Homemade Tamale Recipes: How to Make Tamales

Whenever you wish to try out some exceptional food recipes, then you must opt for tamale recipes. Once you've tasted it, you will want to savor it again. Well, what is a tamale? A tamale is one of the popular Mexican foods. It has its roots in the indigenous Latin American culture. It is made with masa dough and different kinds of fillings. Masa is a steam-cooked corn dough to which fats like fresh lard, butter or vegetable shortening, baking powder and salt are added. These ingredients are mixed with water or chicken broth, or sometimes, milk. The dough can be filled with cheese, meats, chicken, fish, beef, cooked eggs, pumpkin seeds, dry fruits, raisins, sliced chilies and various spices.

The tamale can be wrapped into a variety of wrappers such as fresh corn husk, dried corn husk, fresh corn leaves, avocado leaves or banana leaves. Spreading the masa dough onto the corn wrapper is a bit of a challenging task. Masa is spread using the back of a spoon or a masa spreader. Then, it is stuffed with the choice of filling. It is folded and tied with a kitchen string or thin stripes of corn husk. Tying the tamale helps keep it folded during cooking. Tamale is usually steam cooked, until it becomes firm. A steaming hot, delicious tamale is a perfect menu for parties and celebrations. If you are looking for tips on how to make tamales, you can go through the following sumptuous homemade tamale recipes.

Basic Homemade Tamale Recipe

Ingredients for Tamale dough
2 cups masa harina
2/3 cup lard
1 cup sour cream
1 can of beef broth
1 tsp baking powder
1 (8 oz) package dried corn husks
½ tsp salt

Ingredients for Tamale filling
1¼ lb pork loin
4 dried California chili pods
1 clove garlic
1 large onion, halved
2 cups water
1½ tsp salt

Preparation
Place pork along with garlic and onion in a skillet and add water to it. Bring it to boil. When it starts boiling, reduce the heat and allow it to simmer for about 2 hours, until the meat is cooked well.

Remove stems and seeds from the chili pods and place them in a saucepan. Add 2 cups of water and let it simmer for about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool down. Blend chili and water in a blender, until a smooth paste is formed. Then, strain this mixture and add salt. Shred the cooked pork and add to it one cup of chili sauce.

In a large bowl, mix a tablespoon of beef broth with the lard, until it becomes fluffy. Mix together masa harina, salt and baking powder and add the lard mixture to it. Add more broth if required, to make a spongy dough.

Now let's prepare the corn husks for wrapping. Clean the corn husks and soak them in a bowl of warm water to soften them. Spread the dough over the corn husks to the thickness of about ¼ to ½ inches. Add 1 tablespoon of meat filling at the center. Fold the sides of husks towards the center and tie with a string. Place tamales into the steamer and allow them to cook for about 1 hour.

Remove tamales from the husks and sprinkle the remaining chili sauce over them. Then add sour cream on the top.

Sweet Tamale

Ingredients
3 cups masa harina mix
1½ tsp baking powder
1 cup lard
1½ cups warm water
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup chopped pecans
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
2/3 cup raisins
1½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
Dried corn husks

Preparation
To make a tamale dough, first beat lard and salt, until it becomes fluffy. Then combine masa mix with water to make it fluffy and light. Then add baking powder, brown sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon to the masa mix and blend it well.

Clean the corn husks and soak them in warm water. Drain and pat dry. Spread 2 tablespoons of dough at the center of husks and add 1 teaspoon of raisins and pecans at the center of the dough. Then fold and tie the husks and steam in a steamer for about an hour.

Making tamales is quite a time-consuming process and may require a whole day. But once you have done it and tasted it, I am sure, you won't take it as a wastage of time. Its mouth-watering taste will get you appreciation from your family members and friends who would wish you prepare this dish again and again.