Authentic home cooking from Mexico, with US measurements.

Originally published on Cookpad Mexico as Los tamales de mi suegra

My Mother-in-Law's Tamales

Name: My Mother-in-Law's Tamales
Total time: 2700 s
Yield: 30 servings
Ingredients: For the dough:; 1.1 lbs pork lard (about 500 grams); 3.3 lbs masa harina for tortillas (about 1.5 kilograms); 2 teaspoons baking powder; 2 teaspoons salt; as needed Chicken broth,; as needed Masa harina,; For the filling:; 1 whole chicken breast; 2 garlic cloves; 1/2 onion; as needed Water,; For the tomato sauce:; 1/2 onion; 3 garlic cloves; 5 tomatoes; as needed Oil,; 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon; 1 teaspoon salt; as needed Broth,; 2 red onions; as needed Boiling water,; 2 teaspoons oregano; 2 teaspoons salt; 1/2 cup water (120 ml); 1/2 cup vinegar (120 ml); 2 packages banana leaves

Ya está la comida!! @yaestalacomida

Cdmx

I don't know where they're from, but I stole this recipe from the mom of a boyfriend I had when I was 18, haha. You're going to love these tamales—they're super delicious and a fun twist on the traditional recipe.

Ya está la comida!! @yaestalacomida

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Ingredients

45 minutes

30 servings

For the dough:
1.1 lbspork lard (about 500 grams)
3.3 lbsmasa harina for tortillas (about 1.5 kilograms)
2 teaspoonsbaking powder
2 teaspoonssalt
as neededChicken broth,
as neededMasa harina,
For the filling:
1whole chicken breast
2garlic cloves
1/2onion
as neededWater,
For the tomato sauce:
1/2onion
3garlic cloves
5tomatoes
as neededOil,
1 teaspoonchicken bouillon
1 teaspoonsalt
as neededBroth,
For the pickled onions:
2red onions
as neededBoiling water,
2 teaspoonsoregano
2 teaspoonssalt
1/2 cupwater (120 ml)
1/2 cupvinegar (120 ml)
2 packagesbanana leaves

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Steps

45 minutes

1

Place a pot on the stove with water, 2 garlic cloves, half an onion, and the chicken breast. Cover and cook until the chicken is done. In another pot, add water, 3 garlic cloves, half an onion, and the quartered tomatoes (this helps the blender later).
2

Once the tomatoes are cooked, blend them and set aside. Slice the onion and place it in a heatproof bowl. Pour boiling water over the onions to cover and let sit for 5 minutes.
3

Heat a pot, add a little oil, and once hot, pour in the blended tomatoes. Add salt and chicken bouillon, and cook until the sauce changes color.
4

Drain the onions, add oregano, salt, water, and vinegar. Mix well and set aside.
5

When the tomato sauce has changed color, add chicken broth or the water used to cook the tomatoes. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes on low heat. When the chicken is cooked, remove from heat and let cool, then shred the chicken.
6

Preheat a griddle or skillet. Wash, dry, and trim the banana leaves. Pass them over the hot griddle on both sides to soften them so they won't tear when forming the tamales. Repeat with all the leaves.
7

After 5 minutes, check the seasoning of the tomato sauce, turn off the heat, and set aside. Beat the lard with the baking powder and salt until it lightens in color.
8

Knead the lard into the masa harina, adding chicken broth as needed. If your dough is too wet, add more masa harina. The dough should be soft and not stick to your hands.
9

Fill a steamer with water just below the rack. Take a small ball of dough and, using a tortilla press, flatten it into a not-too-thin tortilla. Place it on a banana leaf, add shredded chicken, and spoon some tomato sauce over it.
10

Fold the tortilla into a rectangle as shown in the photo, then wrap it with the banana leaf. Place it on the steamer rack and repeat until all ingredients are used.
11

You’ll get about 30 good-sized tamales. Cover the steamer and cook over heat for 45 minutes. After cooking, just look at how beautiful they are—remove the banana leaf.
12

Top the tamale with more tomato sauce, garnish with pickled onions to taste, and enjoy this delicious meal!
13

I hope you enjoy this delicious recipe. If you make it, please share a photo, your thoughts, and your guests’ opinions—I love hearing if you liked the recipes! Here’s the video link for the recipe: https://youtu.be/GWyyyc74-fY. For any questions or comments, email us at yaestalacomidacf@gmail.com. Thank you for being part of Ya está la comida!!

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Ya está la comida!! @yaestalacomida

Published in the US on August 14, 2025 14:01

Cdmx

Ya está la comida!! tiene como objetivo cocinar contigo de una manera fácil, rápida y económica, vamos a comprobar juntos lo sencillo que es cocinar con ingredientes que puedes conseguir en tu mercado local o en cualquier tienda de autoservicio o simplemente con lo que tienes en tu casa, explicado de una manera clara, con un lenguaje cotidiano, verás que los utencilios son fáciles de conseguir, te muestro que lo más importante son las ganas que tengas de empreder nuevos retos, te daré ideas para que prepares tu comida del día a día, encontrarás recetas de todo tipo, bebidas, sopas, cremas, postres, salsas, pasteles, gelatinas, antojitos, cocina gourmet, en fin todo lo que tu paladar pueda disfrutar.Encuentra más recetas en: youtube https://youtu.be/8A4lSutopDI