Called chaquewa or chaquehue, or sometimes atole (a name usually reserved for a similar beverage), blue-corn porridge in some form dates back centuries as a nourishing New Mexican meal. It remains particularly popular today in the pueblos, where it is most often a breakfast dish. Folks who didn’t grow up with it, and even some who did, like it best with the addition of some kind of sweetener, and perhaps some raisins, nuts, or a splash of warm milk. Anyone who enjoys oatmeal or other warm cereals should give this a try. If cooking just for yourself or for two, it’s easy to reduce the recipe proportionately.
- 4 cups water
- 2 cups fine- ground blue cornmeal
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- sugar, brown sugar, or agave nectar raisins,
- pecans, or piñon nuts
- warm milk, optional
Serves 4
- Bring water in a large saucepan to a boil over high heat. Pour cornmeal in slowly, stirring as you go. When the cornmeal is incorporated, add salt and turn the heat down until just an occasional bubble breaks around the edges. Stir regularly until thickened into a cream-of-wheat-like porridge, about 10 minutes.
- Spoon into bowls and offer sugar and other mix-ins on the side. Eat right away.
This recipe is excerpted from the book Tasting New Mexico by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison, published by the Museum of New Mexico Press.