What Esquites means
Esquites is a Mexican antojito name of Nahuatl origin meaning "toasted maize kernels". It is built from izquitl (toasted maize) and Spanish -es (plural). It is pronounced es-KEE-tes, and it is most associated with the whole country.
izquitl is the noun from icequi, to toast, and named parched corn centuries before the cup with mayonnaise and chile. Boiled rather than toasted, the same cup is sold as elote en vaso.
Esquites is one of the many Mexican food words formed in Nahuatl. Spanish borrowed it, and in several cases English borrowed it again from Spanish. See how Nahuatl builds words and the full list of Mexican food names.
This is a site about what Mexican words mean, so there is no recipe here. For the name itself: Antojito means "little craving". These are the masa-based street foods named for their shape more often than their filling: a sope is a small mound, a huarache is a sandal, a gordita is a fat little one, a tlacoyo is an oval patty.
