Destination
Bogota
The story
Tamales santafereños are Bogotá's signature Sunday breakfast: enormous parcels of yellow corn masa wrapped in banana leaves and steamed for hours, filled with a specific and non-negotiable combination of pork, chicken, chickpeas, a slice of hard-boiled egg, cubes of potato, chopped carrot and a spoon of rice, all seasoned with cumin, achiote and lots of spring onion. Unwrapped at the table, eaten with a hunk of almojábana bread, a small cup of hot chocolate on the side. Sunday-morning ritual across Cundinamarca.
Method
Combine the pork, chicken, oil, onion, spring onions, garlic, cumin, achiote, salt, pepper, bay leaf and 2 litres of water in a large pot. Simmer 45 minutes until both meats are cooked through. Lift out the meats, cool, shred the chicken (discard bones), keep the pork in chunks. Strain the cooking liquid and reserve.
In a small pan, cook the rice in 200ml salted water for 8 minutes, until still slightly firm. Drain.
In a large bowl, dissolve the salt in the warm reserved cooking liquid. Slowly add the masarepa, stirring with a wooden spoon, until it forms a thick, spreadable paste (like porridge). Add the oil and mix well.
Set out the shredded chicken, pork chunks, cooked chickpeas, partially cooked rice, cubed potato, cubed carrot, sliced hard-boiled eggs and sliced spring onion. Everything should be in reach for assembly.
Lay a banana leaf square shiny-side down. In the centre, spoon a heaped ladle of masa (about 200g) and spread into a rectangle about 15cm x 10cm. On top of the masa, layer: 2 pieces of pork, a small handful of shredded chicken, a tablespoon of chickpeas, a tablespoon of rice, 3 cubes of potato, 2 cubes of carrot, 2 slices of hard-boiled egg, a scatter of spring onion.
Fold the sides of the banana leaf over the filling, then the ends, wrapping into a rectangular parcel. Tie tightly with kitchen string, both directions, so it holds shape during steaming. Repeat with the remaining 7.
Place a steamer rack in the bottom of a very large pot. Add water to just below the rack. Stack the tamales on the rack in a loose pile. Bring to a boil, then cover tightly and steam over medium-low heat for 3 hours. Top up the water every 45 minutes as needed.
Lift out the tamales with tongs. Let rest 10 minutes (they're molten hot inside). Serve one per person, in the leaf, and let each guest unwrap their own at the table. Serve with almojábana bread and a cup of hot chocolate on the side.
Tips
- It's a group project by tradition. Making tamales is faster and more fun with two or three cooks: one on masa, one on filling, one on wrapping. If you're making them solo, block out a full afternoon and put music on.
- Soften the banana leaves first. Pass each leaf briefly over a low gas flame or into a hot dry pan for 30 seconds until it turns from stiff to pliable and slightly glossy. Untreated leaves crack when you fold.
- Warm liquid for the masa. Warm reserved cooking liquid, not cold water, is what gives the masa its glossy, spreadable texture. Cold liquid clumps and doesn't hydrate the masarepa evenly.
- Tie tightly, both directions. Two lengths of string, one lengthways and one crossways, gives the parcel enough tension to hold shape through 3 hours of steaming. Loose ties give you leaking tamales.
- Freeze extras. Steamed tamales freeze beautifully wrapped in cling film. Reheat from frozen in a 180°C oven for 45 minutes, still in their leaves. The best Monday breakfast in Bogotá.
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