Tamales are a most to celebrate the holidays in Colombia. There are many different types of tamales in the country, this variation is popular in the Andean region of Colombia and my favorite tamal recipe because it’s the way my mom make them.
What are Tamales?
Tamal is a traditional dish in Many Latin American countries. Every cook, region and family has its own variation. They use different fillings, cooking methods, ways to wrap the tamales, but the principal is the same.
There are many variations of tamales in Colombia, but they all have something in common and is that Colombian Tamales are all wrapped in banana leaves. This is one of the most popular dishes to eat during the Christmas season in the country, but I also love making them all year round for breakfast with arepa and Colombian Ají.
I am going to post many types of tamales recipes in my blog but to start let me introduce you the Tamales Antioqueños, from the region Antioquia, my hometown. This tamales recipe is my mom’s and they are delicious. Nobody makes them as good as my mother, but these came pretty close :). It is a tradition in my family to make these tamales for Noche Buena, our traditional Christmas Eve celebration, although we eat them year round as well.
Tips to Make Tamales
I suggest making the marinade a couple of days before to make the process easier, then the next day marinade the meat and place it in fridge overnight for extra flavor.
Then the next day assemble the tamales and you can cook them the same day or keep them wrapped in the fridge and cook them the day after.
Colombian Tamales Recipe
Ingredients
Marinade:
- 1 large onion chopped
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 large red bell pepper chopped
- 1 large green bell pepper chopped
- 4 scallions chopped
- 4 tablespoons ground cumin
- 3 tablespoons sazon Goya with azafran or Color
- Salt
- 2 cups water
Filling:
- 1 pound pork belly cut into 12 pieces
- 1 ½ pounds pork meat cut into 12 pieces
- 2 pounds bone in pork ribs cut into pieces
- 3 large potatoes peeled and diced
- 1 cup peas fresh or frozen
- 1 cup carrots peeled and diced
Masa
- 1 pound yellow precooked corn meal masarepa
- 5 cups water
- Salt
- ½ cup marinade
- 2 tablespoons sazon Goya with azafran or color
Wrapping:
- 2 pounds banana leaves cut into pieces about 15 inches long
- String
- Water and Salt to cook the tamales
Instructions
Marinade:
- Place all the marinade ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Reserve ½ cup of the marinade to prepare the masa.
- In a large plastic bowl place all the meat, add 1 ½ cups of the marinade. Mix well, cover and refrigerate overnight.
To prepare the masa:
- Place the masarepa in a large bowl, add the water, salt, sazon Goya or color and reserved marinade. Mix well with a wooden spoon or your hands.
To assemble the tamales:
- Wash the leaves well with hot water and set aside.
- Place 1 piece of the leaf on a work surface and place a second leaf on top, pointing in the opposite direction, like forming a cross.
- Spread ¾ cup of masa in the center of the banana leaves, at the point where they connect and form a cross. Place 1 piece of pork, 1 piece pork belly and 1 piece of rib on top of the masa and place about 1 tablespoon of peas, 1 tablespoon of carrots and 2 tablespoons of potatoes on top of the meat.
- Fold the banana leaves up, one of the four sides at the time, so that the leaves enclose all of the filling, like you’re making a package. Tie with butcher’s string. Continue the process until all the tamales are wrapped and tied.
- Bring a large pot with salted water to a boil. Add the tamales and then reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 1 hour and 45 minutes. Remove the tamales from the pot and let them sit for about 5 minutes before serving. Cut the string and serve in the leaves. Serve hogao on the side if desired.
Notes
- Banana leaves are sold in Latin and Asian markets.
- Colombian tamales are made with precooked corn meal. You can find it at Latin markets or Amazon.
- Tamales will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days and in the freezer for up to 1 month in a zip lock bag.
- To reheat the tamales: Steam your tamales for about 30 minutes or 45 minutes if if they are frozen or use the microwave for a faster method place one tamal on a plate, cover with a damp paper towel and microwave for about 10 minutes or until they are warm.
