A tamale or tamal (from Nahuatl tamalli) is a traditional Latin American food consisting of steam-cooked corn meal dough with or without a filling. Tamales can be filled with meats, cheese (post-colonial), and sliced chiles or any preparation according to taste. The tamal is generally wrapped in a corn husk before cooking.

Tamales have been made throughout the American continent for over 5000 years. Their essence is the corn meal dough (called masa), or a masa mix such as Maseca, usually filled with a sweet or savory filling, wrapped in plant leaves or corn husks, and cooked, usually by steaming, until firm. Tamales were developed as a portable ration for use by war parties in the ancient Americas, and were as ubiquitous and varied as the sandwich is today.

The procedure to make tamales in Central and Northern Mexico goes as follows: A ball of masa about one-inch in diameter is spread, like butter, on the individual corn husk with a spoon. Then the filling (see below) is placed length-wise on the center of the husk; meats (chicken, pork) should be pre-cooked. The sides of the husk are folded and the newly made tamal is steam-cooked for an hour or until the masa has a cake-like consistency. The proportions of filling and masa vary widely according to taste. Once made, they can be frozen quite easily (the husks help to keep them from sticking together) and reheated as needed. Because of this, the making of tamales is often a social occasion, with friends and family all pitching in to help make hundreds of tamales to be shared out.

History
Tamales date back to pre-Colombian (before Columbus) Mexico and possibly even further. No history of the tamale would be complete without discussing the process of "nixtamalization". Nixtamalization is the processing of field corn with wood ashes (pre-Colombian) or now with "cal, slaked lime". This processing softens the corn for easier grinding and also aids in digestibility and increases the nutrients absorbed by the human body.

Nixtamalization dates back to the southern coast of Guatemala around 1200 - 1500BC where kitchens were found equipped with the necessities of nixtamal making. We have found no specific references to the making of tamales at this time.

It is well documented by Friar Bernardino de Shaagun in the 1550's that the Spaniards were served tamales by the Aztecs during their first visits to Mexico. (America's First Cuisine's - Sophie D. Coe). Tamales were made with beans, meats and chiles and cooked on the open fires as well as on comals.