Amazonian Corn Tamales (Tamalitos)
Tamalitos Say it: tah-mah-LEE-tohs
Tamalitos are the small, banana-leaf-wrapped corn tamales of Peru's Amazonas region, sold at breakfast stalls and served as a warm appetizer. Fresh corn is ground and cooked down with lard and achiote until it turns deep gold, then layered with a little stewed chicken, hard-boiled egg and olive. Smaller and simpler than the coastal tamal, each parcel steams open to a tender, savory crumb that smells of corn and annatto.
Amazonian Corn Tamales (Tamalitos)
Tamalitos
Pronounced tah-mah-LEE-tohs
- Serves
- 4
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 1 hr
- Total
- 1 hr 30 min
- Level
- Medium
Ingredients
Amounts are scaled. Cooking times and pan sizes stay the same.
Corn dough
Chicken filling
To assemble
Method
Rinse the banana leaf squares and pass each one briefly over a low gas flame or dip it in boiling water for a few seconds until glossy and pliable; pat dry. If using corn husks, soak them in hot water for 30 minutes and drain.
Start the filling. heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook the onion for 5 minutes, until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and ají panca paste and stir for 1 minute, until fragrant and brick red.
Add the tomato, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes, until the mixture is thick and jammy. Add the chicken and the 2 tbsp water, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and shreds easily (165°F / 74°C).
Shred the chicken with two forks, raise the heat and cook for 3–4 minutes, until the juices cling to the meat rather than pooling. Scrape into a bowl and let cool.
Make the dough. blend the corn with the water in batches to a coarse purée, keeping a little texture. Melt the lard with the achiote paste in a wide pot over medium heat for 2 minutes, until deep orange.
Add the corn purée and salt and cook, stirring constantly, for 8–10 minutes, until the dough is thick enough to hold a spoon upright and pulls cleanly away from the pot. Let it cool for 10 minutes.
Assemble. lay a leaf square flat, spread about 1/3 cup (80 ml) dough in the centre into a rough rectangle, and top with 2 tbsp filling, an egg wedge and two olive halves. Fold the sides over the filling, then the ends, to make a flat parcel, and tie it with thin strips of leaf or kitchen twine. Repeat with the rest.
Line a large pot with spare leaves, stand the parcels seam-side up, and add enough hot water to come three-quarters of the way up. Weight them with a heatproof plate, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer gently for 45–50 minutes, until the dough is firm and pulls cleanly from the leaf.
Lift out the tamalitos and rest them for 10 minutes before unwrapping, so the dough sets. Serve hot.
Regional variant: Green Tamalitos (Tamalitos Verdes)
In Piura and further north, the dough is blended with a large handful of cilantro and a few huacatay leaves (or mint) instead of achiote, so it stays pale green, and the filling is a simple stewed chicken without olives. Use the same quantities and method, adding the herbs to the blender with the corn and omitting the achiote paste; the dough needs the same 8–10 minutes of stirring until thick.
Cook's notes
- Cooking the corn dough before wrapping is what gives tamalitos their firm, sliceable texture — don't skip this step or the parcels turn gluey.
- Fill each parcel only two-thirds full, because the dough swells as it steams and can burst the leaf.
- To test for doneness, open one tamalito: the dough should release from the leaf cleanly and feel springy, not wet, in the centre.
Serve with
Salsa criolla, a squeeze of lime, and a cup of hot coffee or herbal tea — the way they are eaten for breakfast in Chachapoyas.
Make ahead and storage
Cool completely in the leaves and refrigerate for up to 3 days, or freeze for 2 months; re-steam for 15 minutes (25 minutes from frozen) before serving.
