A New Fifty-Two: Humitas - A Chilean Tradition

Humitas are a truly traditional Chilean dish.

A quick search on Wikipedia produced the following regarding the origin of the Humita.

Place of origin: Andean states

Dish details: Serving temperature Hot

Main ingredient(s) Maize

Maize husk

Variations Multiple

Humita is a Native American dish from pre-Hispanic times, and a traditional food in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador and Peru. It consists of masa harina and corn, slowly cooked in oil. Humita is a version of the Mexican tamal.

Humitas are common in various countries in Latin America, although their origin is unclear. The noun "humita" derives from Quechua a regional dialect found in Ecuador of the Quechua people living in Ecuador, the south of Colombia, the Peruvian highlands, and the northwestern part of Argentina. In Venezuela, they are known as hallaquitas, in Chile and Peru as humitas, in Bolivia as humintas, and in Mexico and Central America as tamales.

In Argentina, humitas are prepared with fresh corn, sautéed onions and some spices, depending on the region or taste. They obtained dough is are wrapped in corn husks and boiled. It is also common to add some cheese dices into the dough, typically goat cheese.

Humitas in Chile are prepared with fresh corn, onion, basil, and butter or lard. They are wrapped in corn husks and baked or boiled. They may contain cheese. The humitas are kept together during cooking with thread or twine.

They can be made savory, sweet, or sweet and sour, with added sugar, chile pepper, salt, tomato, olive and paprika etc.

As in Chile, in Ecuador humitas are prepared with fresh ground corn with onions, eggs and spices that vary on the region, and on each family's tradition. The dough is wrapped in a corn husk, but are steamed rather than baked or boiled. Ecuadorian humitas may also contain cheese. This dish is so traditional in Ecuador that they have developed special pots just for cooking humitas. Ecuadorian humitas can be salty or sweet.

In Peru, mainly in the central Andes region, humitas are prepared with fresh corn combined with lard and salt and queso fresco for a savory dish or with fresh corn with lard, sugar, cinnamon and raisins for a sweet dish. Savory humitas may also be prepared with anise.

Peruvian humitas are prepared with corn wrapped in corn husks and can be cooked in boiling water, placed in a pachamanca oven, or steamed. They can be wrapped in several ways.

During our travels to Chile, we have often enjoyed Humitas and I decided that our children needed to enjoy Humitas. I made a call to my mother and mother in law, invited the family over and we made Humitas!

Here is our Humita journey!

Humitas

Number 39

By Laura Fowell, Maru Fowell, Rose Marie Davidson

Yields: 15-20 small Humitas or 8 large Humitas

Ingredients

8 corn on the cobs with husks, save husks

Salt

Basil

Milk, only if necessary

Butter or Lard

Directions

1. Remove the husks: Remove husks from

corn. Careful not to tear the husks as they will be the base for the pocket for the humita. The larger the corn the better because the husks will be larger and allow for more of the corn mixture to be placed in the husks. The region from which my mother in law comes from in Chile, 6, makes very large humitas. Due to the season in South Central Texas, we had smaller corn husks, leading to smaller humitas. Save any torn husks to use to tie the humita together.

2. Cut the Corn: Wash the corn and with a very sharp or serrated knife, cut the corn from the cob. Set aside the cobs, they will be used for steaming.

3. Prepare the steaming pot: Using a large pot, fill the pot with enough water that you have at least an inch of water in the bottom of the pot. You may need to add water to the pot in the steam process to ensure that the water does not evaporate. Place the cobs in the pot so that they form a "shelf" for the humitas to lay on, once prepared. The water should not overlap the tops of the cobs.

4. The corn mixture: In a food processor, mix the corn, basil and salt (to taste). If the mixture is to dry, you may add a very small amount of milk. You do not want the mixture runny.

5. Cooking the corn mixture: Melt a small amount of butter or lard in a large pot, once the butter or lard is melted, add the corn mixture and cook for 5 minutes. *Cook's Side Note: Some recipes suggest pouring the lard or butter into the corn mixture and then pouring the corn mixture back into the pot to cook.

6. Steam the husks: Place the husks on the "cob shelf" for 1 to 2 minutes to soften the husk.

7. Make the "package": Place two husks in opposing directions, fill the husk. Fold the husk to make a package and tie with torn pieces of husk.

8. Steam: Steam the humitas on the "cob shelf" for 20 minutes.

9. Humitas are served with a typical Chilean salad - in the next few days I will post our family Chilean salad recipe. The most important thing to remember about an Humita from Chile is that it must be enjoyed with your favorite glass of Chilean Wine!