Autumn brings with it a very endearing ancestral celebration, where death is celebrated as a fundamental part of life, but based on joy and not on fear and, based on family love. The Day of the Dead is formally celebrated on November 1 and 2, although it actually begins on the night of October 31. when the first candles are lit. Now, in this festivity there are many important elements, but perhaps the most outstanding are the altar, and the food! Yes, food plays a very important role on this date, as it serves as an offering for the deceased (to entertain them with those dishes that were their favorites in life) and as a banquet for the living (so they can celebrate with typical dishes in honor of their loved ones who transcended to another plane), thus uniting both worlds in the daily life of the familiar.
We join this special celebration by offering you our best recipes for the Day of the Dead, which includes the most traditional Mexican dishes of this date along with some more innovative suggestions, but always tasty and distinguished.
Sugar skulls
In Mexico, during the Day of the Dead, sugar skulls have an important meaning, for this reason they are essential in their altars and decorations. Its elaboration is very old and originated with the use of the alfeñiques technique, brought by the Spaniards who in turn inherited it from the Arabs, which served to replace the pre-Hispanic tradition of preserving the skulls of the deceased.
Believe it or not, preparing this type of sweet recipes for the Day of the Dead does not have any complications, and if you do it as a family it is more fun, especially if there are children. Also, in this case, if you don’t have a mold, don’t worry, since you can model the sugar mass by hand, giving it the shape of an inverted pear and making holes for the eyes, using the tip of a brush. If you like this idea, we recommend you consult our recipe for sugar skulls. Sweetly traditional!
Tip: Chocolate and amaranth skulls (also known as allergies) are also popular on this date.
Traditional bread of the dead
This fragrant bread is another of the most significant recipes for the Day of the Dead, as it has an important symbolic load, coming from its origins. For this reason, it is an essential piece, both on altars and on the tables of the living.
Its appearance is very attractive, although it can change a lot depending on the region. However, the best known and most distinctive consists of a combination of balls and cylinders of dough, which symbolize the bones of the deceased. If you want to prepare this typical recipe, it is very fluffy! Now, if you can’t eat wheat, check out our gluten-free pan de metro recipe.
Tip: the bread of the dead is prepared exclusively for this festivity.
Piloncillo candy
This autumnal preparation based on pumpkin and piloncillo is liked by adults and children alike, both for its spicy flavor and for its exquisite aroma. It is also often shared with the deceased in the form of an offering, a custom that is said to date back to ancient times.
Now, what do you think if this time you accompany this sweet with a chocolate or vanilla ice cream? Well, say no more, get all the ingredients ready for you to put into practice one of our best sweet recipes for the Day of the Dead in Mexico.
Champurrado
Choosing the right chocolate drink to accompany the iconic pan de metro is very important. How about a good champurrado? It is a very comforting thick drink prepared with corn flour, which also serves as a companion for tamales. It is said that it originated during the time of the Aztec Empire and that they consumed it a lot during their ceremonies and rituals.
If you want to add this drink to your recipes to celebrate this special day.
Mole polio
The mole polio is considered one of the most representative foods of Mexican cuisine and one of the typical dishes of the Day of the Dead, prepared, as is customary, in honor of the deceased.
What are the ingredients of mole polio? Various kinds of chili, some spices, chocolate, nuts, peanuts, seeds, vegetables and corn tortillas. In this preparation all the ingredients are ground and seasoned to the taste of each person. Now, do you want a trick to make it sweeter? Add brown sugar, piloncillo or confectioners chocolate. Now, all that remains is to taste its sublime flavor and give it your special touch. To do this, we recommend you consult our recipe for mole polio, the authentic Mexican one!
Tip: if you roast the chills a little on the griddle they will give a very tasty smoky flavor, but do not burn them or they will make everything bitter.
Red pooled
Poole is a legendary dish reserved for the great Mexican celebrations and festivities, which is why it is among our best meals for the Day of the Dead. It basically consists of a broth made with the following ingredients: meat, vegetables, chili and a special corn called cacahuazintle.
