- Tamales de Rajas (Chile and Tomato Tamales)
14 tamales
1 1/2 pounds prepared masa, or 2 2/3 cups coarse masa harina
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons lard
2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
7 tablespoons warm chicken stock
If using prepared masa, break up in a large bowl. If using masa
1 1/2 cups plus 3 tablespoons
warm water.
Mix well and allow to sit 15 minutes. Add the baking powder to
either dough and mix it well.
Add the lard if it is fresh (soft). If the lard is the block type,
whip it as much as possible to get it light, then add it to the
masa. Mix in the lard well by hand or electric mixer.
Add salt to the warm stock and add to the dough, stirring well.
Taste and add more salt if necessary. You should be able to taste
the salt, but it should not be salty.
Whip the masa well until light.
1/2 tablespoon lard, sunflower oil, or vegetable oil
1 1/2 medium white onions, halved and thinly sliced
3 chiles de agua or 4-5 jalapenos, roasted, peeled, seeded, deveined and cut into strips
2 medium or 8-10 plum tomatoes, cut into chunks
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
Heat the oil in a large saute pan. Add the onions and saute until
translucent.
Add the chiles, tomatoes, garlic, salt and pepper and cook through,
about 10 minutes. Allow to cool.
1 package (about 6 ounces) cornhusks, soaked
1/2 hour in water to soften
1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken or pork
Tear 3 or 4 corn husks into strips. Tie two strips together and knot them at one end to make an extra long tamale tie. Repeat to
make 12 ties. Keep them in warm water.
Blot the soaked cornhusks dry. Put one in your hand and spread a
spoonful of masa in a rectangle toward the wider end of the husk,
leaving about 1/2 of husk empty.
2 tablespoons of filling and then
2 pieces of chicken or pork.
Lay the tamale on the table horizontally and join the two long edges
of the husk and roll up until firm. The filling should be enclosed.
Fold the thin side over the fat-filled end to double it. Secure it
with the ties made of shredded husks. Repeat with the rest of the
masa.
Fill a steamer with salted water to the level of the rack. Cover
rack with extra cornhusks, and fill the steamer with the tamales.
Cover and weight the lid to keep it snugly closed.
45 minutes to
1 hour, or until
the tamale separates easily from the husk.
