“Chile en nogada: Flavors, history... and a touch of grammar!”/"Chile en nogada: Sabores, historia… ¡y un toque de gramática!" 5 minutos de español

 

Bella estudiante de español muestra su platillo

How are you? Good morning, good afternoon or good evening depending on where you are or what time you are listening to us.

 

Welcome to this Spanish podcast, we are in September, patriotic month and in podcast number 212, what is the theme for this Wednesday?

 

We know that in this podcast learning is mixed with flavor and culture, so we are going to talk about a typical Mexican dish that tastes like history, can you guess what it is?

 I'm already hungry just thinking about it. Today we are going to talk about the famous... chile en nogada! A typical dish from Puebla that has a very interesting history... and delicious ingredients!

That's right, but before we talk about the recipe, let's dive into the history of this dish. It turns out that chile en nogada was created in 1821, right after Mexico's independence. It's a patriotic dish!

That's right! According to the story, the nuns of the Santa Monica Convent in Puebla prepared this dish for Agustin de Iturbide, who had proclaimed Mexico's independence. It was his birthday when he arrived in Puebla, on August 28. What a coincidence, eh!

What a nice gift! Although, at first, Iturbide didn't want to eat it because he had “stomach problems”... or so he said. Actually, some say he was afraid of being poisoned. Can you imagine?

How dramatic! But when he saw such a colorful and appetizing dish, he couldn't resist. And so the fame of chile en nogada was born.

 Of course, because it is not only tasty, it is also very visual. The colors of the chile en nogada represent the Mexican flag: green for the poblano chile, white for the nogada sauce, and red for the pomegranate seeds.

Let's go to the vocabulary  / Vamos al vocabulario

 

Monjas   nuns

Emperador  Emperor

Envenenado  poisoned

Nogada   walnut sauce

Granada  pomegranate    

Bandera  flag

 

It's like eating Mexico's independence on a plate! Speaking of independence... did you know that this dish is traditionally eaten in the months of August and September? Just for the independence celebrations!

Yes, because that's when the ingredients are in season. Walnuts, pomegranate... all fresh and delicious! And speaking of ingredients, let's learn a little grammar. Let's practice with the verb “comer” in different tenses.

Sure! Let's start with the present tense. If you're in Mexico in September, you probably eat chile en nogada.

 

That's right. And now, back in the past, remember the story? Iturbide ate chile en nogada for the first time in 1821.

And now, to the future. If you visit Mexico next year, you will eat this dish.

Perfect. And you, Eduardo, if you were in Puebla right now, would you eat chile en nogada?

Of course! I would eat it in a heartbeat! And well, if someone wants to try it but is not in Mexico, you can always try to cook it at home. Just make sure you have the right ingredients, because changing them can affect the taste.

Totally! I know the recipe can be a little tricky though, but it's worth it! And speaking of cooking, how about leaving a little question to ponder?

I love the idea! The question of the day is: Do you prefer to follow traditional recipes step by step or do you like to innovate in the kitchen? What would you do with a recipe as historic as chile en nogada?

We are waiting for your answer! Remember that you can write to us on our social networks or leave us a voice message on WhatsApp group

Thank you very much for making it this far in the podcast. We hope you enjoyed this tour through the history, flavor and grammar of chile en nogada.

We'll be hearing from you in the next 5-minute Spanish episode.

Goodbye and bon appetit!

Bye bye