Grilled or pan-fried, cilantro almond fish is a flavorful combination for tacos and rice. Simply marinade, fry and enjoy. No need of store-bought spice mix. Fish and vegetables cooked in fresh and natural ingredients are immensely flavorful. You don’t need as many condiments to compliment. Plain yogurt would do just fine. Cut down high calorie sour cream. Taco is a Mexican dish with fried corn or wheat tortilla, typically folded, filled with various mixtures, such as seasoned meat, beans, lettuce, and tomatoes. Traditional tacos don’t include lettuce, tomato, or shredded cheese.

National Taco day is October 4th. Early tortillas took hours to make but by the 1960s, small-scale tortilla-making machines could churn out hot, steaming tortillas every two seconds.

Where Did the Taco Come From?

The origins of the taco are really unknown. In Mexico, because in those mines the word “taco” referred to the little charges they would use to excavate the mine. These were pieces of paper that they would wrap around gunpowder and insert into the holes they carved in the rock face. One of the first types of tacos described is called tacos de minero—miner’s tacos.

You note that in Mexico, what constitutes “authentic” national food has been an ongoing discussion. When have Mexicans alternatively embraced European or Indigenous foods, and why?

The Spanish conquistadors looked down on Native foods and tried to bring European foods with them. One of the reasons for this was religion. Corn was associated with Native deities, and wheat was the grain used for the holy Eucharist. These foods also had social connotations. In the 19th century, Native food was considered lower class and European food was considered elite, but here’s the catch: there was recognition that these Native foods were Mexican. So the patriots, the Mexican nationals, wanted to claim that they were really Mexican. So mole poblano, which is a turkey in this chili pepper sauce—very spicy—was considered somewhere in between [upper and lower class]. It was not associated with the Natives who were still alive; it was associated with the glories of the Aztecs. People who were of European ancestry claimed, “We are the descendants not of these lower-class Natives all around us, but of the Aztec emperors.” It gave them a political legitimacy.

When did the taco first make an appearance in the U.S. and where? What groups were instrumental in making it popular here? 

The first mention in the U.S. is in 1905, in a newspaper. That’s a time when Mexican migrants are starting to come—working the mines and railroads and other such jobs. In the United States, Mexican food was seen as street food, lower-class food. It was associated with a group of women called the Chili Queens and with tamale pushcarts in Los Angeles. The Chili Queens of San Antonio were street vendors who earned a little extra money by selling food during festivals. When tourists started arriving in the 1880s with the railroad, these occasional sales started to become a nightly event. The risk was that the food was hot—people described it as “biting like a serpent.”

When does the taco become a mainstream American food? 

The children of those migrants who came in 1910 or 1920 are starting to advance economically. They’re gaining civil rights; many of them fought in World War II and are claiming citizenship. Their incomes are going up and they’re eating more diverse things, but they’re still eating Mexican. A lot of Mexican American tacos are really adaptations of Mexican food to the ingredients that are available through the U.S. food-processing industry. Hamburger instead of offal meat. Cheddar cheese, iceberg lettuce, tomato—these are all foods that Mexican-Americans start to incorporate into their diet.

So at the same time, what’s happening with tacos in Mexico?

You’re also starting to see new migrants coming into Mexico. For example, there are a lot of Lebanese migrants, and one of the things they bring with them is shawarma, or gyros—vertical rotisseries where they cook lamb, and they put it on little pita breads. But when they start putting [the meat] on tortillas, they’re called tacos arabes: Arab tacos. Again, it’s the second generation, the children of these Lebanese migrants, who change the recipe a little bit and start using pork instead of lamb. And they start adding a little pineapple. Tacos al pastor, which really doesn’t catch on until the 1960s, then becomes a standard Mexican dish that’s everywhere.
Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/where-did-the-taco-come-from-81228162/#Kl3eVqESMMTDhmqO.99
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Cilantro, almond fish tacos

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

Fish and vegetables cooked in fresh and natural ingredients are immensely flavorful. You don't need as many condiments to compliment. Plain yogurt would do just fine. Cut down high calorie sour cream.

Author: Ujwala Chintala

Recipe type: Main Course

Cuisine: Mexican

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 3 - boneless fish fillets
• 1 cup - cilantro
• ¼th cup - almonds
• 6 - green chillies
• 2 tsp - fresh squeezed lime or lemon juice
• Oil
• Pink himalayan salt
• For stir-fry
• 1 red bell-pepper
• 1 yellow bell-pepper - optional
• 1 red onion or scallions
• ¼th tsp - chilli powder
• ¼th tsp - fresh coriander powder
• ¼th tsp - ginger garlic paste (grind ginger garlic paste with out water mixed with salt stays fresh in refrigerator for 2 months)
• For taco and toppings
• Whole wheat chapati or tacos. You can eat fish with rice too.
• ½ cup - shredded lettuce
• 2 tbsp - homemade plain yogurt

Instructions

1. Soak fish fillets in lime juice and little salt for at-least 15 mins. This process takes any fishy smell off. Wash and drain water before stir-fry.
2. Meanwhile grind almonds, cilantro, green chillies and salt with a little water till paste.
3. Remove into a bowl. Add ½ tbsp oil. Rub on fish fillets well on all sides.
4. Heat a pan or cast iron skillet to medium heat.
5. Pour enough oil to shallow fry. Add marinated fish fillets.
6. Fry each side for 3-4 minutes. Fish fillets cook very fast. If cooked any longer, they will be overcooked.
7. In same pan or another one, add enough oil. Heat to medium heat.
8. Add sliced onion, bell peppers. Stir for 3 minutes. Add ginger garlic paste. Fry for another 2-3 minutes.
9. Add salt, chill powder and coriander powder. Stir well. Turn off stove.
10. Cook whole wheat tacos on a griddle on both sides.
11. Place fish, fried onions, bell peppers, lettuce ½ to 1 tbsp yogurt on taco. Optionally top with diced tomatoes.
12. Serve immediately and enjoy.

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