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Photo by Ellen Calloway; food styling by Alex RyserTamal traditions
By Kathleen Furore
©2004 Maiden Name Press LLC
Don Carlos Taco Shop in La Jolla, Calif. offers a variety of tacos and 29 kinds of burritos. But the tamales are what give Seidy Hill and family a competitive edge in an area now inundated with Mexican restaurants.
"We started making tamales just on Sundays because that's a Mexican tradition," explains Hill, who owns Don Carlos Taco Shop with her husband Mike, sons Ryan and Kyle, and daughter Cassie.
"We soon saw that during the week, people were calling and asking for more, so we embarked on the tamale adventure," Ryan adds. "Now we have so much competition that this sets us apart. You can go anywhere to get a Carne Burrito, or Rolled Tacos. But there is only one place that you can come to get 16 different tamales!"
In addition to traditional beef, chicken (with red or green mole) and sweet pineapple-raisin tamales, the Hills offer a seasonal turkey tamale, a favorite smothered in green mole chile and wrapped in light red masa. Other variations include 3-Bean with pinto beans, garlic, black beans and green beans; Harvest (with corn, zucchini, carrots, dry-roasted chiles sautéed with onions, garlic and spices); the all-natural Soyrizo made with pinto beans, and Soyrizo soy filling; and such sweet offerings as Pumpkin with spaghetti squash, The Cran-Malee with dried cranberries, and The Tropical with peaches and mangos.
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El Cholo green corn tamales
Tamales are recorded as early as 5000 BC, possibly 7000 BC in pre-Columbian history, according to Alice Guadalupe Tapp, who opened Tamara's Tamales in Culver City, Calif. with daughter Tamara in 1996. She also is the author of "Tamales 101: A Beginner's Guide to Making Traditional Tamales" (Ten Speed Press, 2002).
Initially, says Tapp, women were taken along in battle to make masa for the warring Aztec, Mayan and Incan tribes. But as those tribes grew, preparing so much nixtamal (the processed corn used to make masa) became overwhelming, and the women decided to create a more portable food. Hence the tamal — which could be made ahead, packed, and then warmed as needed — was born.
In ancient times, tamales were filled with most any ingredient available, Tapp notes. Fillings included red, green, yellow and black chiles, chocolate, fish, frog, tadpole, mushrooms, rabbit, gopher, turkey, bee, egg, squash blossom, honey, ox, seed and nuts.
Today, red and green chile, chicken, pork, beef, cheese, vegetables and sweet ingredients like raisins and pineapple are most popular.
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Day of the Dead Sweet TamalesOnce served only during the holidays (especially during Day of the Dead celebrations and the Christmas season), tamales are becoming a popular, regular item on restaurant menus. Tapp agrees with the Hills that making tamales is worth the time and effort, but stresses how important quality is in the success of the finished product.
"You have to educate restaurant owners about the process of making tamales, because the better they are, the more of them they'll sell," says Tapp, noting that many chefs include too much masa per tamale or don't process it correctly. "You have to have a lot of filling and a lot of sauce and a moistness to the masa," she advises. "If customers say they have tried tamales and don't like them, say, 'You haven't eaten ours!' Tamales can really help market the Hispanic foodservice industry."
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El Torito's Tamal Oaxaqueño with Mole ColoraditoExamples of regional names for tamales:
Source: Tamales 101: A Beginner's Guide to Making Traditional Tamales by Alice Guadalupe Tapp (Ten Speed Press)
And did you know ... Tamalli is the Nahuatl word for tamales?
Tamales were considered a gift of the gods on the tables in Mexico, Central and South America and some Caribbean countries?
Superstition has it that a chef must be in a good mood when cooking tamales or they will come out raw?
— Source: Jesus Bojorquez, "The Masa Man" from Maseca
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