INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

Put the beans in a medium pot, add water, and bring to a boil. Reduce the
heat and simmer, covered, for 1-2 hours (depending on the size and age of
the beans). The beans are cooked when their skins break easily when
stirred.
In a mixing bowl, beat the masa harina with the vegetable shortening,
alternating with the broth until it is light, about 10 minutes. Add the
salt and baking powder. Beat 2 minutes more.
Clean and boil or char the banana leaves (if you can't find them already
precooked). Trim out the hard veins and cut the leaves into approximately
8-10" squares.
Heat the oil in a skillet and saut. the garlic and scallions until golden.
Add the chayote, chiles, almonds, cilantro, and beans. Mix completely,
stirring and cooking everything together. Season with salt to taste.
On a banana leaf square spread out a little less than 1/2 cup of the masa
harina like a pancake. Top with approximately 2 tsp. of the vegetable/bean
mixture. Fold over the leaf like a package and repeat with the remaining
leaves and filling. Place the tamales in a steamer, overlapping them
diagonally to allow steam to pass through, cover the pot and steam for at
least 1 1/2 hours, checking the water level from time to time.
(Peel away the leaf and only eat the filling.) Serve with tomatillo or
chipotle chile salsa, accompanied by Atole (a hot masa-based drink) for
authenticity.
[ SOURCE 1998-Ap http://www.melissas.com/ ] >>Hanneman/Buster
Recipe by: A Cook's Tour of Mexico by Nancy Zaslavsky
Posted to MC-Recipe Digest by KitPATh <phannema@wizard.ucr.edu> on Apr 17,
1998

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