Molotes
Photo: Conrad and Peter · CC BY 2.0

History

The molote is Puebla's fried parcel: masa cut with wheat flour so the shell crisps rather than softens, rolled around a filling and dropped into deep fat. Tinga de pollo and huitlacoche are the two fillings that matter, the second only really available in the rainy months when the corn fungus is fresh. Antojitos Acapulco on 5 Poniente is the Centro address most cited for them, and Molotes La Ventanita on 10 Poniente sells nothing else at all. San Pedro Cholula runs a Feria del Molote every July on the Plaza de la Concordia, where twenty traditional cooks work the same shape in different directions.

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Common allergens: Gluten

Make it at home

Yield Makes 10Hands-on 35 minTotal 50 minDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 250g masa harina
  • 80g plain flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 300ml warm water
  • 250g chicken tinga, or 250g huitlacoche cooked with onion and epazote
  • Oil for deep frying
  • Crema and crumbled queso fresco to finish

Method

  1. Mix the masa harina, flour, baking powder and salt, then work in the warm water to a soft dough and rest it for fifteen minutes.
  2. Divide into ten balls and press each into an oval about three millimetres thick.
  3. Spoon filling down the centre of each oval, fold the dough over and seal the edge firmly, then roll gently into a torpedo shape.
  4. Heat oil to 180C and fry three or four at a time for about four minutes, turning once, until deep gold.
  5. Drain on a rack and finish with crema and crumbled cheese.

Tip from the editors. The wheat flour is not optional. Pure masa gives you a soft empanada; the flour is what makes the shell crack when you bite it.

Where to eat molotes

Molotes in Puebla

Antojitos Acapulco ★ 4.2

$ Street foodCentro Historico

Antojitos Acapulco is a narrow 5 Poniente counter in Puebla frying molotes and pelonas, plus tacos de canasta, from mid-morning until eleven at night.

TryMolotes and pelonas

Directions

Molotes La Ventanita ★ 3.8

$ Street foodCentro Historico

Molotes La Ventanita is a hatch on 10 Poniente in Puebla selling nothing at all but molotes, Monday to Saturday, until the masa runs out at eight.

Why locals goA serving hatch on 10 Poniente that sells nothing but molotes and closes when the masa runs out.

TipGo before midday if you want the full range of fillings, because the hatch works through its masa steadily.

Directions

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