Chileajo from Oaxaca: the Mixtec vegetable stew with chilli and garlic

What is it?

Chileajo is a traditional stew of the Mixtec cuisine of Oaxaca and the Guerrero coast, whose name comes from its two defining ingredients: chilli (mainly guajillo and ancho) and garlic, present in especially abundant quantities. It is a traditionally vegetarian dish, although it is also prepared with pork or chicken in some regions. It combines seasonal vegetables (green beans, carrots, potatoes, courgettes, chayote, nopales, cooked chickpeas and, on occasion, chepiche or epazote leaves) with a thick sauce made from rehydrated dried chillies, plenty of roasted garlic, toasted sesame seeds, cumin, clove, pepper and oregano. Its consistency is thick and velvety, with an intense red-orange colour. It is an emblematic dish of Lent, Holy Week and religious festivities in Mixtec and Zapotec villages of the upper and lower Mixteca of Oaxaca, as well as in the Montana of Guerrero. Its vegetarian character and its ability to feed many people have kept it as a fundamental community dish in ancestral peasant celebrations.

Origin and history

Chileajo has pre-Hispanic Mixtec and Zapotec roots, with documented presence from before the conquest. The Mesoamerican cultures of the Mixtec region cultivated a wide variety of vegetables (chayote, green bean, courgette, nopal) in their milpa systems, which they combined with dried chillies and wild garlic. Although common garlic (Allium sativum) arrived with the Spaniards in the 16th century, the Mixtecs used native wild garlic (Allium kunthii) in similar earlier preparations. During the Colonial period, chileajo adapted by incorporating European garlic and became established as a Lenten dish, a Catholic tradition that prescribes abstinence from meat on certain religious days. The dish appears described in gastronomic inventories of the 19th century and in modern publications such as those of Mexico Desconocido and Larousse Cocina. The magazine Gourmet de Mexico and INAH have documented its ritual importance in Mixtec and Zapotec communities. It forms part of Traditional Mexican Cuisine, UNESCO Intangible Heritage of Humanity 2010. SECTUR promotes it as an identity gastronomic product.

Characteristic ingredients

The traditional chileajo recipe combines chile guajillo and chile ancho (sometimes chile costeno rojo is added in Oaxaca), toasted without burning and then rehydrated. They are ground with garlic roasted on a comal in very generous quantities (8-12 cloves per portion), toasted sesame seeds, cumin, clove, pepper and Oaxacan oregano. The resulting sauce is fried in vegetable oil or pork lard and diluted with vegetable or chicken stock. What sets it apart: the vegetables are pre-cooked by steaming or boiling (green beans, carrots, potatoes, courgettes, chayote, nopales and chickpeas), and are added to the sauce to finish cooking. Some versions include fresh herbs such as chepiche, epazote or hoja santa for fragrance. It is served with handmade Oaxacan tortillas. Regional variants: in the upper Mixteca it is made thicker; on the Guerrero coast it includes more chile costeno; some families add pork or chicken for non-Lenten versions. It is a technically simple dish but requires patience to toast chillies and garlic well without burning them.

Cultural significance

Chileajo is one of the most representative ritual dishes of Mixtec cuisine and of Mexican Lenten cooking. Its vegetarian character, traditionally without meat to respect the Catholic Lent and Holy Week abstinence, made it an indispensable dish during those religious festivities in Mixtec and Zapotec villages. The indigenous communities of the upper and lower Oaxacan Mixteca (Huajuapan de Leon, Tlaxiaco, Pinotepa Nacional) and of the Montana of Guerrero (Tlapa, Olinala) prepare it collectively in community pots to feed entire families during mayordomias and festivities. SECTUR and the Oaxaca state government promote it as a cultural tourism product, and traditional cooks such as Celia Florian and Olga Cabrera have taken it to contemporary Mexican haute cuisine. It forms part of Traditional Mexican Cuisine, UNESCO Intangible Heritage 2010. It economically sustains peasant vegetable producers of the Bajio and Oaxaca, chile guajillo and garlic producers, and traditional cooks in Oaxacan markets such as Tlacolula, Etla and the Central de Abastos every week.

Frequently asked questions

What is chileajo?

It is a traditional Mixtec-Oaxacan and Guerrero-coast stew, made with seasonal vegetables (green beans, carrots, potatoes, courgettes, chayote, nopales, chickpeas) and a thick sauce of dried chillies (guajillo and ancho), abundant garlic, sesame seeds and spices. Its name comes from 'chile' and 'ajo' (garlic), its two defining ingredients. It is traditionally a vegetarian Lenten dish, although it is also prepared with pork or chicken in regional variants.

What is the difference between chileajo and mole?

Chileajo is simpler than a baroque mole: it has fewer ingredients (8-12 versus 25-35 in mole), no nuts, fruits, chocolate or bread, and is dominated by abundant garlic (from which it takes its name) and dried guajillo and ancho chillies. It is traditionally vegetarian, while moles are usually prepared with meat. Its texture is similar but its flavour profile is very distinct.

When is chileajo prepared?

It is an emblematic dish of Lent and Holy Week in Mixtec and Zapotec villages of Oaxaca and the Montana of Guerrero, because of its vegetarian character that respects the Catholic abstinence from meat. It is also made at mayordomias, patron-saint festivals and peasant community celebrations throughout the year. In some communities it is a dish for Sunday family meals, especially in villages with a vegetarian tradition or modest economy.

Where is chileajo originally from?

It is native to the Mixtec region (Oaxaca and Guerrero), with main presence in the upper and lower Oaxacan Mixteca (Huajuapan de Leon, Tlaxiaco, Pinotepa Nacional) and in the Montana of Guerrero (Tlapa, Olinala). It is also found on the Costa Chica of Guerrero and parts of the Mazatec sierra. Its origin is pre-Hispanic Mixtec-Zapotec, adapted during the Colonial period to include European garlic and to consolidate as a mestizo Lenten dish.