A makeover for an old dish

I think every family has a secret recipe, a favorite dish prepared with love during many generations; a dish that represents that family’s history, its roots, and its evolution. In my family, that dish would have to be tamales, a typical dish of El Salvador, which if made the very traditional way, are very non-ayurvedic! Besides, it is a very elaborate dish, taking hours of preparation and requiring up to 2 or 3 people to help in the process!

The tamal uses corn flour to make a dough which is filled with chicken or pork and certain types of vegetables. All the ingredients are “bundled” using a banana leaf, and they are steamed until the dough is cooked. The dough itself must have lard (i.e. pure pork grease) in order to take on the desired shape and taste. My family’s secret, and truly what makes them the most delicious tamales anywhere (really) is the tomato and spice sauce that is put into the dough. I don’t know who originally came up with this recipe; I do know that my mother got it from her great grandmother and now I am responsible for handing it down in the family.

Because of the time consuming process of preparing tamales, they are usually only made for very special occassions; in my family they are an absolute requirement for Christams Eve. It is our family tradition to make tamales on the 23rd and enjoy them on December 24.

Actually now that I think about it, the sauce could be considered ayurvedic (with a little imagination and lenience): the spices include oregano, cumin, basil, garlic, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, black pepper, salt, and 3 different variety of chili pepper. The spices are roasted and then they are mixed together with the tomato, making a thick sauce.

Many years ago, when I first stopped eating red meat, the tamales at home were made only using chicken or turkey. Another modification to the recipe was completely foregoing lard, and we now use any other cooking oil (sunflower or corn) as a substitute. Granted, that is still not an acceptable, ayurvedic substitution, but there really is no other way to give the dough the required consistency. Last Christmas, we tried vegetarian tamales for the first time. It was an unconventional change, but it was the only way that I could still enjoy this family dish….

During her recent visit to Madrid, my mother could not escape the task of making tamales with me, especially as a close friend had said she wanted to learn how to make them the traditional way. So we woke up early that day to pre cook and chop the ingredients; preparing for the most tedious part of the process, preparing the dough. This can take up to 2 hours, during which the dough has to be slowly stirred to keep it from sticking to the pot. Normally, we take turns so that our arms don’t fall off…. Once the dough is prepared, you have to make the bundles, placing the dough on the banana leaf and placing all the ingredients in the little “package”. We split into teams. On one side, the chicken tamales, on the other side, the vegetarian tamales. Anyone reading this who is a tamal lover like me will put their hands on their head in disbelief! But, although the vegetarian version will never compete with the taste of the original recipe, it is a healthy alternative worth considering. Anyone interested in knowing what veggies we’ve used, drop me a line.

Next Christmas, tofu tamales??

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