Many variations of ingredients can be used in making tamales. You can use a combination of beef and pork, use chicken, mole sauce, green, and red sauce. Sweet tamales made with corn, pineapple and raisings, there are so many combinations possible.
In the filling you can also add vegetable sticks, and green olives. Common vegetables used are potatoes, carrots, and bell peppers. You cut this into thin strips and put them alongside the meat filling. If you make sweet tamales you can add raisins
Tamales:
Ingredients:
1 bag of dry corn husks
1/2 cup of lard
1 lb of fresh masa
2/3 cups of chicken broth
1 tsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp of salt
Salsa Verde:
Ingredients:
1 lb of tomatillos (remove husks and wash)
1 garlic clove
3 Serrano or Jalapeño peppers (remove stems and wash)
1/4 cup of chopped cilantro
1 bell pepper
salt to taste
1 1/3 cup of shredded chicken
1 small onion chopped small
2 cups of broth for blending the sauce
Corn Husk:
To prepare the corn husks, soak them in a sink or large pot filled with warm water for about 40 minutes or until soft. Gently separate without tearing.
Preparing the masa:
In a large bowl add the masa, lard, salt, baking powder, and the broth. Use your hands to mix all the ingredients together. Add the chicken broth as your working the dough, a little at a time until you get to the consistency needed. You want the consistency of a medium thick cake batter. To test out your masa, drop a small amount (1 tsp) in a cup of water, if it floats it's ready.
Preparing green salsa:
In a pot add tomatillos, peppers, season with salt and cook on high heat for 15 minutes. minutes. In a blender add the cooked tomatillos and peppers, onion, garlic, cilantro, bell pepper, 2 cups of broth and blend until smooth. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a medium large skillet over medium high heat. once the oil is hot, pour the green sauce. Simmer the sauce for about on medium heat for about 20 minutes and add salt to taste. Stir the sauce constantly to make sure the flavors come together. Stir in the shredded chicken and simmer for 5 more minutes.
To form the tamales:
Spread masa (1/8 to 1/4 inch thick layer, or to preference) on the corn husk, add the filling (chicken in green sauce) Pick up two long sides of corn husk and bring them together, overlapping one over the other. Fold up the bottom section of husk tightly right up to the filling line. Leave top open. Secure it in place by loosely tying one of strips of husk around tamale. Repeat with remaining husks and dough mixture. Stand tamales on the folded bottom in prepared steamer (tamalera pot). Cover with tight fitting lid and steam for about 1 1/2 hours. A cloth can be used under the lid to make a tighter fit. During the cooking process carefully check that the steamer has enough water to continue to cook the tamales, add more water when needed.
Serving suggestion:
Serve warm, with a side of beans and your favorite rice, or eat the tamal just by itself.