For centuries, Honduras has been influenced by Mesoamerican culture, which is reflected in its gastronomy—through the consumption of corn, beans, squash, and chili; linguistically, it shows a strong influence of the Nahuatl language.
Its roots
From there, we can see that Nacatamal has Mesoamerican roots. The word Naca (Nacatl) means 'meat' in Nahuatl, and Tamal (Tamalli) means 'wrapped'.
As we can infer, the Nacatamal is of indigenous origin, dating back to pre-Columbian times.
In Nacaome, a beautiful place in southern Honduras, the Nacatamal was one of the sacred foods of the gods. Our ancestors prepared Nacatamal with wild pork and birds like Jolote, wild turkey.
With the arrival of the Spaniards in the 16th century, pork and chicken replaced the wild pork and Jolote.
How it is made
The Nacatamal is a masa of seasoned corn, filled with pork and chicken or turkey, wrapped in banana leaves. It is one of Honduras' traditional dishes.
During Christmas and New Year celebrations, families gather in the kitchen, cooking on a traditional fire; men are responsible for fetching the firewood and tending the fire, while some women prepare the corn dough, and others make the meat filling to assemble the Nacatamal and then place it in a pot of boiling water.
After some time, the irresistible aroma of Nacatamales fills the air, signaling that they are ready to taste.
