Noche 5 en Oaxaca: Tamales!

Once a week, we get to participate in a Mexican cuisine cooking class.  This week our instructor Luz taught us how to make tamales colados de pollo, tortillas de maíz, memelas, ceviche vegetariana, and pizza de frutas.  We helped prepare all aspects of the meal and had a great time learning, talking, and eating.

 la cal = calcium hydroxide, aka lime

Luz, our cooking instructor, ground whole dried corn kernels with lime to make the masa de harina.  It was eye opening getting to see and feel lime, since I've only seen it listed as an ingredient on nutrition labels.

The masa de harina was mixed with chicken broth, cooked garlic, and lard.  To make extra tender tamales, Luz presses her masa through a colador (colander). We all got a chance to work with the dough and I had "the touch" because I was able to make the masa pass through the mesh the fastest.

For the salsa: tomatoes, onions, and cloves of garlic were cooked in a pot, then puréed with salt, chicken broth, and tiny chiles de simojoveles (pica mucho!). Shredded chicken was folded in later.

Chiles de simojoveles are extremely spicy.

Hojas de Maíz (Corn Husks)

Tamale Process: First, a scoop of masa.  Then make a well in the masa and add a ladleful of sauce, being careful not to overfill. Fold the husk in half, then fold the sides in to make a compact package.  Pack the tamales close together on top of a steamer basket in a big pot to be steamed for about 1 hour.  Packing them correctly is very important, otherwise they will cook unevenly.

Luz's assistant demonstrated how to use the tortilla press, then we each made our own memela, which is a corn tortilla that is más grueso (thicker) than normal.  After we all had a turn, Luz whipped out a stack of tortillas she made earlier and said, "Just like on TV!" 

The name for the dish is also memela.  Similarly, tostada is the name of a dish and the tortilla used is called a tostada.

We cooked the tortillas on a traditional ceramic comal, which is a huge hot plate.  After the tortillas were cooked on both sides, we topped each with black bean sauce, chopped onion, salsa rojo, and queso fresco. The homemade tortillas were so tender and flavorful and took these memelas to the next level.

We made ceviche vegetariana with cucumber, tomato, onion, cilantro, some sea salt and olive oil, and lots of lime juice.

I loved this dessert idea. We split into 3 groups and all created a "pizza" topped with a variety of fruits, "queso" (i.e. coconut), and a little honey.

After the meal was complete, Luz showed us this placard that says, "To cook is to make edible love." Sí, es verdad!