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A tamale or tamal (from Nahuatl tamalli) is a traditional Latin American food consisting of a corn meal dough filled with meats, cheese (post-colonial), and sliced chiles or any preparation according to taste. The tamale is generally wrapped in a corn husk before cooking. more...

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Tamales are an ancient American food, made throughout the continent for over 5000 years. Their essence is the corn meal dough (called masa, or a masa mix such as Maseca), usually filled with a sweet or savory filling, wrapped in plant leaves or corn husks, and cooked, usually by steaming, until firm. Tamales were developed as a portable ration for use by war parties in the ancient Americas, and were as ubiquitous and varied as the sandwich is today.

Tamales are difficult to make. The procedure in Central and Northern Mexico goes as follows: the masa (about one-inch diameter ball or so) is smeared like butter on the individual corn husk with a spoon. Then the filling (see below) is placed length-wise on the center of the husk; meats (chicken, pork) should be pre-cooked. The sides of the husk are folded and the newly made tamale is steam-cooked for an hour or until the masa has a cake-like consistency. The proportions of filling and masa vary widely according to taste. Once made, however, they can be frozen quite easily (the husks help to keep them from sticking together) and reheated as needed. Because of this, the making of tamales is often a social occasion, with friends and family all pitching into help make hundreds of tamales to be shared out.

Tamales in Latin America

Tamales are a favorite quick breakfast dish in Mexico, where street vendors can be seen serving them from huge, steaming, covered pots (tamaleras). In some places like Zacatecas, the tamale is often placed inside a wheat bread roll to form a torta de tamal, which is substantial enough to keep the breakfaster going until Mexico's traditionally late lunch hour.

The most common (and traditional) filling is pork or chicken, in either red or green salsa or mole. Another very traditional variation is to add sugar to the corn mix and fill it with raisins or other dried fruit and make a sweet tamale (tamal de dulce). Instead of corn husks, banana leaves are used in tropical parts of the country such as the states bordering the Gulf of Mexico, Oaxaca, Chiapas, and the Yucatán Peninsula. These tamales are rather square in shape, often very large (15 inches or more) and thick; a local name for these in Southern Tamaulipas is zacahuil. To the south, banana-leaf tamales are also common in the neighboring countries of Central America.

To make a full meal, the tamale is often accompanied by atole, hot chocolate, or champurrado. In El Salvador and Honduras they are wrapped in banana leaves, and there are several varieties, including tamal de gallina, tamal pisque, and tamal de elote. They are generally large, similar in size to the tamales of southeastern Mexico.