A favorite in our cooking class, the traditional hummus-like dip has been a Maya staple for centuries. Maestra Isabel, our resident cooking teacher, shares her wonderful recipe for Sikil P’ak with our group of French Polynesian travelers who visited us in February, and you at home. We hope you like it![video width="1920" height="1080" mp4="https://www.naatikmexico.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/VID_20200220_121656.mp4"][/video] Ingredients:

• 1 Tomato

• 2 tablespoons of ground pumpkin seeds (you can grind these yourself in a pestle and mortar or buy pre-ground seeds)

• 4 chives 

• A glass of water

• Salt to taste

• Oil for frying

Method:

• Wash and disinfect the tomato, cut it in half, remove the seed.

• Place the tomato halves in a pan, add a glass of water and bring to a boil; when the tomato skin peels off, turn off the stove.

• Remove the skinless tomatoes from the pan and place in a flat bottomed bowl or deep rimmed plate

• Use the back of a spoon to crush the tomato

• Combine the ground pumpkin seeds with the tomato and season with salt to taste

• Chop the chives very finely and add to the mixture

• Heat half a pan of oil until very hot (or use a deep fat fryer) 

• Fry your corn tortillas until crispy to make tostadas and allow to cool

• Enjoy your sikil p’ak with tostadas, chopped vegetables or crackers

This dip is simple to make and so tasty! It’ll become your go-to snack before you know it.

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The best way to experience the Mexican lifestyle is in person, with a Na’atik Immersion experience. Not only do you live with a local Mexican-Maya family, sharing home-cooked meals and free time, but also receive expert instruction in your chosen language at our school. Best of all, every immersion experience helps fund our subsidized and free local education program, helping local students to access opportunities and make their own futures.