Champurrado Recipe and History: Enjoy it on December 12, Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe

Note: the following is excerpted from my book, Celebraciones Mexicanas: History, Traditions and Recipes, co-authored with Adriana Almazan Lahl)

December 12: Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe

Every year, on December 12th, between 18-20 million make the pilgrimage to the Basilica de la Virgén de Guadalupe to celebrate her feast or saint’s day, making it Christianity’s most visited sanctuary. Thousands of Mexicans come from their pueblos to Mexico City, many on bicycle, riding through the night for long, dark cold hours. Indigenous people, young and old, make up a significant number of those visiting the hilltop. Many walk or run from their villages, some barefoot, carrying torches and banners to show their devotion and even ascend the stairs on their knees.

Small Mexican boys are dressed in peasant clothes and are called Juan Diegitos; mustaches painted on their faces. On their tilmas (a sort of poncho), the image of Guadalupe appears as she did on the cloth of Juan Diego, the humble man who to whom she first appeared, centuries ago.

The girls are dressed as la Malinche, one of the most important figures in Mexican history. An Aztec woman who bore a son to Spanish explorer Hernan Cortez (whose discovery of what is now Mexico started the chain of events that ended with the Spanish Conquest); since her son was a mixture of Spanish and Indian blood, she is widely and considered the mother of the “First Mexican”.

The traditional costume for the girls is an embroidered blouse and a gathered flowered skirt, with a brightly colored shawl called a rebozo, draped over their shoulders, their hair in long trenzas (braids). The girls carry baskets of flowers. Often, the costume includes pilgrimage essential, even though these children are too young to make the trip. They may be equipped with a costalito (a bag made from sacks from rice or flour), filled with all the necessary items, like water, a petate (a sort of rug made of palm leaves for sleeping) and easy-to-carry food like tamales; everything they might have needed were they actually making a long pilgrimage.

Atole: History and a Chocolate Atole (Champurrado) Recipe

A traditional beverage served on Dia de La Virgencita is atole, a corn-based drink that has been part of the lexicon of Mexican food since Aztec times.

As early as 1651, the process by which Atole was made was noted by botanist Francisco Hernandez in a report on the use of plants in Nueva España. :

Atolli was eight parts water and six parts maize, plus lime, cooked until soft. The maize was then ground and cooked again until it thickened (This description of Mexican Atoles by Englishwoman Fanny Chambers Gooch, written in 1887, gives us some interesting insight into the varieties of the time):

‘I found plain atole much the same in appearance as gruel of Indian meal, but much better in taste, having the slight flavor of the lime in which the corn is soaked, and the advantage of being ground on the metate, which preserves a substance lost in grinding in a mill. . . . Atole de Leche, (milk), by adding chocolate takes the name of Champurrado. if the bark of cacao is added, it becomes atole de cascara; if red chile—- Chile Atole. If, instead, any of these agua miel, sweet water of the maguey, [commonly used as a sweetener especially before the Spanish introduced cane sugar to Mexico] is added, it is called Atole de Agua Miel; if piloncillo, the native brown sugar, again the name is modified to Atole de Pinolei’

There is evidence of mixing Atole with chocolate as far back as the Mayan era. In the Yucatan today, where the strongest Mayan influences remain, they serve a thick, chocolate-flavored Atole called Tanchcua, to which allspice, honey and black pepper is added. Although the following recipe uses milk, it is common in Mexico to skip the milk and make Champurrado with water. Experiment… there are so many ways to make this!

Making atole, straining homemade masa

Champurrado (Chocolate Atole)

(makes 6 small cups)

1 cup prepared tortilla masa (I highly recommend Masienda’s Chef-grade Masa) or fresh tortilla masa (not tamale masa)
1 cup milk
5 cups water
1 Mexican chocolate (available in Latino markets, Rancho Gordo stocks a wonderful hand-crafted stoneground Mexican Chocolate)
1 cinnamon stick, preferably Mexican
1 ½ piloncillo, grated (available in Mexican markets or Milk Street sells very convenient granulated Panela, which is the same thing)

Blend masa with a cup of water by hand or with a blender;, be sure there are no lumps left. Add a second cup of water gradually; continue blending. Warm up. Heat the remaining water in a saucepan. Once boiling, lower to medium heat and add cinnamon, chocolate, and sugar or piloncillo. Once the chocolate is dissolved and starts to boil, add masa mixture and stir constantly to avoid lumps and to keep from sticking to the bottom of pan. Lower heat to medium and continue stirring until masa is cooked (30 minutes), then add milk and stir for 5 more minutes. (You may want to use a molinillo to finish off your atole, it adds a lovely foam and will get out any lumps of masa that might remain.)

This hollow wooden stirrer is similar in use to a whisk, but so much more beautiful. Hand carved of solid wood and burnished in spots, which gives it an interesting, rustic appearance, the mollinillo is designed to create Mexican Hot Chocolate, often paired with a simple pitcher (see photo, left). To use, rotate the handle between your palms, and its smooth pestle bottom softens and grinds chocolate as it dissolves in hot milk or water. Locate the rings in the middle of the molinillo (shake it, you’ll be able to hear a rattling sound) facilitate whipping air into the hot chocolate, which results in a foam equal to any modern whisk or frother.