uenced by the Huasteca cuisine of neighboring Hidalgo and San Luis Potos� states. One notable dish is sacahuil, which is a large tamale wrapped in the leaves of a plant called a papatla. This dish is most prevalent in Landa de Matamoros and Jalpan de Serra. During festivals in San Miguel Tolim�n, the main dish is chickpeas with saffron accompanied by tortillas in a number of colors. In Pe�amiller, they celebrate with goat meat, accompanied by pulque. Another common dish in this areas is a variety of tostadas called arriero (donkey handler) . Simichol is a fermented corn drink prepared in Santiago Mexquititl�n. In San Joaqu�n, the drink is called charape, made with piloncillo. In this and other central municipalities, gorditasde migajas (literally crumb gorditas) is a common dish.
Traditional food products include a candy made of guava fruit and sugar, jams, and sweets made from pulque, milk candies from Bernal, a hard bread called mezquitamal, which is made by the Otomis, and various types of mole sauces made in Amealco. In the Sierra Gorda area, gorditas can be prepared with sugar, cheese, and piloncillo. The zacahuil, a large type of tamale, is filled with chicken, turkey or pork with dried chili pepper. A number of insects are used, especially in indigenous dishes such as tant�rreas (ants from a type of mesquite tree) and escamoles, often cooked with cactus flowers. One native beverage, called mejengue, made with piloncillo, banana, pulque and corn