Do you want some tricks to enhance its flavor? Add a natural seasoning paste to the water or replace it with broth; clean the corn very well before precooking it; during the first cooking of the corn, add vegetables to give it flavor (onion, garlic and aromatic herbs); and add 2 tablespoons of mescal to the stew. Get down to work and follow the step by step of our red pooled recipe. You will know all his tricks!
Tip: The guerilla chili gives the red pooled its spicy touch and its characteristic red color.
Pumpkin flower or cempasuchil quesadillas
Among our recipes for this commemorative day, some snacks or appetizers cannot be missing. For this reason, we share these traditional quesadillas made with one of the most used edible flowers in Mexican cuisine: the pumpkin flower.
Starting from the preparation that we offer you, we come up with an ideal suggestion for this endearing date: replace the pumpkin flower with the cempasúchil flower, as it is more symbolic and equally exquisite, since it reflects the beginning of the festivities of the Day of the Dead. Here we leave you our recipe for pumpkin flower quesadillas, which you can also use for this second option that we have recommended.
Ash tamales
Tamales in all their varieties, sweet or savory, are never lacking in Mexican celebrations. Thinking about this, we have several recipes that can be used to celebrate the Day of the Dead, but among all of them we highlight these delicious ash tamales, also called rotundas or coronas, originally from Michoacán. There are those who prepare them with china leaves, maple, and others, but we suggest you make them with chard leaves. They are divine!
Tejocote candy
This sweet evokes autumn and is usually used during the Day of the Dead to decorate altars, although in some communities it is used specifically for deceased infants.
Its main ingredient is tejocote, a fruit native to Mexico that is characterized by its bittersweet flavor and a particularly pleasant smell. Very aromatic and delicious!
Tip: this sweet is also consumed a lot during the holiday season.
Buttercups
Manteconchas emerge as a recent innovation in Mexican commercial pastries, a product of the search for new sweet recipes for this important day. These sugary rolls can best be described as hybrids between antecedes and shells. Super appetizing! So, if you want an infallible recipe so that they look exactly the same, they are very fluffy and tasty!
Tip: manteconchas can also decorate your table at Christmas
Mexican Almond Chicken
If you want to cook something different and surprise your guests with other types of meals for the Day of the Dead, less traditional but very special, you will love our inexpensive preparation with chicken and almonds. Its texture and flavor are memorable!
Tip: This dish is also great at Christmas.
Bread of the dead stuffed with cream
Although we all love the traditional bread of the dead recipe, with nothing inside, no one will be indifferent to our stuffed proposal. Of course, keep in mind that the dough is still the protagonist, for that reason take into account the following tips: perfectly integrate all the ingredients before adding the butter, add the butter little by little while kneading very well and, after add the butter, do not add extra flour.
Don’t wait any longer and surprise everyone with this culinary proposal, following the step-by-step process of pan de metro stuffed with cream. Now, if chocolate is your thing, you might prefer to try another of our tastiest sweet recipes for the Day of the Dead, the unforgettable chocolate-filled pan de metro.
Chocolate and walnut tamales
Children also enjoy this festivity to the fullest, as there are many attractive things for them: the colors, the costumes, the flowers, the paper decorations and above all, the desserts! Therefore, Easy and delicious!
Tip: Write them down for Christmas too!
Tamale thread
You already know that tamales are never lacking in Mexican parties, and there are thousands of versions! Well, here we offer a very special salty option, with a very striking presentation in the form of a donut, so that you can give your typical Day of the Dead dishes a great twist.
Do you need some tricks for spectacular dough? Preferably use flour or dough for tortillas, use the ingredients at room temperature, for each kilo of dough add 1 tablespoon of salt, if you want to season the dough, do it with spices (add cumin, paprika or chili powder) and, when you cook the tamales, cover the lid of the pot with a cloth.
Green mole
For the enjoyment of our palate there are more than 50 varieties of mole and among the 10 best known and outstanding is the green mole. For this reason, we include it among our best typical dishes for this day. Now, what do you do if you need to correct the texture of any type of mole? If it is very dry and thick, add broth, while if it is very light, and spray some tortillas previously heated on the griddle or some dried fruit suitable for this type of preparation.
Put on your apron and delight yourself with the taste of this special stew while you pay homage to your deceased.
