History
Papadzules are a traditional dish of Yucatán, Campeche and Quintana Roo: corn tortillas dipped in a sauce of ground pumpkin seeds (pepitas), filled with hard-boiled egg and covered in a tomato sauce with habanero. Two theories explain the name. Diana Kennedy derived it from a phrase meaning food of the lords; another reading takes Maya papak', to anoint or smear, and sul, to soak, so smeared and drenched. The dish is often called very old, a forerunner of the enchilada, but it is unclear whether the Maya made it before the conquest in its present form. In Cancún, Lonchería El Pocito and the Mercado 23 fondas serve it.
Book a food experience
Tours, tastings and classes from the cities on this page, bookable on GetYourGuide.
Common allergens: Egg, Seeds
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 200 g hulled pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
- 400 ml chicken or vegetable stock
- 2 sprigs epazote
- 6 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
- 12 corn tortillas
- 4 tomatoes
- 1/2 white onion
- 1 habanero chile
- 1 tbsp oil
- Salt
Method
- Toast the pumpkin seeds in a dry pan over medium heat until they pop and smell nutty, about 5 minutes, then grind them finely.
- Simmer the stock with the epazote for 5 minutes, remove the epazote and whisk in the ground seeds and a pinch of salt over low heat until creamy; do not let it boil.
- Boil the tomatoes and onion for 10 minutes, blend them, then fry the purée in the oil with the whole habanero for 5 minutes and season.
- Warm the tortillas, dip each one in the pumpkin-seed sauce, fill with chopped egg and roll.
- Lay the rolls in a dish, spoon over the rest of the pumpkin-seed sauce and then the tomato sauce.
- Serve warm.
Tip from the editors. If the pumpkin-seed sauce splits, take it off the heat and whisk in a splash of warm stock; it splits when it boils.
Where to eat papadzules
Papadzules in Cancún
Lonchería El Pocito ★ 4.4
Lonchería El Pocito on Calle 31 Norte in Cancún is a chalkboard-menu lunch counter for Yucatecan queso relleno, papadzules, poc chuc and panuchos.
OrderQueso relleno in tomato broth, papadzules, and the black-bean and pork tamal.
Why locals goA lunch counter on Calle 31 Norte, off the hotel strip, where locals on their break read the chalkboard menu to see what is left.
TipClosed Tuesdays, and lunch crowds clear the chalkboard, so arrive early; it opened in 1988 as La Cabañita.
Mercado 23 fondas ★ 4.2
Mercado 23 fondas are the lunch counters of the Mercado Javier Rojo Gómez in downtown Cancún, cooking cochinita pibil, salbutes, papadzules and relleno negro.
OrderCochinita pibil tacos or a plate of salbutes, then papadzules or relleno negro if the fonda has them.
Why locals goLunch counters inside the working market, reached from Avenida Chichén Itzá and Avenida Tulum, serving cochinita and tamales while it is busy before 14:00.
TipGo between 08:00 and 11:00, when the best food is served; the market slows down by 14:00. Bring small peso notes.
Papadzules in Mérida
La Chaya Maya ★ 4.4
La Chaya Maya on Santa Lucía in Mérida pours tortillas on a clay comal in the dining room and runs sopa de lima, poc chuc and panuchos seven days a week.
SignatureSopa de lima, Poc chuc, Papadzules, Cochinita pibil
La Tradición ★ 4.3
La Tradición on Calle 60 in Mérida runs chef David Cetina's Yucatecan recados, poc chuc and queso relleno from a family kitchen of two decades.
SignaturePoc chuc, Queso relleno, Sopa de lima
Los Almendros ★ 4.0
Los Almendros on Parque de la Mejorada in Mérida runs the Yucatecan canon since 1972, claiming credit for putting poc chuc on the city's restaurant maps.
SignaturePoc chuc, Papadzules, Queso relleno, Sopa de lima
Manjar Blanco ★ 4.4
Manjar Blanco on Mérida's Calle 47 corridor near Paseo de Montejo runs cochinita pibil and queso relleno (Netflix Taco Chronicles featured) lunch only.
SignatureCochinita pibil tacos, Queso relleno negro, Pavo en escabeche
More cities are in research. Want papadzules covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.