From My Mexico
A Culinary Odyssey With More Than 300 Recipes
by Diana Kennedy

Chilatas is a textured powder of toasted and ground seeds seasoned with chile and salt. It is sprinkled over a freshly made corn tortilla or a dish of beans. I even use it on salads. It is delicious, healthy, crunchy and addictive.

1/3 cup (83 ml) shelled peanuts
1/2 cup (125 ml) sesame seeds
1/2 cup (125 ml) raw, hulled pumpkin seeds
1/8 teaspoon powdered, hot, dried chiles (not chile powder mixed with other condiments)
1/2 teaspoon or to taste, medium coarse seasalt

Toast each of the seeds separately in a heavy pan, taking care not to let them get too brown. set aside to cool. Grind them separately in an electric coffee/spice grinder to a textured consistency. Mix together with the chile and salt and store in a dry place in an airtight container. It keeps indefinitely.

Excerpted from My Mexico by Diana Kennedy Copyright© 1998 by Diana Kennedy. Excerpted by permission of Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.