Basic Dough For Tamales From Corn And Lime
This version starts with the raw ingredients: whole dried maize, limewash and water. Simple!
Ingredients
Making nixtamal
- 1 lb by dry weight of whole dried corn white, blue, yellow or other
- 1 tbsp pure slaked-lime putty
- water to cover
making tamal dough
- prepared whole nixtamalized maize (as above)
- 1/2 cup oil, vegetable shortening, butter or ghee or use less and add bicarb or baking powder
- 1/2 - 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda or baking powder (use in the reduced-fat version)
- 1/2 litre vegetable stock or water
- salt to taste
Instructions
Nixtamalizing The Corn
- Put the whole dried maize kernels in a pan and add enough water to cover
- Dissolve a tablespoon of slaked lime (calcium hydroxide, cal, limewash) in a little water and add to the pan
- Bring the pan to the boil and simmer the corn for about 15 minutes. Transfer to a non-metallic container and leave to soak, covered, overnight
- In the morning rinse the corn thoroughly until the water runs clear
Making the tamal dough
- Put all of the nixtamalized corn in a food processor. Add a quater of the liquid and grind using the main blade starting at low speed and gradually speeding up to high
- Gradually dd the fat and remaining stock, alternating in batches to obtain a atill slightly grainy texture similar to a stiff cake dough or peanut butter
The float test
- Put a small blob of dough into a cup of water. If it floats the tamal dough is ready. Otherwise add a little more fat and liquid (water if you've run out of stock).
- If you're making the reduced-fat version add the raising agent (bicarb or baking powder) now and briefly pulse the dough in the food processor just enough to mix it in, or turn the dough out into a bowl and gently stir it in by hand
- Chill the tamal dough for 20-30 minutes before going on to make your tamales. Chilling the tamal dough significanltly increases the chances of your dough passing the float test.