A favorite food of the gods, seeds of happiness or eggs of water insects

 A favorite food of the gods, seeds of happiness or eggs of water insects.

It was almost five o'clock in the evening, but the intense heat of Mexico City was not letting up.

When I arrived at Ai Luardo, a restaurant in Aztapalapa, in the evening, I was drenched in sweat and my stomach was rattling with hunger.

I looked at the menu of the restaurant which seemed to be quite old. And it had the same traditional Mexican souvenirs written all over it.

Enchi Ladas in a spicy tomato sauce, poblano peppers stuffed with pomegranate seeds and cheese, and chargrilled meat served with avocado sauce and refried beans.

But when I looked at the last pages of the menu, there was my favorite 'agua fresca', the watery fruit, but there was also something more unique.

On the menu was grass hopper i.e. grasshopper, that was also toasted. And with it a special Mexican bread called Tortilla. The second thing was the rabbit.

I was somewhat familiar with these two things. Foods made from grasshoppers and braised rabbit meat are popular souvenirs from central and southern Mexico.

But the third thing there was, despite spending the last six months in Mexico, I had never heard of it or seen it. I asked the waiter what is 'ahu watle' (ahuatle)?

Got the answer: 'Bug eggs, senorita'. He then explained to me that these eggs are mixed with various ingredients, then fried and topped with a green chili sauce called salsa.

Then the waiter asked me: 'This is a very special souvenir and is years old. Shall I order for you?'

Ahu wattles are the eggs laid by water-swimming insects commonly called 'mosquitoes' by the locals, but they are not mosquitoes.

'Ahu Watle' is a local delicacy that has been eaten in Mexico since before the Spanish arrived. It literally means 'seeds of happiness', a word from the language of the Aztec people who lived in Mexico.

These eggs are about the size of chickpeas and the Aztecs believed that they were the food of the gods.

It is said that the Aztec rulers believed that these eggs would give them strength and therefore ate them every morning during the rainy month.

The natives of Mexico City say that Ahu Watle was of great importance during the Aztec period when human sacrifice ceremonies were held.

According to 16th-century Spanish documents, the heart of the human being sacrificed was removed from the body and the empty space in the chest was filled with eggs to be offered to the Aztec gods.

The insect that gives birth to Ahu Watle is called 'Axayácatl'.

These aquatic insects are named after an Aztec ruler and held a very important place in the ancient civilization of Mexico, but they are not so well known alone.

Insect researcher Julieta Ramos says that the Mayan civilization remembered grasshoppers as 'the sacred flower of the gods'.

Similarly, the people of Hoi Chol civilization say about sheep that they carry the souls of humans to the next place after death.

This shows that insects were very important to the civilizations living in ancient Mexico, but when the Spanish forces took over, insects gradually became less important to the natives after their presence.

Seeing my hesitation, the waiter asked me if I would like to see how this dish is prepared.

Without waiting for my answer, he motioned for me to follow him and walked towards the kitchen.

When I got to the kitchen, I was greeted by the head of chefs and owner of the restaurant, Beatriz Ilvarado.

He told me that now he doesn't get many orders for ahu watley.

They showed me a jar containing thousands of hatched Ahu Wattle eggs, which were very small in size, about the size of grains of sand.

'It is more expensive than our other dishes and not many people know about it. '

While I watched, Beatriz mixed the eggs with milk, eggs, breadcrumbs, finely chopped onion, coriander and rolled them into small balls to fry.

Beatrice told me that her mother-in-law told her the recipe for making ahu watley.

'She was very passionate about old cooking techniques and ingredients. She used to make them at her house and used to tell us stories about how all these gifts were eaten by the gods and rulers of Mexico.'

While preparing Ahu Watle, she added that when she started managing the restaurant with her husband, she wanted to preserve the food culture in Mexico that she inherited from the Aztec period, but it is not that easy. Is.

Due to the high price of ahu watley, locals call it 'Mexican Caviar' in Mexico. It should be noted that caviar is a dish made from fish eggs, which is considered very expensive and rare.

But the reason for the high price of ahu watley is not because of its popularity but because of the difficulty in obtaining it. These eggs are available only in the rainy months and due to lack of collection and availability, restaurant owners are not able to include it on their menu.

It requires foodies to book weeks in advance.

On the other hand, there is also a water shortage crisis in Mexico and that is also affecting the population of ahu watley and it is feared that they may not become extinct in the future.

The ahu watleys were ready and while putting them on my plate, Beatriz told me that for the last 20 years there is only one man who has been supplying ahu watleys in Mexico City, his name is Don Manuel Flores.

'He is now in his seventies and his eyesight is fading. He used to come to our area every week and shout 'Ahu Watle, Ahu Watle', it was obvious how much he was fond of it like us and did not want to lose this ancient dish

But Beatriz told me that it had been several weeks and Don Manuel Flores had not made the rounds of the restaurant.

'He's taken ill and I don't know if he'll come back.'

And because now the children of Don Manuel Flores and his children are not interested in fulfilling their passion and this is having an effect on Beatriz's restaurant.

Yatrez Ailvarado asked me to eat ahu watley, which was made in the form of a pancake. I took the first bite and the tangy but tangy taste of the salsa hit my throat. The flavor and presence of eggs was also felt in this pancake.

And then all of a sudden I had the distinct taste of ahu watley in my mouth, a taste that reminded me of Far Eastern dishes made with fish and prawns.

This taste may not be liked by everyone but it is very nutritious. Ahu watley contains 63.8% protein and takes very little time and resources to prepare. I can say that I really liked this taste.