If you like pumpkin, you will love this recipe for pumpkin tamales. Learn in a simple way how to prepare them for the next December holidays or for the next day of Candlemas, of course, without being exclusive to these dates you can always make them whenever you want. In addition, the star element of the recipe, the pumpkin, can be easily found in the supermarket in canned puree.
Ingredients to make Pumpkin Tamales:
• 400 grams of flour for tamales
• 200 grams of vegetable shortening
• 100 grams of grated or cone piloncillo
• 2 cups of hot milk
• 1½ cups pumpkin puree
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon powdered cloves
• 1 teaspoon of nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 30 sheets of for tamales
How to make Pumpkin Tamales:
To start with the recipe for pumpkin tamales, you must first clean the leaves very well to make the tamale and let them soak in hot water for a minimum of 20 minutes so that they soften. In a bowl mix the hot milk, piloncillo, cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon powder. Add the cornmeal and vegetable shortening, mix manually or with the help of a mixer. Add the pumpkin puree and the baking powder, mix everything very well until completely integrated.
With the dough ready, it’s time to assemble the tamales. First take one of the corn husks, spread it out with your hands and add a portion of dough, spread from the center up, wrap and close well. We point out that you can tie it with strips of leaves or leave it alone folded. With the amounts mentioned you can get approximately 20-25 tamales depending on the size. Arrange the tamales vertically in a steamer pot, cover with a plastic bag or with some leftover leaves and cook over medium-low heat for about an hour. Mexican pumpkin tamales are almost there! When they are ready, the sheet will come off easily and you will be able to taste the delicious sweet pumpkin tamales.
Other ingredients to make pumpkin tamales
Preparing tamales is very simple and once you learn how to make them, all you have to do is vary the filling or the flavor that you like the most. In addition to the ingredients that we present in this recipe, you can include more in the filling or in the dough, such as: nuts, cream cheese or Dulce de lecher, this one especially goes very well with the pumpkin flavor.
On the other hand, depending on the region where the tamales are cooked, you can find other ways to include the pumpkin in the tamales, for example: you can also prepare salty pumpkin tamales with a guajillo chili marinade and a touch of dried shrimp, these are wrapped in banana leaf.