I’ve been wanting to make vegetarian green chile tamales for a long time now, and the August 2012 Daring Cook Challenge inspired me to get it done! Rachael of pizzarossa challenged cooks to broaden their knowledge of cornmeal. Since I already use quite a bit of cornmeal, I decided to work with a cornmeal product – masa harina or ground hominy – which is used for tamales.
Bobby and I both love tamales but I always feel guilty about eating traditional tamales because of all of the lard. These corn, mushroom and green chile tamales use canola oil (or butter*), vegetable broth and a few sauteed vegetables. The total time – about 2.5 hours – is a lot shorter than traditional tamales that can take the whole day. This recipe makes 18 – 20 tamales.
For a vegan tamale use canola oil and follow the recipe as is. If you don’t mind butter, refer to the Kitchen Notes for a little change in the process.
Corn, Mushroom and Green Chile Tamales
A delightful tamales made with corn and mushrooms and New Mexico chile. Uses oil in place of lard.
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“*” See Kitchen Notes for more information or links to special ingredients.
- About 24 dried corn husks
- Flat casserole dish for re-hydrating corn husks
- Flat casserole dish that fits inside larger one
- Steamer than can hold 15 – 18 tamales
- Large bowl for masa and tamales ingredients
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 small onion, diced (about 1 cup)
- 3 large garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ tsp. ground cumin
- 1 cup corn, frozen or fresh
- 2 cups diced fresh button mushrooms, 2 – 4 large mushrooms
- ½ cup chopped roasted, peeled green and/or red chile
- ½ tsp. oregano
- 2 cups masa harina
- ½ tsp. salt
- ¼ cup canola oil*
- 2 cups vegetable broth, chicken broth or water
- You’ll need two casserole dishes, a large one and one that fits just inside it.
- Loosen the corn husks and lay them flat in the larger dish.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Remove from the heat and pour over the husks. Place the smaller casserole dish on top to hold the husks in the water.
- Let the husks soak until ready to assemble the tamales.
- Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium low heat. Add the onion, garlic, and cumin and sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add the corn and mushrooms. Sauté for another 2 minutes (or until the mushrooms start to release their water).
- Add the green chile and oregano. Cook for 1 minute and remove from heat.
- In a large bowl, combine the masa and salt. Stir to combine.
To the masa, add the canola oil and 1 3/4 cups broth. Using a rubber spatula, mix to combine ingredients.
- Add the vegetables and stir until vegetables are incorporated into the masa batter. The batter should be the thickness of a thick, but not dry. Add a little water if you think it’s too thick.
- The masa mixture should be the density of a thick quick bread batter. If not, add the rest of the broth and mix into the masa. (The masa will thicken as it sets during assembly.)
- Select one of the narrow corn husks to create tamales ties. Tear the husk into thin strips about ¼ inch wide.
- Pull a corn husk from the water shake off excess water. Using a spatula, place about ½ cup tamale mixture lengthwise down the center on the wide half of the husk. (You’ll be folding the husk in half once they have been rolled so don’t go too far down the husk.)
- Fold one side of the husk over the filling and press to shape. Continue roll the remaining husk around the masa. You should have a tapered cigar looking shape with the top half fat and happy with masa.
- Fold the lower, unfilled portion of the husk up and on top of the filled half. Wrap one of the ties around the tamale and tie into a knot.
- Repeat until the tamale filling is gone. (Instead of wrapping and folding, you could fold the husks around the masa mixture, then tie at both ends as shown below.)
- Place some of the extra corn husks around the sidewalls of the steamer.
- Place the tamales in the steamer, standing up on the closed ends. If the tamales do not fill the steamer enough to stand up relatively straight, use extra corn husks to separate the tamales and help them to stand up.
- A pot of steamed tamales
- Spread a couple of corn husks across the top of the tamales. This keeps water from the lid from dipping into the open ends of the tamales.
- Place the lid on tight and steam the tamales for an hour.
- Remove from the heat, uncover, and let sit for 10 minutes. Remove one of the tamales and let sit another 2-3 minutes.
- Test a tamale by opening it up. If the husk doesn’t pull away from the steamed dough, then steam the tamales for another 10 minutes and test again. NOTE: Some of the cheese will melt and stick to the husk. Don’t worry about that. Just scrape a knife or fork between the husk and the tamales to unstick. However, if the masa is sticking to the husk, then they need to steam a little more.
