They're celebrating corn in Brasil right now. Let's join them


My friend Valeria lives in northern Brasil. Right now, she tells me, there is a huge festival called Boi Bumba, which celebrates corn.
I know corn is "just a starch"...no weight loss diet cuisine includes corn, but I love the sweet, juicy kernels. They can be savory or sweet, depending on your mood.
All varieties of corn contain antioxidant phytonutrients. Yellow corn is richer in carotenoids, especially lutein and zeaxanthin. Blue corn has unique concentrations of anthocyanins. Purple corn provides unusual amounts of the hydroxybenzoic acid called protocatechuic acid. Corn is a good source of energy-producing vitamin B1, vitamin B5, and phosphorus; heart-healthy folate and dietary fiber; and free radical-scavenging vitamin C and manganese.
And it tastes good.
Valeria said there are all kinds of great native recipes featured in this Amazonian regional festival. Her favorite is Pamonha...a kind of sweet tamale, which she says is spectacular with coffee.

Pamonha
12 cobs of corn
1 cup of water
2 cups of sugar
1 cup of grated coconut
1 pinch of salt
husks to cover the pamonha
string to tie the husks
  • Grate the cobs or cut the sweet corn very close to the middle of the cobs. Blend it with the water. Add the coconut and sugar, mixing it thoroughly. Put the paste on the husks.
  • Close the husks (as shown on the picture) and tie them up tightly.
  • In a big pan, boil the water and add the pamonhas, one at a time: add one, let it boil again and add another one.
  • The water MUST be boiling otherwise the pamonhas will fall apart. Cook it for 40 min and remove the pamonhas with the help of a fish slice.
  • Let it cool down.

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