Many things in the kitchen are best when homemade. Last week we had lunch at the little Mexican cafe in Left Bank on Cuba Street. Their food is goooooooood. My fajitas had great corn tortillas, so we had a long conversation with the proprietor about where the tortillas were from and how we could best get some ourselves. I found some Corn Masa Mix at Moore Wilson and followed the packet instructions. The recipe is here and hre is a good demo too. I would DEFINITELY RECOMMEND making these yourselves – the result was superb, with none of the tough / chewiness that comes with the pre-made preservative loaded ones. Next time I will spend a bit more time getting the consistency of the dough and the shape of the tortillas better, but alas no longer will fajitas be a 5 minute prep dinner!
Domestic Scene 
Katie Hutchison adds: Just that when we did it at a cooking class in Oaxaca we did use a press and I think its sweet to do without, it but you should flatten it as HARD out as possible so its only 1-2mm thick (maybe could flatten inbetween 2 heavy wooden chopping boards or something) – makes it hard to shift onto the hotplate but once you get the hang of it, it makes real yum tortillas – and my personal favourite was carnitas (pork), corn torillas, pineapple (sounds weird but YUM), loads of Coriander, chopped spring onion and a little cooked onion and spicy salsa verde (Jalapeno salsa)..
que rico!! x
And Alicia Williams adds: Mexican specialities sell the tortilla presses & the cornmeal now …… droool
I’m sure I saw a bunch of tortilla press’s(sp?) at Moore Willy’s last year; I don’t remember the price. I nearly bought an aluminium one at a second hand store here in Napier too, but it had a dirty great crack near the hinge. Will this do? http://tiny.cc/blwvE
Maybe my panini maker would work? I’ll go looky looky at MW on the weekend too – though the LAST thing I need is another kitchen appliance!
Yum! I learned to make flour tortillas when I did a homestay in Belize, but the corn tortillas came from a van that drove around the neighbourhood at the crack of dawn (honking incessantly, I may add). They were amazingly fresh and delicious, but I never learnt to make them. Looks like it’s worth doing, though 🙂