Butter instead of canola oil – Using butter instead of canola oil yields a little different texture and flavor. We love both but but prefer the tamales made with butter. So if you choose to use butter, then melt 4 tablespoons of butter in the skillet for sauteing the vegetables. Saute’ the vegetables as instructed. OMIT the oil in the masa. Just add the vegetables and the butter into the masa mixture and combine.
Assembly – Mixing the vegetables in with the masa saves A LOT of time and the assembly is much easier than laying down the masa then scooping the vegetables on top. If the batter starts getting a little dry during the assembly process, add a little water and incorporate it into the batter. This makes the batter easier to spread.
Chile – I used New Mexico roasted green and red chiles (surprise, surprise 🙂 ); however, poblano, serrano, jalapeno, or even sweet peppers for a milder tamale would work fine. The amount of chile can vary according to how hot you do or do not want your tamales. I use hot chiles, but once added to the other vegetables and the masa, the outcome is a medium spice.
Broth – Use water, chicken broth or vegetable broth.
Wrapping the tamales – The traditional way for tamales is to place the masa mixture on the top half, down the middle of a husk, then roll and fold. Use a small strip of husk to make a tie to hold the husk folded (as shown in the picture). This creates a tamale open at one end, folded at the other, and tied in the middle. One thing that helps to keep water from dripping into the open ends during the steaming process, is to wrap the interior of the steamer with corn husk and, if necessary, divide the tamales into rows by inserting extra corn husks. This helps the tamales stand up straighter in the pot and adds gaps between tamales for better streaming results. Before covering, spread two husks across the top to cover the ends of the tamales
Recommended serving ideas:
- Smother with red chile sauce or green chile sauce.
- Top with black olives, fresh diced onions and tomatoes, then a little grated cheese. Pop in the microwave for 2 minutes and enjoy! We LOVED them this way! My Cantaloupe and Walnut salad made a great side dish!
- As an appetizer – Cut them into bite size pieces and serve with a dip such as a pepper sauce, chile sauce, or harissa.
- These tamales freeze very nicely. When ready to use, just thaw and heat in the microwave for 2 minutes and they are ready to go!
If you like these Corn, Mushroom and Green Chile Tamales, then you’ll love my other tamales as well:
Have you ever steamed tamales in a crock pot? We are a military family living in Japan and have limited space and limited cooking pots and pans. I am trying not to buy more.
Hey Dianne, I personally have never tried it because I don’t have a crockpot, but a friend of mine uses his. He says it takes about 2 – 2 1/2 hours. Be sure that the tamales are standing upright just like in a steamer. Of you give it a try, please let me know how it turns out. Thanks for your question!
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Very impressive to see someone make homemade tamales! My husband loves them & I love that these are vegetarian!! Thanks so much for sharing this at Mom’s Test Meal Mondays!
Thank you Jaime! These are easier to make than traditional tamales, so you should give them a try especially since you both love them.
Hey, MJ. I came for the soba noodle spring rolls (from Nami’s blog) and stayed for the tamales. They’re on my cooking life list of things to make, at least once, before I get too senile to be trusted in the kitchen. Which may be soon. 🙂
I had looked forward to my first tamales, many years ago, based on descriptions I had read, and was greatly disappointed. Since then, I keep trying them in restaurants I go to, hoping to find something that compares to my vision. I’m not fussy about the fillings, as long as the tamale itself is tasty. Easier said than done it seems.
So far, the best tamale I’ve ever had was an unfilled sweet version in a local El Salvadoran place. I took pictures. 🙂
http://a-boleyn.livejournal.com/105660.html
The thing I like most about the ones you’ve made above is the way that the flavourful veggies have been incorporated into the tamale mixture. I hope to be able to incorporate some of these ideas in the tamales I make … one day. 🙂
Hope to be back soon.
Thank you so much for your comments! It did turn out to be a really good idea to incorporate the veggies into the masa. Now you get a little veggies in every bite! I hope you do get a chance to make these!
MJ, these look fantastic. We have wanted to make tamales for sometime. These are definitely going on our “to make” list. Thanks.
And when you do make them – let me know how they turned out! Thanks for stopping by and hope you two are doing great!
MJ,
Thank you so much for linking up your wonderful looking tamales to Creative Thursday last week. I can’t wait to try this recipe. I wouldn’t be able to do these wonderful parties without your participation 🙂 Have a wonderful week.
Michelle
Thanks Michelle! What a nice comment! I do hope you get to try the tamales!
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Can you believe it – I have never actually eaten tamales! I’ve just never had the opportunity. They always look so good though, and yours look fantastic MJ. I like how you have made them a bit healthier, and your tutorial is wonderful!
