This recipe makes quite a bit and you’re welcome to cut the recipe in half. The chefs told me that sometimes people use rice or oat flour in place of the corn starch. To get the seeds out of a vanilla pod, split the bean lengthwise and use the blade of the knife to carefully scrape out the seeds. The pod should be reserved for another use, such as infusing
poaching liquid or tucked in a bin of sugar to perfume it.
They don’t use much sugar in their atole but you might want to increase the amount to taste. If you can get Mexican piloncillo sugar, this is a good place to use it.
Serving: Atole is served warm. If made in advance and you wish to reheat it, it will likely thicken quite a bit. If so, add some additional milk to thin it out.