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Humita en Chala — traditional dish from Salta, Salta Province, Argentina
Main course Vegetarian

Food Flavour DNA

Nutritional Values

🔥510kcal
💪18gProtein
🌾63gCarbs
🥑22gFat
🌿7gFibre
⚖️2 humitas, 360 gServing

* Per serving · 2 humitas, 360 g. May vary.

Allergens

🥛 Dairy

Humita en Chala

How to order / say it
Say it Humita en chala — [oo-MEE-tah en CHAH-lah]
Order One humita in a husk, please.
Locally Una humita en chala, por favor.
Say locally

Fresh corn, onion, and cheese are cooked into a soft mixture and steamed in husks.

Why try it?

Humita shows Salta's reverence for native corn and the Andean habit of turning harvest ingredients into celebratory food. It is gentler than a tamal but just as tied to family kitchens, village festivals, and seasonal abundance.

How it tastes

It tastes sweetly of fresh corn, balanced by onion, mild chili, and salty cheese. The texture is creamy and slightly grainy, with a clean grassy aroma from the steamed husk.

Origin & History — first documented: 1850

Humita is rooted in pre-Hispanic Andean maize cookery and predates Argentina's colonial period. In Salta, the preparation took its modern form through Spanish-influenced dairy and seasoning combined with local corn varieties. It became a defining northern dish in the nineteenth century and remains especially associated with summer corn harvests.

Recipe

Ingredients

  • 🌾 600 g fresh corn kernels
  • 🧄 120 g onion
  • 🥕 80 g red bell pepper
  • 🥛 120 ml milk
  • 🥛 100 g goat cheese
  • 🥛 30 g butter
  • 🧂 2 g aji molido
  • 🌿 8 g fresh basil
  • 🥕 8 large corn husks
  • 🧂 6 g salt

Method

  1. 1 Blend or finely grate the corn with milk until coarse and creamy.
  2. 2 Sauté onion and pepper in butter, then combine with corn, basil, chili, and salt.
  3. 3 Spoon the mixture onto soaked corn husks and add crumbled goat cheese.
  4. 4 Fold and tie the husks, then steam for 35 minutes.

More from Salta, Salta Province

All South America recipes — Argentina — Salta — Humita en Chala
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