Peruvian Tamales – The Traditional Breakfast Treat
Posted on | September 21, 2012 | 8 Comments
There are many different stories told about the delicious, traditional Peruvian breakfast dish, the tamal. Some claim it’s a native dish, some say it’s from India, still other’s say it came from Africa via slaves brought by the Spanish. However it originally got here, the tamal is definitely a Peruvian tradition, assured to be a part of weekend morning breakfasts, usually stuffed with pork or chicken.
(And just a note - in English, it is typically called the tamale, but in Spanish that final “e” is only added in the plural, tamales. )
Now, while a lot of people claim that the tamal started as a type of soup brought by Africans, it has actually shown up in earlier archaeological findings, even in various Inca and pre-Inca tombs. The tamal is also found in many Central American countries, in a variety of forms – but in Peru, it is synonymous with Sunday morning breakfast.
There are different styles of tamal, both sweet and savory, and different colors like orange, yellow and even green depending on the ingredients used. While not as common today, my husband remembers running behind the tamal vendor like I remember running after the ice cream man; instead of a cheerful tune, he heard the tamal vendor’s cry “Tamales, to cure what ails you!”
The traditional yellow corn tamal, called a “criollo tamal,” is stuffed with a bit of chicken or pork and a black olive, and sometimes a bit of hard boiled egg. But there are many varieties of Peruvian tamales, like:
- Piuran Tamales: The style of tamal from the Piura region, made from white cornmeal that’s been soaked for several days and made with a filling of onions, peppers and pork rind, then wrapped in banana leaves to steam cook.
- Tamal Serrano: uses ‘mote’, a large grain corn similar to hominy, cooked together with butter and salt and filled with meat. It’s steam cooked wrapped in corn husks.
- Green Tamalitos: These are also typical to the Piura region – cilantro is added to the cornmeal giving it a green color. These aren’t usually filled with anything, but are used as an side dish with main courses like “seco de cabrito” (goat stew).
- Cajamarcan Tamal: From Cajamarca, this tamal is made from corn meal kneaded together with aji colorado, filled with pork and wrapped in corn husks or banana leaves.
- Tamal Chinchano: White corn is ground using a batan (a type of mortar and pestle), then cooked with pork jowls, boiled egg and olives, wrapped into a square
- Quinoa Tamal – made with the quinoa in place of corn, it’s usually called “tamalada”
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I got tired of life happening while I made other plans, so I quit my job and came to Peru. I live here with my Peruvian husband, two sons, three dogs and various other family members, depending on the weather.
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September 22nd, 2012 @ 01:16
Tamales!!!!!! Get your Tamales. 9:30pm every night in Huancayo the guy would call out on his loud speaker on his motor cycle.
They are so good.
September 22nd, 2012 @ 09:56
I will have to experience this next time I am down.
September 22nd, 2012 @ 14:19
You forgot to mention the tamales they made in Iquitos, forest region at North East of Peru, They make them with peanuts and shredded pork or chicken wrapped in Bijao leaves, the same they use to wrapp the Juane, a rice type tamale. We also have yucca tamales with fish or bacalao regards
September 22nd, 2012 @ 18:49
I have to admit that having spent 8 years living in Lima, I’m not much of an expert on comida from the selva! Thanks for the comment, I definitely want to give those a try!
September 25th, 2012 @ 00:18
And then, there’s humitas!
Juancho´s last [type] ..Trujillo Toy Museum
September 26th, 2012 @ 01:18
Love them! My husband is always bringing them home as treats for the boys.
February 11th, 2013 @ 16:39
Tamales and Corn are native to Mesoamerica and are not Peruvian. Even the word tamal comes from the Aztec language Nahuatl (tamalli).
That explains why there are only two varieties of corn commonly sold in Peru and why there are so many more varieties and colors available in such countries as Mexico. That also explains why Peruvians do not make any type of corn bread.
John Boles´s last [type] ..Deformed, Dwarfed and other Freak Peruvian Fruits and Vegetables
February 11th, 2013 @ 16:56
Have you never had pastel de choclo? It’s very similar to corn bread. There are two versions – a sweet one and a savory.