Enchiladas potosinas are different from enchiladas in other states. Instead of dipping the finished tortilla in a sauce, here the chili is mixed into the masa itself: nixtamalized corn masa is blended with ground dried chili and turns red. Small tortillas are made from this masa, filled with fresh cheese and onion, folded into a half-moon, sealed at the edges and griddled on the comal.
The decree of the Congress of San Luis Potosí that protects them credits Cristina Jalomo, born in 1874 in Soledad de Graciano Sánchez, then a town neighboring the capital, as their creator. Tradition says she mixed chili into the masa by chance and began selling the enchiladas in the town square on feast days and Sundays, and that people from the capital started coming there to try them.
In 2016, the state declared the enchilada potosina, originating in Soledad de Graciano Sánchez, an intangible cultural heritage of San Luis Potosí, and recognized the municipality as its birthplace. Soledad holds a national fair dedicated to enchiladas.
Enchiladas potosinas are served alone or with onion, avocado, crema, or cheese, and appear at breakfast, at lunch, and at street stalls.