Nutrition
Some Colombian Tamales Variations
Tamales tolimenses, tamales Vallunos, tamales de pescado, tamales de pipian, tamales de Nariño, tamales Santandereanos and there are many more.
Conny Nichols
Hi Erica, thanks for the simplicity with which you present this otherwise complex recipe. I've always been somewhat intimidated to tackle these tamales, but I think I will give it a whirl now. Thank you.
I would only add that in your instructions, you didn't mention that the tamales should not be boiled in the water. I don't think that's clear. If people boil them in water, it'll be a big mess because the dough will leak through the leaves and spill into the water. Tamales have to be steamed on top of the water.
Thank you for this recipe.
Erica
Conny- I don't steam my tamales,I cook the in water.
Claudia
Conny in Colombia we boil our tamales, my Mon used to cook it for Noche Buena (Christmas Eve) and She always boiled. You need to make sure the tamales are well wrapped and tied.
Maria Sonia Patricia
In my family, we steam the tamales, never boil them. This is how my abuelita and my tias made them.
We know better than to mess with traditional family recipes
Elizabeth
Thank you so much again!!! I made the tamales on Saturday as a surprise and my husband loved them!!!! Now I have to make the tamales Tolimenses!
Elizabeth
Erica,
Another question..... my husband mentioned a while back that they ran fresh cut banana leaves over fire? Do you recommend that we do that or is washing them in hot water enough? He is from Colombia and my family is from México and this is my first attempt at these tamales. Thank you.
Elizabeth
Erica
Elizabeth- I wash them really good with hot water.
Elizabeth
Erica,
I haven't had any luck finding yellow, pre-cooked cornmeal. I do, however, have PAN, white cornmeal that I use to make arepas. Is it ok to sub the yellow cornmeal with PAN? Thanks for sharing your recipe! I'm making the tamales on Christmas eve as a surprise for my husband!
Liz
Erica
Elizabeth-PAN is perfect.
Diana Lopez
We made these tamales this past Saturday and to say that they were delicious would be an understatement because they were out of this world. I didn't use yellow corn meal because I personally think it has a funny, synthetic taste to it, so we made them with PAN white corn meal, and don't worry, the Sazón Goya will give them the yellow color. We followed this recipe to a T as far as the marinade and filling. Three packets of frozen banana leaves are plenty to make between 12-14 tamales and keep in mind that since they're very delicate, many of them will be ripped so we had to double wrap them. On top of that, we used aluminum foil to make sure water didn't get it. We also used our turkey fryer to steam them, put about 4 big balls of aluminum foil with the little leftover banana leaves at the bottom of the pot so that the tamales we put at the bottom didn't get burned. Filled the pot about 3-4 inches of water and steamed all 14 tamales for 2 hours. PERFECTION!!! Thanks again and again for all your wonderful recipes Erica!
Erica
Diana-Thank you so much for your feedback!
Brittany
What can i use in place of the banana leaves? tin foil or parchment paper or both?
Erica
Brittany- Foil
Priscilla
Hi Erica,
The last time I had tamales was at my aunts house five years ago. They look just like yours! I cant wait to make this for my moms birthday. I dont remember if the masa was all around? Or did it just cover the bottom and the corners on the top only? Can somebody please help. Do you use the masarepa PAN (the white one used for arepas) or do you use the yellow one?
By the way, Thank you for this recipe!
Erica
Hi Priscilla,
You can use white or yellow masarepa.....You will be adding color to the masa with the alinos.
When you wrapped the tamales like a package the masa will cover all the filling.
Gina
Erica,
Muchas gracias por esta receta! Se ve deli! Te queria preguntar si las carnes se ponen pre cosinadas, o si van crudas? Nunca he hecho tamales, conmo te daras cuenta asi que me quiero asegurar que tengo toda la informacion.
Gracias!
Elizabeth
Hola Gina,
Mi esposo me decia que ellos ponian las carnes precocidas, yo segui la receta al pie de la letra y las puse crudas y quedaron perfectos los tamales!!
