Pinolillo

Ingredients

Pinolillo powder

• 250 gdried white maize
• 60 gcacao beans, or 40 g unsweetened cocoa
• 1 tspground cinnamon
• 4cloves
• ½ tspground allspice, optional

To make the drink

• 1 litrewater, or milk
• sugar, to taste
• a pinch of salt

To serve

• ice
• a jícara gourd, traditionally

Directions

1. Toast the dried maize in a dry heavy pan over a medium heat, stirring constantly. It takes 15 to 20 minutes and the kernels will darken to a deep golden brown and smell strongly nutty.
2. Toast it thoroughly and evenly. Stir it without stopping once it starts colouring, because it goes from toasted to burnt quickly and burnt maize is bitter through the whole batch.
3. Toast the cacao beans separately for 10 minutes, then rub off the husks. Toast each thing separately, because maize and cacao brown at completely different rates. Toast the cinnamon and cloves briefly too.
4. Let everything cool completely before grinding. Grinding warm ingredients releases their oils and clogs the mill. Grind the maize, cacao and spices together as finely as your machine will manage. Grind it fine, and then grind it again.
5. Sieve out the largest pieces and regrind them. The finished powder should be pale brown and smell of toasted corn and chocolate.
6. Use cold liquid and whisk hard, because the powder clumps in hot liquid. Add sugar to taste and a pinch of salt. Let it stand 5 minutes, then whisk again.
7. Serve it cold over ice, in a tall glass or in a jícara, the traditional gourd cup. The maize settles to the bottom within a minute.

Technique

• Ready-made pinolillo powder is sold everywhere in Nicaragua and in Latin shops abroad.
• It is drunk cold in the heat and is genuinely filling.
• The gourd cup is still used, particularly in the countryside.

Substitutions

• Ready-made pinolillo powder, which is what most people use.
• Unsweetened cocoa powder in place of cacao beans.

Variations

• Made with milk instead of water, which is richer.
• Pinol, without cacao.
• Tiste, thicker and more chocolatey.

History

Toasted maize and cacao drink so central to identity that Nicaraguans call themselves pinoleros; it is served cold in a gourd.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pinolillo?

Pinolillo is a drink from Nicaragua: toasted corn-and-cacao drink, stirred and pleasantly gritty. Toasted maize and cacao drink so central to identity that Nicaraguans call themselves pinoleros; it is served cold in a gourd.

How long does Pinolillo take to make?

Pinolillo takes 20 min of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 glasses. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Pinolillo?

Yes, within limits. Ready-made pinolillo powder, which is what most people use. Unsweetened cocoa powder in place of cacao beans.

What is the most important thing to get right in Pinolillo?

Toast it thoroughly and evenly. Stir it without stopping once it starts colouring, because it goes from toasted to burnt quickly and burnt maize is bitter through the whole batch.