Tamales are a vital preparation for Guatemalans as they adapt to any moment or meal, being used as a main dish or as a side in any lunch or dinner.
How to prepare them
Furthermore, they have the advantage that their preparation is very flexible in terms of the ingredients used, so it can change depending on the economy or the personal taste of each individual. They are most commonly consumed on Saturdays and at Christmas - for this time of year, black tamales are traditional, which are sweet because they are made with chocolate.
It is common to eat tamales with bread and they can be made with pork, turkey, hen or chicken and corn flour, rice, salpor, or a combination of these.
Something about their origin
The exact origin of the creation of the tamale is not known, but it is believed to come from the predominant cultures of Mexico that brought it to other lands and allowed its expansion throughout the continent.
Tamales were already described in Mexico by Fray Bernardino de Sahagún in General History of the Things of New Spain at the beginning of the sixteenth century.
There, it is mentioned that the tamale is not only food for common people, but is also desired by the nobles and priests in special fasting ceremonies.
Its easy method of preparation allowed for this and drove different peoples to exercise variations in preparation based on the products provided by their lands and culinary customs on each side. Although tamales are now found in almost all countries in America, in each of them their method of preparation, size, and ingredients used vary significantly.
In Guatemala, a wide variety of tamale styles are presented.
The most recognized are the colored tamale, black tamale, Chipilín tamalitos, Cambray tamalitos, chepes or tayuyos, travel tamalitos, corn tamalito, paches, and chuchitos.
The colored tamales
Colored tamales are among the most common and are made with a rice or corn dough topped with a special tomato sauce, a piece of meat - it can be beef, chicken, pork, duck, or turkey, a strip of bell pepper, and an olive.
It is wrapped in a salt leaf and then in a banana leaf. This dish is very typical in Saturday night gatherings in Guatemalan homes and a tradition on Christmas nights.
In the Western region of the country, they are generally prepared with rice or a mixture of rice and corn with pork or chicken.
The black ones
Another very popular recipe is that of black tamales, made with the same base as the colored ones but distinguished by their sweet flavor and dark color given by the coffee sauce.
They contain chocolate and are usually decorated with raisins, prunes, and almonds.
Cambray tamalitos are sweet bean tamalitos made of corn dough with raisins with an anise flavor. Part of the dough is colored with a red sauce and is accompanied by sour cream.
Chepes or tayuyos are made of a black bean filling shaped like a tortilla and the famous chuchitos are a spectacular delight of corn dough with dried cheese accompanied by a somewhat spicy tomato sauce and meat, all wrapped in tusa, which is the husk that covers the corn.
These are just some of the countless options of tamales presented by Guatemalan cuisine, which offers a rich variety of flavors, sizes, fillings, and accompaniments.
