The consistency and texture vary greatly, too, from thin and dense like tamales found in Oaxaca<\/a>; to sticky and gelatinous from Yucat\u00e1n<\/a>; to spongy and cakey like the ones from northern and central Mexico, where I grew up.<\/p>\n Tamales are so big in our kitchens that entire meals are devoted to them: the famous Tamaladas!\u00a0Festive get-togethers we all get very excited about, where all you eat are different kinds of tamales, from beginning to end.\u00a0Trust me, where there is a variety of tamales, you want to eat them all.<\/p>\n Aside from Tamaladas, tamales are present in all sorts of celebrations and holidays including Quincea\u00f1eras, Posadas, Christmas Eve and New Years parties: they have been fiesta food since pre-Hispanic times, when they were considered gifts from the Gods.<\/p>\n But tamales are also everyday food, for an entire country, an entire culture. Accessible to everyone and anyone who can get to the corner stand and has 10 pesos (less than a dollar) in their pocket for a quick breakfast, a filling lunch or an easy merienda (light dinner).<\/p>\n See photo below…. I was with my school friends eating tamales at the tamal stand on the street right outside our middle school. I used to day dream about those tamales; they were so alluring we used to sneak out of school to eat them…<\/p>\n Tamales are as fascinating and varied as the stars above. So to land this philosophical rambling about tamales somewhere practical and edible, for you, I will focus on my favorite tamal of all time. The Tamal de Pollo con Salsa Verde.<\/p>\n The easiest way to make tamales is to prepare your filling(s) first. In fact you can make it a day or two in advance. For the ones I feature here, make your cooked\u00a0salsa verde<\/a>, pictured in the molcajete below. Combine it with cooked shredded chicken to make a wet mix. No, you don\u2019t want it dry! The tamal masa will soak up some of that salsa. After the tamales cook for almost an hour, you want to bite into a tamal that has a saucy, moist filling.<\/p>\n Then get your hands on dried corn husks<\/a>, pictured below. You can get them in the Latin aisles of your supermarket, at many a Latin or international store, or online. No excuse. Soak those husks in warm water, so they will become malleable and pliable. You don\u2019t want them to crack as you use them to wrap the dough and roll the tamal. You will also need to place some of the leaves in the tamalera<\/a> or steamer.<\/p>\n Get the tamalera ready. Pour water and drop a coin in there. That’s a passed down trick from endless generations. It works as an alarm for when the tamales may be running out of water, so you won’t need to open up the pot and let all that precious steam come out: if the water is running out, the coin will start jumping up and down and make loud clinking noises.<\/p>\n Then you work to make your masa. Or let the mixer help you out! I have the complete recipe below, but let me just highlight a few things…<\/p>\n In Mexico, you can go into the tortiller\u00eda and buy fresh masa, made from scratch. And wouldn’t it be heavenly if there were tortiller\u00edas in all towns and cities in the US, so we could all indulge? But the truth is many, if not most, people in Mexican kitchens make their own masa at home from the instant corn masa flour, and you can get fabulous results.<\/p>\n Traditionally, tamal masa is made with lard. If top quality and fresh, it adds a delicious taste and texture and doesn\u2019t have as much cholesterol as people think. If you ask me, I think it is a matter of moderation. Yet, many people prefer vegetable shortening and you can use it too. Now, vegetable shortening has, as of late, been questioned even more than lard.<\/p>\n If you don’t want to use either, I have a wonderful solution: use vegetable oil, substitute exact amounts, but to maintain depth of flavor and dimension, season the oil by heating it over medium heat and cooking a slice of onion and a couple garlic cloves in it for 15 minutes. Then remove the onion and garlic before using. Great trick for vegetarians as well. In fact, before the Spanish arrived to Mexico, and there was no pork, oils extracted from fruits, vegetables and seeds, were used to moisten and season tamales, so feel free to play around with oils you like!<\/p>\n The most important thing about the masa, aside from being well seasoned, is that it needs to be as fluffy as fluffy can get. It has to be so airy that, if you take a cup of cold water and drop half a teaspoon of the masa in it, it floats! \u00a0You can only achieve this by beating it for a long time at a good speed. That\u2019s why I recommend a mixer in the recipe below, but of course, you are welcome to get a good work out from the masa mixing by hand or with a sturdy spatula.<\/p>\n Then, follow my detailed instructions below on how to fill and wrap the tamales, place them in the tamalera and hold your horses for 50 minutes until they are ready.<\/p>\n Hopefully, you make more than what you need. I can think of few foods that have as much warmth, sustenance and meaning than tamales. They are food that is meant to be shared. So I suggest you try a Tamalada gathering! Tamaladas don’t only happen on February 2nd (when according to tradition you must host a Tamalada and invite EVERYBODY, if you got the baby hidden in the Rosca de Reyes eaten on January 6th), they can happen anytime (but I am writing this post before February 2nd, just in case!).<\/p>\n Make many fillings ahead of time. Make your masa. Invite friends over and have a tamal-making party before the Tamalada. Everyone will have gifts to open and eat, as that is what tamales are, indeed. And the best gift of them all will be any leftover tamales that a lucky guest gets to take along. Or be a bit greedy, keep them at home.<\/p>\n Note: I’ve been asked for a quick casserole version in a few emails… All you need to do, is spread half the masa in the recipe below in a large baking dish, then add a layer of the chicken in salsa verde, top with remaining half masa dough. Cover well with aluminum foil, and bake in a 400 degree oven for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and if you want, drizzle with some Mexican crema<\/a> and crumbled queso fresco<\/a>. Serve in squares. ![\"Pati](\"https:\/\/patijinich.com\/pati_2020\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Pati_friends_tamales.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"salsa](\"https:\/\/patijinich.com\/pati_2020\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/salsa-verde-main.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"dried](\"https:\/\/patijinich.com\/pati_2020\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/corn-husks-main.jpg\")
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