Street Stall · Fresh Corn Tamale
Humita en Chala
Photo: Marcos Katz / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0
Unlike the meat-filled tamal beside it on the same cart, humita has no meat filling: fresh grated corn, onion and a piece of cheese do the work, and some cooks make a sweeter version with sugar.
Fresh corn ground into a sweet-savory paste with cheese, onion, and spices, wrapped in the corn's own husk (chala) and steamed. Sold alongside tamales at Salta's street stalls and markets, often from the same steaming pot.
Why it's made this way: Salta's Andean climate grows corn varieties suited to this fresh-grated preparation, a technique tied to the region's Quechua and Diaguita culinary heritage predating Spanish arrival.
More from Argentina
Part of World of Street Food — 3443 dishes from 118 countries.
Something wrong here? Tell us in the comments below.
Photo credits.