History of Indio Viejo Dish
The Indio Viejo recipe is one of the most interesting stories when it comes to Nicaraguan food, it is said that the origin of this typical dish comes from a lie of a leader of an indigenous tribe on the Ometepe Island, which was told to 2 people from Spain. The Indians tasted this dish, and the two Spaniards asked him how the dish was called and if they could test it, the indigenous leader replied that it was called “Indio Viejo” (Old Indian) and that it had that name because it was made of the flesh of one of the oldest members of his tribe who had just passed away.
The Europeans were astonished and decided not to eat, but the truth is that the indigenous leader said this because he didn’t want to share this delicious dish that had been prepared in this place.
Indio Viejo Recipe from Nicaragua
The Indio Viejo dish is known anywhere in Nicaragua, of course, each department has its own name, for example, in the department of Carazo, it is called “Maza de Cazuela”, in the department of Chontales is called “Macho cansa”, in the region of northern Nicaragua is called “marul”, and in the capital Managua is known as “Indio Viejo”, as we can see, this dish may have many names, but it is the same typical dish.
It is a traditional dish because one of the main ingredients is corn, corn is well used in Nicaragua since there are many drinks and dishes made from this grain, as are the famous Nicaraguan tortillas, the Pinolillo Drink or the delicious Nacatamal. This typical Nicaraguan dish is not only made with corn, but it can also be made with Maseca, which is also delicious.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds of corn dough
- 2 pounds of meat
- Spearmint to taste
- 3 medium onions
- 2 large sweet pepper
- 1 cup sour orange juice
- Salt and annatto to taste
Method
- Boil 2 liters of water and place the meat to soften it.
- Add onion, sweet pepper and 3 cloves of chopped garlic.
- Wait 45 to 50 minutes for it to be smooth.
- Prepare the dough.
- In a bowl, add the dough with the annatto to taste and the meat broth.
- Shake everything until it is very liquid.
- Shred the meat.
- Combine the shredded meat with the dough and let it rest.
- In another pot, add oil with onion and tomato.
- saute and place the prepared dough with the shredded meat.
- While the dough is being cooked, gradually add more meat broth, move so that it does not stick, should be simmered, add salt to taste.