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Hallacas (Hallaca) : Hallacas refer to boiled
Tamales made with beef, chicken or pork, and
cheese and other ingredients.The Hallaca is the main Venezuelan Christmas
dinner dish and is considered to be
Venezuela's national dish. Hallaca combines the indigenous bananas leaves, a rich
Spanish filling of beef,
chicken, pork, olives and
vegetables, with aromatic African spices. Hallaca's origin is unclear. It is theorized that they could could have invented from the Spanish colonists homesickness for their tasty and elaborate meals. This is shown by the similarity between the Venezuelan's Hallaca and Spain's Empanada Gallega, a pasty from Galicia. The
filling is basically similar, with
maize substituting for
flour and the banana
leaf wrapping. The second theory of its origin was that Hallacas were created by the slaves during the colony times. They put the left-overs of their master's Christmas festivities in a bit of
cornmeal dough, wrapped this with banana leaves and cooked to mix the
flavors. Like many other things in Venezuela, the Hallaca was also influenced by many cultures: (1) the white Hallaca uses European
ingredients like
raisins, nuts and
olives; (2) the native Hallaca uses cornmean and colored Onoto seeds; (3) black Hallaca is wrapped in
banana leaves. The original Hallaca is made with
meat, such as pork,
poultry,
beef, lard, crispy
pork rind, etc and boiled eggs. Preparing and making Hallacas require a lot of time, however, in Venezuela, its preparation becomes a family
event, a happy and festive event involving the whole family. It is said that Hallaca
tastes much better when taken cold.
In Venezuela, Hallacas is considered a very special dish for Christmas. Almost all families before Christmas. The families share great times and enjoy eating Hallacas the whole month of December. It is a tradition to eat this dish on Christmas eve, which is like a Thanksgiving day in Venezuela.
Taken with Hallacas in the countryside is a
drink called Ponche which the also prepare for the holidays. Ponche is a beverage made of
milk, eggs,
sugar, and
alcohol. This
beverage is enjoyed as an accompaniment of Hallacas on special days in December
Hallacas are also sometimes called Hallacas Venezolanas (Venezuelan Hallacas) or Hayacas.
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