Ramadan Mubarak!

I have just returned from two weeks in Mexico, where I divided my time between Mexico city and Mazatlán in the state of Sinaloa. I wanted to take a cooking class in both places; so I joined a WhatsApp foodies group in CDMX (Mexico City) to try and ask around for a recommendation. Luckily, Chef Paulina Lara responded, sent me menus  and we settled on a date for a private class in her kitchen in Mexico City.

The title on her menu Hibiscus Enchiladas intrigued me. I had only used hibiscus (karkadeh in Arabic) to make iced or hot tea or agua fresca, the Mexican ice cold drink, sometimes adding a cinnamon stick to the flowers while boiling them.

In Mexico, hibiscus is called jamaica or flor de jamaica (pronounced ha-ma-ee-ka), and every restaurant or café sells it as a cold drink or agua fresca sweetened with sugar. This is also a popular drink in Egypt where people drink it cold especially during Ramadan.

The hibiscus is produced in Mexico, but also in Soudan and other countries in Africa and imported into Mexico for the local consumption. In fact, I had seen tubs of hibiscus leaves of various sizes and color at the giant mercado de la Merced in Mexico city, with a label showing its country of origin.   I had also read a recipe for hibiscus enchilada in a cookbook on Mexico City cuisine but never ventured to test it in my kitchen. Years prior, while living in Beirut, I had bought whole candied hibiscus leaves  imported from Thailand and they tasted delicious like a gummy candy with a bit of tang.

The method is super simple: the hibiscus flowers are boiled briefly in plenty of water, drained, (the hibiscus-flavored broth can be recycled as a tea with some sweetener later). They are then stir-fried with some previously fried onion and garlic combo, seasoned and used as a filling to some fresh tortillas, just as you would prepare any enchiladas. Once filled, the enchiladas are smothered in enchilada sauce ( made with guajillo chilies, tomatoes, onion and garlic). And as usual, the enchiladas are then garnished with a drizzle of Mexican crema and some grated Panela cheese (see Note on substitute).