Nacatamal with banana leaf and aluminum foil

A ''nacatamal'' is a traditional dish found in

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

and

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

similar to the ''

tamal A tamale, in Spanish tamal, is a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of masa, a dough made from nixtamalized corn, which is steamed in a corn husk or banana leaf. The wrapping can either be discarded prior to eating or used as a plate. Tamale ...

'' and to the ''

hallaca Hallaca (, ; alt. spelling, ''hayaca'' and ''ayaca'') is a traditional dish from Venezuela that looks like a Tamale, tamal, though different in flavour, texture, ingredients and cultural significance. It consists of corn dough stuffed with a ste ...

''. Its name originates from the

Nawat Nawat (academically Pipil, also known as Nicarao) is a Nahuan language native to Central America. It is the southernmost extant member of the Uto-Aztecan family. It was spoken in several parts of present-day Central America before the Spanish c ...

language spoken by the Nicarao, which were situated on the Southern Pacific coast of Nicaragua, and translates to 'meat tamale'. The ''nacatamal'' is perhaps the most produced within traditional Nicaraguan cuisine and is typically eaten on the weekend, for dinner, or for breakfast; it is usually eaten together with white bread and a caffeinated drink like black coffee, Coca-Cola or Pepsi. It is common to enjoy ''nacatamales'' (plural) during special occasions and to invite extended family and neighbors to partake. Nacatamales in steamer

Ingredients

A ''nacatamal'' is made up of mostly

nixtamalized Nixtamalization () is a process for the preparation of corn, or other grain, in which the grain is soaked and cooked in an alkaline solution, usually limewater (but sometimes aqueous alkali metal carbonates), washed, and then hulled. The term ...

corn Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

''masa'' (a kind of

dough Dough is a thick, malleable, sometimes elastic paste made from grains or from leguminous or chestnut crops. Dough is typically made by mixing flour with a small amount of water or other liquid and sometimes includes yeast or other leavening ag ...

traditionally made from a process called ''nizquezar'') and

lard Lard is a semi-solid white fat product obtained by rendering the fatty tissue of a pig.Lard
entry in the o ...

, but includes seasonings such as salt and ''achiote'' (

annatto Annatto ( or ) is an orange-red condiment and food coloring derived from the seeds of the achiote tree (''Bixa orellana''), native to tropical America. It is often used to impart a yellow or orange color to foods, but sometimes also for its flav ...

). This combination is traditionally cooked in a large batch over a wood fire. The result becomes the base for the ''nacatamal'' and it is also referred to as ''masa''. This base is ladled onto plantain leaves used for wrapping into large individual portions. The leaves undergo their own preparation separately. Before a ''nacatamal'' can be wrapped and brought to the last stage of the cooking process, it must be filled. The filling usually consists of annatto-seasoned pork meat; rice; slices of

potatoes The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern United ...

bell peppers The bell pepper (also known as paprika, sweet pepper, pepper, or capsicum ) is the fruit of plants in the Grossum Group of the species ''Capsicum annuum''. Cultivars of the plant produce fruits in different colors, including red, yellow, orange ...

tomatoes The tomato is the edible Berry (botany), berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to th ...

, and

onions An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion ...

;

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...

s; spearmint sprigs; and chile , a very small, egg-shaped chile found in Nicaragua. On occasion, prunes, raisins or capers can be added. The masa and filling are then wrapped in the plantain leaves, tied with a string, and made into pillow-shaped bundles. These ''nacatamales'' are then steamed or pressure-cooked for several hours. The entire process is very labor-intensive and it often requires preparation over the course of two days; it may be necessary to involve the whole family to complete it. Today it is common to wrap ''nacatamales'' in both banana leaf and aluminum foil before cooking. Cooking takes up to five hours and at the midway point the ''nacatamales'' are turned over to facilitate even cooking.

References

Nicaraguan cuisine Honduran cuisine Maize dishes Stuffed dishes Guatemalan cuisine {{Nicaragua-cuisine-stub

Ingredients

See also

References