Ingredients

My Story

This year was different, I got out of bed, and walked to the kitchen. The smell of roasted chicken and the fresh smell of salsa verde did not fill the air. I walked to the living room and saw my mom covered in blankets.

“Ma are we going to make tamales this year?” I asked sarcastically.

“You are more worried about tamales than me. Surely you and your brothers can do it.” She said smiling.

I started by making the thing that I had perfected, Pollo en salsa verde. I placed tomatillos, chiles, an onion, and garlic in a pot and covered it all with water, bringing it to a boil. When the tomatillos and chiles changed from a vibrant green to a dull green and the skins of the tomatillos began to crack, I added them into the blender until smooth, carefully adding salt to taste after every step. I slowly fried the salsa and added the chicken.

Every year on Christmas eve my family gathers around a small table with pots filled with tamale batter, and I still have no clue how to make the batter. 

“How do I make the batter?” I asked nervously.

“It's easy, start by adding cold lard to the mixer and mix it until the texture and color lighten.” 

She continued to guide me step by step. I carefully added baking powder, and salt, and gradually added masa and chicken broth to the batter. I continued to mix the wet chunky batter until it was light and fluffy.

Finally, it's time to assemble the tamales. I filled a Steamer with water while waiting for the water to come to a rolling boil, I scooped up the tamale batter and lightly covered part of the corn husk, and added a generous amount of the chicken in salsa verde. I folded the corn husk over to cover the filling. I filled up one Steamer with tamales and let them steam for 2 hours.

I ran to my brother's room, “Come help me make tamales.”

“Why would I waste my time helping?” My younger brother asked, laying down in his bed.

I ran to the kitchen and grabbed a tamal from the top of the Steamer. I ran back to the room balancing the hot tamale on my hand and gave it to him.

He took a bite, smiled, and walked with me to the kitchen.