How to make tamales for your whole family (Makes approximately 30 pieces)
Text: Laura B. de Caraza Campos
1 kilo of thin dough for tortillas
½ kilo of lard
Salt to taste
1 kilo of chaya leaves
40 strips of banana leaf 25 centimeters long by 15 centimeters long
width
Filling:
1 kilo of pork loin ground
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs of oregano
1 onion halved
1 kilo of tomato ground with ½ onion and strained
1 tablespoon of lard
20 chopped olives
20 capers
½ cup raisins
2 sweet chilies or 1½ bell peppers, ginned and chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
For the sauce:
2 tablespoons lard or corn oil
1 medium onion sliced in feather
3 xcatics chiles or 2 güero chilies roasted, peeled, ginned and cut into strips
1½ kilo of tomato cooked in water, peeled, ground and strained
Salt and pepper to taste
2 chopped boiled eggs to decorate
Toasted and ground pepita to sprinkle
Preparation
The chaya leaves are cooked in 1¼ liters of water until soft, but taking care that they do not fall apart. They drain and separate the water where they were cooked.
The dough is mixed with the chaya cooking water at the same time and strained on a sky blanket cloth. It is put on the fire in a clay pot and when it boils, the butter and salt are added to taste. Leave it on the fire without stopping to move 20 minutes or until it is cooked, this is known when when you put a little dough on a banana leaf it comes off easily. The chaya leaves are placed on the banana leaf rectangles, a large spoonful of dough is added, spreading it well, filling it, a few more leaves of chaya and forming the tamales by folding the lateral ends of the leaf towards the center ; The same is done with the ends until they form a small rectangular package, they are put lying down in a tamalera or in a steamer and cooked for an hour or until they are easily detached from the banana leaf when unwrapped.
Filling
Cook the pork with water, herbs and onion until cooked, approximately 20 minutes. It is drained and the herbs and onion are removed.
The butter is heated and the ground tomato, salt and pepper are added to taste. Let it season. and add the rest of the ingredients, cook over low heat until everything is very well seasoned and the mince is thick.
sauce
In the butter or oil, season the onion and the sliced xcatic pepper. Add the tomato and salt and pepper to taste and leave until the sauce is very well seasoned.
Presentation
They are served arranged in an oval platter, bathed with a little sauce and sprinkled with the ground seeds.