Elizabeth
eric
Tamales ......look good..I am always fascinated to find different variations of Tamales...:)
I will try to make them.....I received a order for some Colombian Tamales....I sell them .....they sell like hotcakes....:)
thx ....eric
Robert Middleton
Hi,
My wife is from Bogota and I would love to buy here some Tamales by mail.
We live in St Louis and their are no restaurants here.
Do you know anyone who ships Colombian Tamales by mail.
Thanks,
Rob
Erica
Robert- I don't know anyone!
Conny Nichols
Hi Robert,
Imhope this answer is not getting tomyou too late. There is a great Colombian company that ships Colombian foods and such in the US. They are out of New Jersey but they ship nationwide now. I order all kinds of stuff to cook Colombian recipes and I've been very happy with their service. The nameof the companynis "Productos La Fe". Google them up and call them. Good luck!
Conny
Conny Nichols
Robert;
Productos La Fe is a Colombian import company out of New Jersey that sells and ships tamales as well as many other Colombian foods and ingredients nationwide. Google La Fe and I'm sure you'll find them interesting. I've been using them for years.
Camilo
Hola,
me llena de gran alegría encontrar este rincón de delicias colombianas. Aunque soy de Colombia veo varias preparaciones que no conocía y que haré. muchas gracias.
fab
To avoid the harness my mother put a good amount of vegetable oil in the dough and her tamlaes are spectacular.
ALso, the precooked corn meal brand also makes a big difference, my mom likes Harinapan that is made in VEnezuela...but any Harinapan is good.
We are from the Colombia Atlantic coas and our are really delicious.
Hope it helps
Jal
Well, maybe I did, overcooked them,although I don't know how I did that but, I will try them again. Thanks for your quick response.
Jal
Erica, thank you for the receipe. I made about a dozen tamales following your receipe, however they came out as hard as a brick, what did I do wrong? Somebody said I was to put CALABAZA in then to keep them soft, If this is so, what is CALABAZA and were do i find it in US.
Erica
Jal- We don't put calabaza in this recipe!!! I make these tamales all the time and they are moist and delicious! did you overcooked them?
Ingrid
Hi Erica,
I made tamales for Christmas. I added chicken and pieces of veal to them (along with the pork) and came out great. The wrapping with the leaves was difficult -I used way more than 1 lb.-, but I ended up double wrapping the tamal (already in the leaves) with plastic coated freezer paper so that no water would go inside, and it worked! The tamales were a hit! Thanks for your wonderful recipes...Have a happy New Year!
vicente perez
de pronto envolverlos en papel aluminio
Sonia
Hi Erica,
My husband is Colombian and I've been looking to recipes. I love your blog! I made the arroz con pollo and he loved it. I want to try to make the tamales. But I have a question. How much water do I need to cook them? Do I put the tamales totally under water to where they are covered with water?
Conny Nichols
Sonia, the tamales should not be boiled. They must be steamed. Make sure you don't submerge them in water, otherwise you'll have a big mess. The best way to steam them is in a large stock pot. This is rather rudimentary method but it really works well. Fill the pot about 5 inches with water. Place three rocks on the bottom, and one of those metalic steam baskets that you can get at any supermarket on the rocks. Start layering the tamales on the steamer in order to allow thhe steam to reach them all. Because steaming should be no less than an hour and a half, you have to constantly check the water level and continue adding boiling water to replace what you lost. Good luck. Erica has done a great job with this recipe.
Joe
Hi Conny, Sorry to contradict and some many years later but Colombian tamales are boiled in water. After all tamales are submerged in water and they are boiling, cover and ley simmer for at least one our...
vicente perez
Estoy de acuerdo con joe que se pueden cocinar en agua . En una olla a presion se pone 30 minutos , se apaga y se deja que se enfrie y ya se abre la olla.
los tamales tambien se envuelven en hojas de bihao o congo como las llaman en Caldas .
Los mejores son los que se hacen con el maiz cocinado y molido . los de areparina no quedan tan buenos . tampoco se le echa el tocino
Francijoe
Thanks..looks wonderful