Honduran Tamale

How to Make Honduran Tamale

The word “Tamale means wrapped food” (“History”). No one knows for sure when the tamales were invented. “The tamales come in all shapes and sizes”,(“History”) and can be wrapped in banana leaves, other non-toxic leaves, or even paper. Some tamales can be made with beef, chicken, or pork; sweet tamales are made with raisins and cinnamon. In our family, tamales are made for special occasions, like Christmas, New Year's or just about any other family or holiday celebration.
First gather the ingredients for the Honduran tamales this will make approximately two dozen tamales:
- Ground corn or maseca 6 cups
- Pork 1 ½ pounds
- Lard 4 tbsp
- Chopped onions 3
- Garlic powder or 1 bulb
- Salt and pepper
- Potatoes 3 small
- Raisins 2 4 oz box
- Olives 1 8 oz jar
- Sugar
- Rice 1 cup
- Banana

Cook the dough until it is a bit chewy, so it could later be wrapped.
The third step is for the meat. Pork ribs can be used. Cut pork ribs into small pieces then marinate with onions, sweet peppers, garlic, salt, and pepper. The meat is cooked so that it can be more tender.
Your fourth step will be to prepare the recado that is the second dough, blend onions, sweet peppers, tomatoes, salt, garlic, and achiote that is used for color. Then, add and stir one cup of the white dough previously made. The use of rice is optional just, cook steam rice and cut potatoes into small square pieces. The potatoes will not need to be cooked.
On your fifth step you will prepare the banana leaves; put to boil until they turn a dark green color or almost black. Then skim off the veins of the leaves you will be using them later so don’t throw them away. Try to cut the leaves into squares, but if they crack or break when wrapping the tamales, use another leaf