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INGREDIENTS
For the mole sauce
- 3 tablespoons pumpkin seeds , toasted
- 3 tablespoons sesame seeds , toasted
- 2 pasa chili peppers (or pasilla), toasted and seeded
- 1 guaque chili pepper , toasted and seeded (or other chili pepper)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup breadcrumbs , toasted
- 3 tomatoes (ripe), sliced
- 3 oz bittersweet chocolate , melted
- ½ cup water
- 1½ lb boneless chicken
For the dough
- 1¾ lb masa harina
- 8 cups water
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 8 tablespoons shortening
For the tamales
- 16 leaves banana (or aluminum foil), about 12×12 in
- Raffia (or butcher’s string), to close the tamales
- 16 small pitted prunes (1 per tamal)
- 32 raisins (2 per tamal)
- 32 pitted green olives (2 per tamal)
INSTRUCTIONS
Mole Sauce
- Put all the sauce ingredients (except the chicken) in a blender and blend for a few minutes until obtaining a smooth sauce.
- Cook the chicken with the sauce in a covered pan over medium heat for 20 minutes.
- Remove chicken and shred or dice. Set the chicken and sauce aside.
Dough
- Mix the dough ingredients together and simmer in a saucepan over low heat for 30 minutes, stirring often, until the dough is thick and smooth. Add water if necessary.
- Set aside.
Tamales Making
- Hover banana leaves over a flame for a few seconds on each side. Rinse them.
- In the center of each leaf, place a handful of masa and spread over a rectangle of 4×5 inches and 1 inch thick.
- Place prunes, raisins and olives.
- Pour 2 tablespoons of sauce and a few pieces of chicken.
- Fold the leaf toward the center, seal, then fold the other end.
- Tie the package with raffia (or string).
- Place tamales in a steamer. Steam over medium heat for at least an hour.
- To serve, unfold the leaf and cut the edges with scissors, leaving the central portion of the leaf intact.
- Optional: pour a little mole sauce on the tamale.
