What the dish is and where it came from
A tamale is a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of masa, a dough of nixtamalized corn, steamed in a corn husk or banana leaves. The wrapping can be discarded before eating or used as a plate. Fillings include meats, cheeses, fruits, vegetables, herbs and chilies. The word comes from the Nahuatl tamalli by way of the Spanish tamal; the English “tamale” is a back-formation from “tamales”. Tamales originated in Mesoamerica as early as 8000 to 5000 BC. The oldest people confirmed to have eaten them were the Toltecs, whose fossilized corn husks were found around the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon at Teotihuacan. Archaeologists Karl Taube, William Saturno and David Stuart found pictorial references in the Mural of San Bartolo in Petén, Guatemala, and think tamales may date from around 100 AD.
How it works, in terms someone would actually use
The dough is ground nixtamalized corn (hominy), or a rehydrated masa powder such as Maseca, combined with lard or vegetable shortening and broth or water until it is as thick as a very thick batter. Tradition calls for whisking the lard and then the batter to get the soft, fluffy texture; modern recipes may use baking powder instead. Chili purees or powders are sometimes added and can turn tamales red. The dough is wrapped in corn husks or plantain leaves, depending on the region, and steamed until firm. In tropical parts of Mexico such as Oaxaca, Chiapas, Veracruz and the Yucatán Peninsula, banana or plantain leaves are used, giving square tamales that can reach 40 cm.
What it gets right
It travels. The Aztec, Maya, Olmec and Toltec used tamales as easily portable food for hunting trips, long journeys and feeding their armies. Maya tamales made for hunters and travelers were cooked with extra wood ashes to form a hard shell when dried, which let them keep for up to 20 days. In Mexico today tamales are a comfort food eaten at breakfast and dinner, often with hot atole or champurrado, and street vendors serve them from large steaming pots.
What it does not
It is not quick. Preparation is complex and time-consuming, and in Mexico the task usually falls to women as an example of communal cooking. Nicaraguan nacatamales, wrapped in plantain leaves and steamed or pressure-cooked for several hours, can take two days and the whole family. The exact origin of the tamale has yet to be determined.
What it changed
Tamales may have come before the tortilla. A lack of griddles in the archaeological record of the Classic Maya suggests the tamal may have been their main maize foodstuff, and because tamales are cooked without ceramic technology their form is thought to predate the tortilla. The preparation likely spread from Mesoamerica to the rest of the Americas, Related dishes include humitas in the Andes, hallacas in Venezuela, pastelles in Trinidad and Tobago and guanimes in Puerto Rico. In the Philippines, tamale-like foods merged with the native leaf-wrapped rice cakes, and the tamales of Guam show the influence of the galleon trade between Manila and Acapulco.
Who it is for, and who it is not
It is for people who cook for gatherings. Aztec women stayed up two to three days cooking tamales before a wedding, and Guatemalan families make them on Christmas Eve. Tamales are typically eaten at Christmas in Costa Rica and El Salvador. They are not for anyone who wants a meal in minutes.
Is it worth your time
Yes, if you want to cook a dish whose history reaches back thousands of years, or to taste how one dough changes from region to region.
