Tamal, hallaca or pastel — which is the original dish? – NBC Boston

One of the most common dishes in Latin American gastronomy is a dough filled with various ingredients and wrapped in leaves, usually banana or plantain leaves. But what you call that dish depends on your country of origin—or your family’s.

Specifically, in Mexico they’re called tamales; in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, pasteles; in Venezuela, hallacas; in Nicaragua, nacatamales; in Bolivia, humintas; in Guatemala, chuchitos; and in Brazil, pamonhas.

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These dishes are not only part of each country’s local culinary variety. In some places, they’re considered national symbols—like the flag or the national anthem—and confusing one for another can lead to awkward moments and even offend some people.

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