The Mississippi Delta is home to an odd variant of the tamale, mostly associated with the African American Community. Great information on the history and preservation of this tradition can be found on the Mississippi Delta Hot Tamale Trail website. Here's a vegan re-working:
In a skillet mix together:
12 oz. package Boca crumbles (or reconstituted TVP or soy curls, or seitan, or frozen tofu or whatever)
1 T oil
1 t chipotle chili powder
1 t smoked paprika
1 t salt (or to taste)
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/4 t coriander
1/4 t cumin
black pepper and cayenne to taste
(You can crank up the chili powder and cayenne until these are as hot as you want.)
Fry until everything comes together nicely.
In a bowl, mix:
4 c. cornmeal (maseca isn't really authentic here - use cornmeal)
2 t. baking powder
3/4 c. vegetable shortening
salt to taste (be mindful of the salt content of the broth you are about to add)
To the cornmeal mix, add enough hot vegetable broth to make a nice dough - about 2 cups.
Spread out a corn husk (soaked in warm water for 2 hours) or a piece of parchment paper. Spread 1/4 c of the cornmeal mix on it. Add 1 T of the Boca crumble mix and then roll up the husk, fold up the bottom, and tie. (If you have never made tamales, inspect the photos on the Tamale Trail website for help.) Stand these in a tall pot, fill most of the way up with water, bring to a boil, and cover. (From the photo, you can see that mine were too tall for the pot's real lid. I balanced a larger lid on top, and it was fine.) Let boil on a low heat for about 1 hour. Unwrap and serve! They are good "dry" or with any sauce you like. We had them with some leftover tomato gravy from yesterday's post!
1 comment:
I'll go with a simple Sunday Hallelujah!
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