The pre-Hispanic origin of tamales is documented, especially by Sahagún, who offers a true recipe book about it. Many of the tamales that he consigns had a ritual character and those that were linked to funeral rites abound, a custom inherited until today.
The offerings that are still made in towns in the states of Michoacán, Mexico, Puebla, the Valley of Mexico and other regions of the country, contain various foods and among them the tamales stand out.
By tamale (which comes from the Nahuatl, tamalli) we understand a food based on corn dough, filled with various ingredients, wrapped as a package in vegetable leaves, to be cooked later.
Although the most frequent tamales in Mexico are wrapped in corn cob leaf or banana leaf in coastal and tropical areas, there are also varieties that are wrapped in leaves of other plants: reed, chilaca, papatla and cornfield leaf. that is, of the corn plant.
The most widespread cob leaf tamales are green (with tomato sauce and pork meat), mole poblano with turkey meat, rose-colored sweets with raisins and those with tender corn, which are also sweet; Now the ones with poblano pepper strips or jalapeños with cheese are added to the list.
In the genre of those wrapped in banana leaf, the Oaxacan ones with mole negro and the coastal ones with tomato sauce stand out. In various states of the highlands, neutral butter tamales are used to accompany some stew and bean tamales are common in peasant communities.
These foods are usually steamed, although some are cooked in a pit, such as barbecue, or in the oven.
Although an encyclopedia could be written about tamales because of their enormous variety, this list of the most outstanding is worth now. In Aguascalientes they make bean tamales with slices, pineapple with rompope, pineapple with biznaga and sweets, made from peanuts. In Baja California there are some tamales from Güemes, with pork and chicken meat, olives, raisins and olive oil.
In Campeche they prepare a tamale with a sophisticated guajillo chili sauce, achiote, tomato, garlic, onion and spices; Its filling contains, in addition to the dough and pork meat, olives, capers, raisins and almonds. They make them similar on the Chiapas coast, adding chopped carrots and potatoes, peas, peppers and boiled eggs.
In Coahuila and other northern states, they use very small cob leaf tamales, which are usually filled with shredded meat and dried chili sauce; towards the Lagunera region they make spinach tamales; in Colima, the regal tamales with rice and pork ribs.