Thanks April! It only took me 25 years of living in the southwest to finally make them so don’t feel so bad! Hope you get to try them soon!
Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays recipe party! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest! 🙂 YAY! Thanks for helping us build a wonderful Gluten Free Community! Its great to connect! See you next Friday! Cindy from vegetarianmamma.com
Thanks so much Cindy! I’m glad you liked this recipe!
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I made these tonight for a small crowd. I was a little nervous because I didn’t have a real backup plan, but they turned out wonderfully! Thanks for sharing the recipe… I’m linking back to it on my blog.
Emily – Thanks for letting me know! It’s always a thrill when someone makes your recipe and likes it!
I love tamales, and I love that this recipe is lower in fat. They are absolutely beautiful!
Your tamales look amazing! I haven’t tried tamales, I think I’ll have to try some next time I visit NM, then attempt to make them myself….
I love tamales and your Corn, Mushroom and Green Chile Tamales look amazing!
Really beautiful accompanying photographs! Thank you for sharing these! Allen.
I grew up in Texas and tamales were definitely a part of my favorite foods there. Love your wonderful recipe. Good luck with your kitchen remodel.
This is fantastic, MJ! I just had tamales for the first time at MN Midtown Global Market and was pleasantly surprised to find the familiarity of its flavors to Malaysia foods. I told Mark that I’d love to try out tamales at home and here you are sharing a brilliant recipe just perfect for me to experiment! Thank you!
Oh this is awesome! When I lived in Tucson, I loved winter season…..that meant it was time for green corn tamales!!!! Yum!!!! I have never made them, I have always heard how involved they are to make:-) Love reading that it took only 2.5 hrs to make them, and Oh My they look and sound delicious:-) Hugs, Terra
The presentation is just gorgeous… I’ve seen these made on TV shows, and I’m so glad you’ve sharing the recipe with us.
I saw these earlier from my pad but could not comment from there…I so want one, or two of these right now! It is hard to find good vegetarian tamales unless they are just cheese. I really love this!
I have never made tamales so it’s great to see the method. Love the veggie filling!
These look SO good MJ! Love tamales.
MJ….visiting you is such a culinary journey! These are absolutely amazing! I have to tell you, I have never had a tamale before. But these look so beautiful and I love all of your ingredients! Kind of a weird question, but can these be cooked in a crock pot? You did a great job with your challenge MJ! (I didn’t know you were a daring cook!)
Thanks Anne! It’s interesting to read how many people have never had tamales! 🙂 Unfortunately, tamales are not something that can be made in a crockpot. Now there is something called a tamale pie,that might work, but I’m not sure. I don’t have a crockpot so I can’t test it out. Yes – I joined DCC a couple of months ago. It’s been fun!
I never had a tamale in my life, but you always intrigue me with these new recipe! Great work, my friend! 🙂
Wow! Great recipe. I have never made (or eaten) homemeade tamales — these look wonderful!
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What a great idea blending the masa with the filling. Big time saver and why not, it’s all in one bite. Darn clever.
Thanks Su Anne! Always looking for that shortcut! 🙂 In addition to being a time saver, it’s easier to spread as well!
Tamales are so intimidating to many. It’s not hard it’s just very time consuming. I’m loving your vegetarian version, they look mouthwatering. Also what a great idea to cut down on the fat. Thanks-I’ll have to try that next time.
Beautiful MJ – I still haven’t made tamales – it’s hard to get a hold of those corn husks here… could I just make them myself by pulling off the husks and… I don’t know, drying them out? They look delicious!
Thanks Charles! I really don’t see why you couldn’t use fresh corn husks. I rehydrate the dry ones anyway. I just checked out Swanson’s tamales @Chef in disguise and she successfully used fresh husks as well as vine leaves. It worked great!
I have never made tamales and did not realize they were so time consuming. I like this quicker and lightened up version.
Your tamali looks perfect MJ!
I am in love with the vegetable mix, I am sure these tasted out of this world
When the daring cooks made tamali I had a very hard time finding corn husks and wound up using vine leaves and fresh corn husks
I need to find some dry ones and then I can give your recipe a try
Thanks Sawson! I didn’t realize that DCC had a tamale challenge. I obviously missed it, but then I only joined a couple of months ago. How creative to use vine leaves and fresh husks! There’s no reason those shouldn’t work. I’ll have to go check out your challenge.
wow! I am so amazed with how perfectly made your tamales look, MJ! My family loves tamales but I haven’t tried making them myself. I’m saving this for future reference!
