mexican cuisine could not exist without corn, a main staple of the mexican diet for 4000 years - to make mexico's many corn-based breads, kernels are softened in water and lime, ground up, and finally fashioned into tortillas, gorditas or sopes.  

protein-rich beans and a seemingly endlessly variety of hot peppers compliment the diet, and from these basic building blocks, mexican cuisine offers a broad variety of dishes - chopped up vegetables become delicious salsas by throwing in cilantro, lime and a few hot peppers,

the laborious mole has as many versions as regions in mexico - commonly a combination of a minimum of three dried chili peppers, ground nuts or seeds, mexican chocolate, as well as salt, oregano, chicken broth and charred onions, garlic and avocado leaves are mixed - crushed crackers or breadcrumbs may be added to thicken the mixture.