An Ode to Corn

While I don’t know for certain, I feel fairly confident in saying that corn is one of Nicaragua’s main agricultural products. The corn here is not as tender or sweet as one might find in the fields of middle America, but it’s cheap, filling, and plentiful. Consequently, the Nicaraguan diet includes a lot of corn, in a wide variety of forms.

In honor of the upcoming Feria de Maiz of Jalapa, Nueva Segovia, THE corn festival of Nicaragua (33 years and still going strong!), I’ve decided to put together a fairly comprehensive list of corn-based foods that you can find here in Nicaragua (in alphabetical order, because I’m a bit obsessive compulsive).

Atol de Elote – a pudding made from fresh corn. Sweet and cinnamony.

Buñuelos – Fried dumplings of corn and cheese, served in a sugary syrup. They are supposedly popular holiday treats.

Chicha de Maiz – a very sugary drink made from dried corn. Bright pink (not sure what prompted this tradition of adding colorant, but it seems that Nicaraguans do not find chicha as appetizing if it isn’t practically glowing in the dark. This same logic is also applied to chicken). Can be fermented for extra fun. 

Elote asada – grilled corn. Simple, tasty, and cheap. I have yet to understand why here, in a nation that loves its salt, grilled corn is eaten completely plain. I like to sneak a little bit of salt onto mine. Adds flavor, and keeps the blood pressure soaring.

Güirila – A sweet pancake made from fresh corn, güirila is tasty on its own but excellent with cuajada (a mild, soft white cheese) and crema (slightly soured cream).

Indio Viejo – A dish of parties and of the poor, indio viejo is a filling stew that can serve many people using few ingredients. Meat, if available, is cooked with onions, tomato, and peppers, and garlic. The meat is then shredded and a broth is created using ground corn tortilla and water. Vegetables may be added if desired and available.

Montuca – Chicken or pork encased in sweet corn dough, wrapped in corn husk and boiled.

Nacatamal – A savory packet of corn dough, rice, potato (because there isn’t quite enough of a variety of carbohydrates without it), meat, onion, tomato, and sweet pepper, all wrapped up in a banana leaf. A very filling, perfectly portable pillow of a meal.

Palomitas – Popcorn! Sold in small bags as a street food, the popcorn here is infinitely better than that which you can purchase in movie theaters in the states. Why? Real butter my friends….real butter. And salt, of course. Sometimes it even comes mixed with M&Ms and/or peanuts.

Pinol and Pinolillo – The official drink of Nicaragua (outside of Flor de Caña), pinol is made from toasted and ground corn, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. To make pinolillo, add roasted and ground cacao. Can be made with water or milk.

Rosquillas – Savory donut-shaped crackers made from ground corn and cheese. Eaten with coffee. The best are from Madriz!

Rosquetes – The rosquilla’s cookie cousin. Reminiscent of graham crackers.

Sopa de Albondigas – A flavorful minty broth with balls of corn and cheese dough.

Tamal – Here, the tamal is plain – a solid mass of corn dough, steamed in a corn husk. Tamals are typically made from fresh corn, giving it a sweeter flavor. However, a plain (or, ash-flavored) tamal is made for Semana Santa using dried corn.

Torta de Maiz – A sweet corn cake-like bread. Found in most corner stores, and served as an afternoon snack at most meetings. Can become breakfast in a pinch.

Tortilla – a staple, tortillas are usually made fresh in-home and consumed daily. I’m pretty sure that every Nicaraguan female knows how to echar tortillas by puberty. Tortillas are usually made using dried corn that is ground after being pretreated with cal (lyme). However, tortillas can also be made using fresh corn, and are excellent hot off the pan with a bit of salt. Tortillas are eaten at every meal – plain, with cheese, or beans, or soup… Tortillas are also used to make various tasty foods such as tacos, enchiladas, repochetas, quesillos, quesadillas, and burritos.

Feeling a bit like Bubba Gump now…

Words of the Week: Chilote – young corn, elote – fresh corn, maiz – dried corn

A Matter of Perspective

Public transportation options can be somewhat limited when traveling to and from much of Nicaragua outside of the major metropolitan areas (such as they are). For example, if you wish to go to the municipal capital of Las Sabanas from the department capital of Madriz, you may take one of eight busses that depart daily for Las Sabanas or Cusmapa. You will be fighting for a spot on one of these busses with everyone that wishes to get to any location between Somoto and that bus’s final destination. Normally packed to the limit (and sometimes even defying what would appear to be physically possible), a bus may be in even greater demand if the bus before is not running. In such instances, passengers end up overflowing, hanging out of doors, off of the sides, and up onto the luggage rack. For, after all, it is better to find any spot at all than to wait – the next bus, if it comes, will most likely be equally crowded, if it comes at all.

So if, one day, you find yourself riding on top of the retired school bus rather than inside it on your way to a rural Nicaraguan community, you might just start to look at the world around you a little differently.

First, you might notice how the air seems fresh and clean. Your bus is one of the few vehicles on the road, and while it might be an ecological nightmare in itself, it cannot spew out sufficient fumes to fill the air with the level of pollution created by heavy traffic and manufacturing.

Being much higher up, you might be able to see beyond the dense shrubbery growing beside the winding dirt road. You might notice the humble homes down in the valleys that you had previously not been able to see, and begin to realize how tenaciously humans strive to populate a land, even in the absence of access to basic resources such as electricity and potable water. You might gaze upon the patchwork mountainside fields and marvel at how the farmers have successfully cultivated corn, beans, tomatoes, and other crops on such steep inclines. Then, you might wonder how these people transport their crops to market, access essential supplies (Then again, what is actually essential? That which we may think we absolutely must have may be seen as an optional or luxury item to others.), or receive medical attention in the event of an emergency without roads or vehicles.

Having a clearer view of the world around you than you would had you been inside the hot, cramped vehicle, you might also become aware of how much is growing and thriving around you, even beside this dusty trail. Flowers wave as you pass by. Iridescent butterflies flit in and out of the shadows cast by trees heavily laden with fruit, while birds in a riot of colors soar and swoop above. As the altitude increases, you will notice that oaks and pine trees begin to replace the more tropical varieties of trees. Just make sure to tear your eyes away from the beauty around you every once in a while; if you fail to watch where you are going, you may not duck in time to avoid being struck in the face by the occasional tree branch hanging low over the road.

And, after an hour, despite being a bit dusty and sunburned, you might find that you enjoyed the trip immensely more than you might have, had you found a seat or a few inches of standing room.

Word of the week: Arriba - above

Just wanted to say...

Happy Birthday to my fantastic father!  I wish I could be there to celebrate with you today, Dad, but as we both know we'll have the opportunity soon enough!  Until then, enjoy some

and maybe some

Phrase of the day: ¡Feliz cumpleaños!  Happy Birthday

Ya queremos pastel, ya queremos pastel, aunque sea un pedacito pero queremos pastel. (now we want some cake, now we want some cake, even if it's a small piece, we want some cake)