Today I wish to tell all of our followers in this blog which are the most famous traditional foods in Costa Rica during Christmas. 

 

We will start with the "tamal", a meal that cannot be lacking in many Costa Rican homes. This meal is mead with corn dough and each family prepares it in a unique way.  It has different ingredients that are previously cooked and prepared, like carrots, sweet pepper, hemstitch, rice, and pork meat. In some cases, some people add potato cut in squares, olives, eggs, raisins, or ever plums.

 

Also, some people prefer chicken instead of pork or even some other options for vegetarians. The tamal is later wrapped in green bananas leaves that have been previously put in a pan. People use a rope to tie it up.

 

Later, the tamales are boiled a few hours so the dough can be cooked, they have normally a rectangular shape. The traditional tamales can be cooked for breakfast, lunch or even dinner.  It is a very flexible meal in the Costa Rican cuisine during the Christmas season. Additionally, you can have it with a good coffee or with an "aguadulce", a typical sweet Costa Rican drink. Also, if you wish for the tamal to have more flavors , you can put a spoon-size amount of "salsa inglesa" (Costa Rican sauce) to it. You can find the tamales in many homes in Costa Rica or in different establishments such as restaurants or sodas.