Friday, September 16, 2011

Tamale Making 101

One of my favorite moments in El Salvador was learning to make Tamales! We got caught in a huge rainstorm while visiting some members in the afternoon and decided to hang around a bit while the rain slowed down. They were preparing to sell tamales that night, and we got to enjoy a rare glimpse into the process! I was having a great time sitting back and observing/photographing the art of tamale making, when they asked if I wanted to try. I was so excited to give it a go! I gotta say, it was much harder than it looked, but perhaps that's because I couldn't understand what they were telling me to do;) In the end we all had a good laugh at my lopsided tamale:) Moments like this really made our adventure in El Salvador special! Take a look... 

Weigh the corn
Boiling corn for tamales and pupusas





Banana leaves ready for tamales 


Spoon boiled corn mixture into middle of banana leaf
Add sauce, chicken, and diced potato
Fold it up (this part looks easier than it really is)

And here's mine! A bit lopsided if you can't tell;)

PS: I've got videos but can't seem to get them to upload... so perhaps I can get them posted soon!)

3 comments:

Unknown said...

What a fun experience, I would love to learn how to make them. On a side note I love how there is something blue in nearly every image :)

Whitney said...

Oh my goodness! That looks so very fun! I have always wanted to learn how to make tamales. We have friends that make them for Christmas each year to give out instead of treats. It's a really neat idea, because they deliver them frozen, and then you can have a delicious meal from them for later! Someday you will have to teach me! :)

Stephanie said...

Me gusto tamales! Love the images and your commentary, LJ. I think your lopsided tamale (wouldn't have know if you hadn't said something) is lovely. It has character! :)