Name: Mazatec-style Steamed Chicken Packets (Pollo Pilte)
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: Banana leaves for wrapping, thawed if frozen or four 12-inch squares of aluminum foil or parchment paper for wrapping; 2 medium ripe tomatoes (about ½ pound); 1 small onion, peeled; 2 tablespoons lard (preferably home-rendered) or vegetable oil; 4 fresh or 8 dried hoja santa leaves; 2 guajillo chiles, tops and seeds removed, soaked in boiling water to cover for 20 minutes; Salt and freshly ground black pepper; 2 garlic cloves, peeled; One 4-pound chicken, quartered; 2 fresh serrano or jalapeño chiles, tops removed

Preparation info

4
servings

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Food and Life of Oaxaca

By Zarela Martínez

Published 1997

About

This is another specialty of Rosa Estrada of the Restorán Rosita in Huautla. She steams the chicken in banana leaves, which add a beautiful fragrance to the anise-like flavor of the hoja santa.

Before beginning the dish, figure out a steamer arrangement large enough to hold four sizable packets of chicken in one layer on a rack well above the boiling water.