What lovely no guilt tamales! The vegetables must have added a lot of moisture and taste. I’m glad there’s no lard.
Oh my goodness, your tamale look so perfect. I bought some corn husk but I have not get to make this yet. I am so glad I found your recipe. Thanks so much.
I’ve never made tamales, but when I do, this veggie packed recipe will be the one I try! Just beautifully done!
This is something I have yet to try my hand at. I can’t believe I’ve never made tamales!
Your tamales look amazing!!! I love that you added the veg to the masa, great idea for saving time. And adding chicken broth to the masa I bet adds a ton of flavor! Thanks for all the tips!!
vianney
Thanks Vianney! Such a comment coming from the queen of masa, I’m flattered!
What beautiful Pictures! Thanks for stopping by my blog. I’m excited to check yours out!
I feel awkward after reading so many comments appreciating Tamales…and I am hearing this name and about the recipe first time 🙁 Thanks MJ for bringing some of the wonderful authentic recipes to lime light…now back to reading the recipe…feels good 🙂
Sanjeeta, I am thrilled to introduce you to a new food! You do the same for me ALL of the time! I have to look up a lot of your ingredients! 🙂 Tamales are extremely versatile and we just love them!
MJ, your tamales look amazing!!! I’m going to have to check out the specialty store here for the masa and give these a try 🙂
Thanks Rachael! I appreciate your helping to motivate me to make these! Loved your challenge!
I adore tamales! I’ve never tried making them before… Yours looks so delicious!
Yum! Your tamales look fantastic! I love the corn and chiles together.
These look terrific! I’ve had corn and green chile tamales before, but they were always kinda sweet and usually baked blind (no corn husks). These look much, much better – and mushrooms make everything better! Extremely nice recipe – thank you.
MJ, I’m totally grateful for this recipe! All too often tamale recipes have pork, which I don’t eat very often. Love this version.
That’s fancy! And, I have both corn plus mushroom at home.
These sound delicious and a perfect way for me to use up my 5 pound bag of corn flour! Great photos too!
Your tamales look great! I will have to try them sometime soon. I have wanted to make tamales for so long, I have a few girlfriends here that host Tamaladas (the tamale making parties) around the holidays but I am never able to make it. Darn my schedule! However I do believe I could do them on my own. I must give the vegi ones a try! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Kim! I did these two batches on my own. Honestly, the total prep time from starting to boil the water for the husks, to placing the tamales in the steamer was only an hour! I had to do a little multitasking, but who of us doesn’t multitask in the kitchen? 🙂
I absolutely LOVE tamales! Fabulous job on these, they look great!
P.S. I nominated you for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award =] http://www.freespiriteater.com/2012/08/very-inspiring-blogger-award.html
Thanks SO much FSE!!!! I’ll got check it out!
wow, these look very good, and I am truly impressed. What exacly is masa like, i also saw it in another recipe, and I don’t think it is easy to get here (Germany), I at least never heard of it, and already had to search for normal corn flour
Thanks Esther! Masa is actually a very fine cornmeal or even a corn flour made from dried ground hominy. If you can find corn flour, that should work fine for tamales.
your tamales turned out looking perfect!
HI MJ!!
Wow, what a delicious combination of flavors for these tamales!
I’ve never had a tamale in my life! (how is that possible?) Love all the ingredients and you set the method out perfectly. The husk seems like a bit of work 😉 but the result is beautiful and seems well worth the effort! Great recipe MJ.
These are gorgeous, MJ … I’ve never made tamales before because it looks so intimidating 🙂
After a few days in NM, there would be no reason to use any other chile than what you used here–wish I had some right now. I have never attempted tamales, mainly because no one else in the fam likes them, so I am left to buy them from the car parked along the road when I have to have them–nothing in the stores compares. You have inspired me to give it a try though. Even if I’m the only one that eat them, I know they freeze well, so I’d have them for a while. 🙂
Thanks Judy! Yep – it’s hard to beat NM chile! 🙂
Those tamales are gorgeous and look so delicious!
These tamales look delicious. I have never made them before and so I am super impressed xx
This is a keeper. My whole family will love this recipe.
I have never made tamales but I love this veggie take. The Hubs loves green chilies and I love mushrooms so this might be my first attempt. Just an update on your cantaloupe salad—-we have taken it for lunch with a bit of turkey this week. Delicious!
Thanks Debra! I’m so glad you liked my cantaloupe salad! Thanks for letting me know!
lovely tamales!
