Often eating during festivities in Mexico, tamales are served during Christmas, Mexican Independence Day, La Candelaria Day, Las Posadas, and the Day of the Dead. In this recipe, tamales are made with corn meal, stewed corn, stewed tomato, olives, butter, onion, bell pepper, milk, egg and salt. With just a few ingredients, you can make this popular Mesoamerica dish at home and serve it as an appetizer or enjoy it as a yummy snack. It can also make a very light meal and can be quite healthy and flavorful.

Traditionally, tamale is made of masa, which is a corn-based starchy dough, which is steamed or boiled inside a leaf wrapper. Tamales can be filled with cheeses, vegetables, fruits, meats, and chilies and seasoned with other spices and ingredients. The cooking liquid for steaming the tamale may also be seasoned to impart a subtle flavor on the masa.

Tamales can be traced back to the times of the Ancient Maya people, who prepared the dish during feasts as early as the Pre-classic Period, which stretched from 1200 to 250 BC. The Mayan people called tamales and corn tortillas the same term, “uah uah”. In Mesoamerica, versions of tamales were being cooked and served as early as 8000 to 5000 BC. The Tolteca and Olmeca civilizations, as well as the Aztec and Maya cooked tamales and used them as portable food in long journeys, particularly for hunters and travelers, as well as convenient food to support the armies. It was also cooked during the Inca Empire, long before the Spanish came to the New World. Tamale is called many different names in the different native languages of Mesoamerica.

In Mexico, tamales are made with masa mix or nixtamalized corn as well as vegetable shortening or lard. Wrapped in cornhusks or banana or plantain leaves, tamales are often filled with either savory or sweet ingredients depending on the region in which they are cooked, and steamed until firm. This recipe allows you to make tamales using your oven. Get more vegetable soup recipes here.

Ingredients

100gms corn meal (toasted very lightly in the oven)
150gms stewed corn
200ml stewed tomato
10 ripe olives
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 medium diced onion
½ cups diced bell pepper
100ml milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
Salt to taste

In a pan, boil the milk. Add the salt then gradually add the corn meal. Stir until smooth. To this, add the corn, sliced olives, and lightly beaten eggs. Mix well.

In a separate saucepan, melt the butter. Add the onion and sweet pepper. Allow them to simmer for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil. Toward the end of the cooking, add a pinch of sugar and salt to taste.

Stir all the ingredients and pour into a greased baking tray. Bake it for about 30-40 minutes in a preheated over at 285 degree F., or until the dish is golden brown.