Destination
Arequipa
The story
Tamal criollo is Lima's Sunday-morning tamal: a soft, yellow masa made from fresh ground corn (mote or corn ground with water and lard) is filled with a piece of chicken cooked in ají panca, a wedge of hard-boiled egg, a black olive and a raisin, then wrapped in banana leaves and steamed for 90 minutes until the masa is set and infused with the chicken juices. Sold at every Lima Sunday-morning tamal cart — the tamalera women who set up under umbrellas in every neighbourhood before the churches empty — and eaten with a small dish of salsa criolla on the side and a fresh crusty roll. It's the Sunday breakfast the entire city eats.
Method
Warm oil in a heavy pot. Cook onion 6 minutes; add garlic 60 seconds. Add ají panca, ají amarillo, cumin, oregano and salt. Cook 3 minutes to bloom. Add chicken thighs and stock. Simmer 25 minutes until cooked through. Lift chicken out and shred; reserve 150ml of the cooking liquid for the masa.
Combine cooked corn, lard, ají amarillo paste, ají panca paste, salt, pepper and the reserved chicken stock in a food processor. Pulse to a slightly chunky paste — you want texture, not a purée. It should hold on a spoon.
Pass each banana leaf briefly over a gas flame or hot pan (2 seconds a side) to soften. Wipe with a damp cloth. Cut into rectangles about 25 x 25cm.
Lay a banana leaf on a work surface, shiny side up. Spread 4 tbsp of masa in a 12 x 8cm rectangle in the middle. Top with a piece of shredded chicken, a wedge of hard-boiled egg, 2 olives, a few raisins and (if using) 2 peanuts.
Fold the two long sides of the leaf over the filling from the sides. Fold the top and bottom over to make a rectangular parcel. Turn seam-down. Tie with two loops of kitchen string to secure. Repeat until you have 12 tamales.
Set up a large steamer with 5cm of water. Line the bottom of the steamer basket with extra banana leaves. Stack the tamales in the basket, seam-down. Cover with more banana leaves and a tight lid. Steam over medium-high heat for 90 minutes, topping up water every 30 minutes.
Turn off the heat and rest tamales 15 minutes in the covered steamer. This firms up the masa.
Set 2 tamales per plate, still in their leaves. Diners unwrap themselves. Spoon salsa criolla generously across each. Serve with a fresh crusty roll (for making a sandwich by splitting the tamal masa and stuffing into the roll — the classical Sunday-morning move) and ají amarillo salsa on the side.
Tips
- Fresh corn if you can find it. Peruvian choclo (large-kernel white/yellow corn) is the classical base. Any Latino grocer sells it frozen. Regular corn kernels or hominy are the practical substitute.
- Chunky masa, not smooth. Pulse in the processor rather than blending. The classical texture has visible corn kernels alongside the smooth base.
- Banana leaves, not corn husks. This is what distinguishes coastal Peruvian tamales from Mexican or highland-Peruvian humitas.
- Salsa criolla is the classical partner. Do not serve without it. The acid-and-crunch cuts the richness of the masa.
- Freezes well. Wrap unsteamed tamales tightly and freeze; steam directly from frozen for 2 hours. A stack of tamales in the freezer is a Peruvian household staple.
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