the milk, butter, and water on medium heat until the butter has melted. Pour the contents of the saucepan into the bowl of dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Add the 4 eggs and mix them in thoroughly

Keep mixing while you slowly add the rest of the flour. It’s quite hard work once the dough thickens (unless you have an electric mixer), but you should keep adding flour until it’s soft and just slightly sticky

Transfer the dough to a floured board and knead for 10 minutes until it is smooth and stretchy. Put the dough in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise and double in size. This should take about 90 min. If you put the bowl in a warm location it will help the dough rise

Your dough is now ready to be shaped and baked. Shape the dough into a bun and layer strips of dough on top so that they resemble bones. This style is then brushed with glaze and sprinkled with sugar after baking.

Put the bread on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 to 40 minutes depending on the size of your dough shapes and the type of oven you have. Just supervise your bread closely and check it at regular intervals. Once it’s a nice golden brown color it’s ready.

While your loaves are baking you can prepare the glaze. Simply boil 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/3 cup of orange juice and 2 tablespoons of orange zest in a saucepan for two minutes and add it to the bread while it is still warm.

ENJOY!