Ajo - garlic
Albóndigas - meatballs
Al horno - oven-baked
Ancho - a Poblano chile that has been dried and turned a black-red color; means wide
Antojito - an hors d'oeuvre or small snack food
Arroz - rice
Asar - to roast or broil
Barbacoa - barbecued meat
Borracho - cooked with wine; means drunk
Buñuelo - puffy, sweet, deep-fried pastry
Burrito/Burro - large flour tortilla wrapped around a filling
Burrita- flour tortilla with ham and cheese
Calabaza - squash, pumpkin
Caldo - soup, broth
Caliente - hot to the touch (temperature)
Camarón - shrimp
Canela - cinnamon
Capirotada - spicy bread pudding served during Lent; means a little bit of everything
Carne - meat, specifically beef
Carnitas - Shredded Pork
Cebolla - onion
Cerveza - beer
Ceviche - salad made of fish ``cooked'' in lime juice
Chalupa - Our special custard and fruit on a flakey shell
Chilaquiles - corn tortilla pieces marinated in chile, layered with a filling, sauce and cheese, and baked in a casserole
Chili powder - commercially, the product made from ground red chiles, including a variety of other spices
Chimichanga - deep-fried burro; means "A what chama call it"
Chorizo - spicy pork and beef sausage
Chuleta - chop or cutlet
Cilantro - coriander or Chinese parsley
Coco - coconut
Comal - heavy, round griddle for baking tortillas
Ejote - String bean
Elote - corn
Empanada - turnover
Enchilada - a corn tortilla dipped in red chile sauce, rolled around just about anything, then topped with sauce and cheese
Enrollado - rolled
Ensalada - salad
Escabeche - pickled
Farina - Wheat Flour
Fideos - vermicelli; thin pasta
Flan - baked custard with caramel coating
Flauta - corn tortilla tightly rolled around a filling, then deep fried; means flute
Frijoles - beans, usually pinto
Gallina - hen
Garbanzo - chickpea
Gazpacho - cold, spicy tomato and vegetable soup
Granada - pomegranate
Guacamole - mashed avocado salad or dip
Guajolote - in Mexico, turkey; pavo is turkey in other Spanish-speaking countries
Harina - wheat flour
Huevo - egg; also blanquillo
Jamón - ham
Jícama - a crisp, white, edible root
Kahlúa - coffee-flavored liqueur made in Mexico
Lechuga - lettuce
Maíz - corn
Mano - a piece of volcanic rock used with both hands to grind food against another rock; means hand
Manteca - lard
Mantequilla - butter
Mariscos - shellfish; fish is pescado
Masa - dough, usually referring to ground hominy, called nixtamal for tortillas
Menudo - tripe soup; New Year's Day tradition to ease hangovers
Miel - honey
Molcajete - volcanic rock shaped like a bowl in which food is ground
Mole - Term used for a thick sauce or paste. The classic mole is made with chiles, unsweetened chocolate, nuts, bananas and chicken stock
Naranja - orange
Nixtamal - hominy; raw corn grains, soaked in chalk, then ground to make a dough (masa) for tortillas, tamales, chalupas
Nopales - cactus pads cooked and used like okra
Olla - clay pot; a utensil in which beans are simmered
Pan - bread
Pepino - cucumber
Picadillo - meat hash
Picante - hot to the taste buds
Piloncillo - brown sugar formed into a cone for marketing
Pimienta - black pepper
Pipián - a sauce made of pumpkin seed, chile and spices
Poblano - a variety of chile
Pollo - chicken
Postre - dessert
Quesadilla - grilled cheese sandwich made with a tortilla
Queso - cheese
Rábano - radish
Relleno - stuffed
Repollo - cabbage;col,in mexico
Ristra - string of dried red chiles
Sal - salt
Salsa - sauce
Sangría - a drink made of red or white wine, sugar, oranges, lemons and lime
Seco - dry
Sopa - soup
Taco - a corn tortilla folded over a filling
Tamal (plural is tamales) - a corn husk stuffed with masa, meat or beans
Tatemar - verb meaning to roast, peel and seed green chiles
Tequila - distilled liquor made from agave, or century plant
Topopo - a corn chip like a volcano or pyramid
Tortilla - a thin, flat bread made from wheat flour or corn masa
Tostada - toasted; specifically toasted or well fried tortillas