"I was so sad when I became vegan because I thought I’d be giving up on my family and cultural traditions, but thankfully, I was so wrong! For the past five or six years, I’ve been trying many vegan recipes and tweaking them here and there to come up with something that saves time in the kitchen, while also not compromising much of the taste and texture. Here’s what I’ve come up with!"
Easy Tamales
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Prep time: 30mins
Cook time: 45mins
Serves or Makes: 40
Recipe Card
ingredients
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil
- 1 medium red onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 large sweet potato
- 1 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika
- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup of vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon of hot sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
Method
Step 1
Pour hot water into a large baking dish or stockpot and add the dried corn husks. Let them sit for 15 to 20 minutes until they have softened.
Step 2
Using an electric mixer, beat together the corn flour, vegetable broth, vegetable oil (or shortening), baking powder, garlic powder, and salt. You can also mix it by hand, but it’s a much easier process with an electric mixer.
Step 3
Pat dry a corn husk, lay it flat, and spread a spoonful of dough to cover most of the corn husk. All corn husks are different sizes, so each tamal may look differently. Once the dough is spread out, add one to two tablespoons of filling vertically to the middle of the tamal. Bring both sides of the corn husks together until the dough seals. Then, close up the husks (see above for photos of how to do it).
Step 4
In a large stockpot with a steamer basket, add all the tamales and bring water to a boil. Once boiling, lower to a simmer for 45 minutes. If you find that the masa is still meal-y, continue steaming for another 30 minutes. This is particularly relevant when layering your tamales on top of each other.