Tamale - Tamales in Latin America, Tamales in the United States, Tamales in the Caribbean

9°26N 0°49W, pop (2000e) 197 000. Capital of Northern region, Ghana; 430 km/267 mi N of Accra; airfield; educational centre; cotton, groundnuts, civil engineering.

For the city in Ghana, see Tamale, Ghana. The tamale is wrapped in a corn husk for before cooking.

Tamales are an ancient American food, made throughout the continent for over 5000 years.

Tamales are difficult to make. The sides of the husk are folded and the newly made tamale is steam-cooked for an hour or until the masa has a cake-like consistency. Because of this, the making of tamales is often a social occasion, with friends and family all pitching into help make hundreds of tamales to be shared out.

Tamales in Latin America

Tamales are a favorite quick breakfast dish in Mexico, where street vendors can be seen serving them from huge, steaming, covered pots (tamaleras). In some places like Zacatecas, the tamale is often placed inside a wheat bread roll to form a torta de tamal, which is substantial enough to keep the breakfaster going until Mexico's traditionally late lunch hour. Another very traditional variation is to add sugar to the corn mix and fill it with raisins or other dried fruit and make a sweet tamale (tamal de dulce). To the south, banana-leaf tamales are also common in the neighboring countries of Central America.

To make a full meal, the tamale is often accompanied by atole, hot chocolate, or champurrado. They are generally large, similar in size to the tamales of southeastern Mexico.

In Guatemala, in addition to the El Salvador versions, there are Tamales without filling which are served as the bread or starch portion of a meal:

Tamal de elote (made with yellow corn, sometimes with a sweet taste) Tamalito de chipilin (made with Chipilin, a green leaf) Tamal blanco (simple, made with white corn)

During Christmas holidays, tamales of rice flour are a special treat for Guatemalans. The preparation time of this type of tamal is long, due to the amount of time required to cook down and thicken the rice flour base.

Corn-husk wrapped tamales are also popular in southeastern Cuba.

Peruvian tamales tend to be spicy, larger, and are wrapped in banana leaves. Smaller tamales wrapped in corn husks are called humitas, and are usually sweeter.

Tamales are also found in Colombia, where there are several varieties (including boyacense and santandereano). Ecuador also has a variety of tamales and humitas, they can be filled with fresh cheese, pork, chicken or raisins. Ecuadorian tamales are usually wrapped in corn husk or achira (aka Canna) leaves.

Tamales in the United States

The plural is tamales, and this is the form of the word most often seen in the United States among Hispanics, with the singular frequently given as tamale (seeming incorrect to other Spanish-speakers, who know the correct form is tamal) As tamales have acquired mainstream popularity in the United States, other fillings have become more common, such as beef; Tamales are popular as Christmas meals in the southwestern states of the USA. A basic modern southwestern tamale contains a spicy meat filling, usually shredded pork or beef, and is often served with a chili con carne sauce.

The green corn tamal (green, meaning "fresh") is made with fresh white corn, often mixed with cheese, then lined with a long green chile slice before it is rolled and wrapped in a husk. Tucson, Arizona, claims to be the originator of this tamal, and its popularity extends to southern California.

The tamale is a staple food along the Mississippi Delta.

Tamal's have taken on a new direction in recent years as the Nuevo Latino and New World chefs from Alta California (Rick Bayless)and Florida bring new diversity to this ancient food.

Tamales in the Caribbean

The tamale is also a staple in Belize, where it is also known (in English) by the Spanish name bollo. Confusion with the nomenclature also leads to the plural form being used as a singular: thus, "a tamales" [rare].

Wikibooks Cookbook has an article on Tamale

Another variation of the tamale is the pastelle found on the islands of Trinidad and Tobago.