Peruvian Tamales Criollos Red tamales Peruvian style. One of the most traditional dishes of peruvian cuisine, people enjoy them for Sunday breakfast served with salsa criolla and crispy french bread rolls. Moist, slightly spicy, and with an exotic flavor provided by the banana leave wrapping; stuffed traditionally with pork or chicken. Try them you will love them!!! by CharoPeru | Edit…My Notes Requires Premium MembershipMy Notes ONLY YOU see your private notes, and they print with the recipe. 30-40 tamales 7 hours 3 hours prep Change to: tamales US Metric 2 lbs of peeled white corn 2 1/2 lbs pork chops (no bones) 6 dried red chilies 2 fresh yellow chilies, roasted (Aji MIrasol) 6 egg yolks 2 hard-boiled eggs, cut into eight pieces (wedges, not slices) 2 tablespoons vinegar 8 freshh garlic cloves, peeled 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 50 g roasted sesame seeds 100 g roasted peanuts (ground) 1/2 lb pork fat 2 cups water 100 g black olives (preferably Peruvian) 1
Red Peruvian Tamales are one of the most traditional dishes of peruvian cusine. Peruvian tamales are usually made stuffed with pork or chicken. The banana leaf wrapping gives them an exotic flavor.
If you cannot find banana leaves, then using corn husks will work and are available everywhere.
So how to make a Peruvian Tamales?
This recipe will make 10-20 tamales.
- 1 1/4 lbs pork or chicken without bones
- 1 lbs of peeled white corn
- 3 dried red chilies (cooked with stems removed)
- 1 fresh yellow chilies, roasted (Aji MIrasol)
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 hard-boiled egg, cut into eight wedges
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 4 fresh garlic cloves, peeled
- 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 25 g roasted sesame seeds
- 50 g roasted peanuts (ground, with a few set aside)
- 1/4 lb pork fat (lard)
- 1 cup water
- 50 g black olives (preferably Peruvian)
- 1/2 lb banana leaves (cut in 12-inch X 18-inch pieces)
- 5 ears corn on the cob (without kernels)
- string
If you can locate Peruvian white corn, that will give this recipe the most authentic flavor. However, you can use frozen corn as a substitute. It is preferable to grind the corn with a food processor or grinder. A blender will work in a pinch but you want very little water. Set the ground corn aside.
Cut the meat into medium size pieces. Make a marinade out of the salt, pepper, cumin, vinegar, and red dried chile. Marinate the meat for about an hour making sure the meat is well coated.
Use a teaspoon of lard to brown the meat, then pour the marinade and the water over the meat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for two hours. After two hours, remove the meat as set aside.
Take the broth and mix it into the ground corn, along with the lard, peanuts, sesame seeds, and egg yolks. Work the dough well until it makes air bubbles. Set aside.
Prepare the banana leaves by passing them quickly over an open fire or gas burner. This will bring out the flavors as well as make them more flexible for easier wrapping. Remember to take out the thick stem through the center of the leaf.
Now you have everything ready to put the tamale together. Take 3 spoonfuls of the dough and place it on the center of the leaf. Carve out a hole in the dough, and put a piece of the meat, an egg wedge, an olive and one peanut. Add a wedge of the fresh Aji Marisol. Then add a little more of the dough on top to close the hole.
As you wrap the leaf around the dough, close it tightly on all four sides. Use a second banana leaf to wrap the tamale again from the opposite direction. Use the string to wrap around to hold everything together.
Line the bottom of a deep pot with the corn cobs. On top of the corn cobs, place some banana leaves on top, then cover with just enough water to cover the leaves.
Place the wrapped Peruvian tamales standing on their ends so that the steam can easily penetrate around them. Cover the tamales with the rest of the banana leaves and cook for 4 hours.
While making Peruvian Tamales can take a lot of time, the effort is well worth the work.