I only tried tamales once when I was in Vegas and it was not a good experience and never liked it, I must be the restaurant that served it.
This recipe of yours looks like it would free me from that trauma 🙂 and I will give it a shot.
Thanks Raymund! I’m sorry your only experience will tamales was not a good one. I bet they were dry. That’s usually the problem I run into with bad tamales. I hope you get a chance to make these and like them! Please let me know if you do.
Wow! I have eaten tamales a looong time ago in Guatemala and I have always wondered how they were made! I think they look so cute all wrapped up in corn husks! They sound and look delicious! Great job MJ! 🙂
I haven’t had a homemade tamale in years! These look terrific.
Oh wow, do I love homemade tamales! They are so worth the effort. My mom and I try to get together at least once a year for “tamale day” but I always want to just have a bunch of girlfriends over and make a party out of it. I love the veg you picked to fill these with, yum.
Thanks Jody! A friend of mine had a girlfriend tamales day a few years ago. It was fun!
I can’t believe you made tamales! Your lighter version sounds delicious and thanks for taking the time to list so many notes & tips. Should I ever make tamales at home, this will be the place I come to for help.
Thanks John! I do hope you get a chance to make them some day. They are worth it!
Wonderful and healthy looking tamales. I agree… eating very rich food makes me feel really guilty and I would much rather eat your version so I can have MORE. 🙂
Hope you’re having a great week! ~ Ramona
I have never had tamales in my life, not to mention ground hominy (I think I have read about it in a Southern cookery book…). Are tamales always wrapped in corn husks? I love the way they look! They sound delicious too.
Thanks Sissi! Yes, tamales are always wrapped in corn husks and steamed. I’ve never seen them cooked any other way. If you’ve never heard of tamales, I’m sure you’ve never heard of grits. That’s another ground hominy product (coarser grind) that I eat ALL of the time and is definitely a southern thing. I add green chile to it for that southwestern twist.
Thanks a lot, MJ. I have heard about grits (read about them in the same Southern cookery book), but of course have never had them.
Some cultures wrap them in banana leaves. That’s how I grew up making and eating them for special occasions. The taste is very different as well.
Thanks for sharing – I will definitely be playing around with your recipe with different fillers!
It’s a pity I have only tasted a few authentic Mexican dishes so far. I am very intrigued by the way it’s cooked (in leaves). We have some dishes that we prepare in a similar way in Sri Lanka. It looks and sounds sinfully delicious, I hope to taste this some day.
Hi Rathai! Are you from Sri Lanka…. me too. 🙂
Thanks Rathai! One of the dishes on my list to cook is to cook something in banana leaf. I love the way food tastes when it cooks in a wrapping! I hope you do get a chance to try these some day.
I have never seen tamales before but they look incredibly delicious 😀
Wow!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
I’ve seen tamales being prepared on TV, but never tried it and I’m so intrigued :).Yours looks like a great version with canola oil and veggies.I really need a bite of this 🙂
OMG, this is the best looking homemade tamales I’ve seen! I bet they are so delicious!!!
There’s a great book called Fat by Jennifer McLagan that changed the way i think of lard!
Michelle, believe me – I’m not against lard. I’ll cook in bacon drippings in a second. It’s the amount of lard. I’ll check out the book. It will be interesting to see what see has to say. Thanks for the recommendation.
MJ, I am learning a lot from you…..this is totally new to me…
Thanks Nisa!!!! Being a teacher, that’s always nice to hear. 🙂
Well, it sounds like you did it again! We love tamales, but despite the abundance of available tamale options, we haven’t found any that knock our socks off. One of the problems with most tamales is that there is sooo much masa to get through before you get to the goodie. This way you get a mouthful of goodie with every bite. I love it! It opens up a whole realm of possibilities for ingredients too. The other problem this solves is the intensive labor associated with tamale making. This sounds easy enough even for me. (An aside: One of the markets here was running a big feature ad that they had “Hatch chilis” and all kinds of products made from “Hatch chilis.” I love it!)
Thanks Nads! These are A LOT easier than traditional tamales and we did like having the veggies incorporated into the masa. That’s SO COOL that you’re starting to see Hatch chile! It’s picking time! I bought my first fresh chiles the other day (the one’s in the pictures 🙂 ).
This is amazing! I have always wanted to make tamales but have been a little scared … I will have to try at some point!! Great directions!
I just love tamales and I love this combination of flavors!
wow homemade tamales! Labour of love…I wish I could try one now.