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Vegan Colombian Tamales

Vegan Colombian Tamales

These tamales are a vegan version of the Colombian original. They contain a filling made of a cornmeal dough, rice and vegetables like carrot, potato, peas and chickpeas. Wrapped in a bananaleaf they are steamed until cooked. Vegan tamales are a delicious hearty and festive breakfast.
5 from 1 vote
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Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 15 minutes
Course Breakfast, Main Course
Cuisine Colombian
Servings 4 tamales

Equipment

  • banana or plantain leaves, enough to make 8 40cm sheets (frozen or fresh, see text in blogpost)
  • cooking/butcher's twine
  • rack to use for steaming
  • a big boiling pot

Ingredients
  

Masa/cornmeal dough

  • 1 cup precooked yellow cornmeal
  • 2 teaspoon complete seasoning (condimento completo) (substitute: turmeric, cumin, garlic and onion powder)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1,5 cup water
  • 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • vegetable bouillon powder (optional)

Rice and green pea mixture

  • 120 gram cooked white rice
  • 1 big handful of green peas (fresh or frozen)
  • 2 tablespoon hogao (see link for recipe in blogpost (plus more for the filling, see below))

Rest of filling

  • 4 tbsp hogao (see link for recipe in blogpost)
  • 12 slices peeled and cleaned carrot
  • 12 slices peeled and cleaned white potato, halved
  • 100 g cooked chickpeas

Instructions
 

  • Plantain leaves
    Cut them in sheets about 35-40 cm long. Make sure they are flexible, if not place shortly over an open fire (stovetop). Check that the big vein in the middle is out. Clean with water and a paper towel. You will need 8 sheets
  • Masa/cornmeal dough
    Place cornmeal in a mixing bowl, add spices and salt and mix. Start by adding 1 cup of water and the vegetable oil. Mix well. If the dough is too dry, add up to 1/2 cup of water. Mix in vegetable bouillon, if using
  • Fillings (The hogao (tomato-onion sauce) and rice need to be ready to use)
    1. Mix rice, 2 tbsp of hogao and peas together. Set aside
    2. Clean, peel and slice the potato (thinly) and the carrot. Set aside
    3. Place cooked chickpeas in a bowl
    4. Check masa and add water if necessary (see tips in blogpost)
  • Prepare
    Place ready-to-use sheets and cooking string on a countertop or table, together with the masa and the filling
  • Fill and wrap the tamales
    See pictures in blogpost.
    1. Place two leaves on top of each other, one with the little veins horizontally and one with the veins vertically. The side with the veins needs to face up
    2. Divide masa in 4 equal parts and spread 1/4 in the center of the leaf (about 2-3 tablespoons)
    3. Spread out one tablespoon of hogao on top of the masa, and add 2 tablespoons of the rice/pea mixture
    4. Add sliced carrot and potato by sticking them into the masa and rice mixture. Top with some chickpeas
    5. You will start folding now. Make sure you have a long piece of cooking twine ready. First fold the leaf lengthwise (long side)
    6. Fold over the short sides
    7. Tie together with cooking twine. I like to do it as in the picture, but you could also make one cross instead of a double one. Repeat for the other 3 tamales
  • Cook the tamales
    Place tamales in your biggest pot, on a steam rack with water underneath. Steam for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. To make sure they all cook evenly, move the upper ones down and the other way around after about 35 minutes. Make sure your pot has enough water, when drying up, add some boiling water to keep the steam going
  • Unwrap and enjoy!
Keyword breakfast, colombian breakfast, colombian tamales, gluten-free, tamales, vegan, vegan tamales, vegetables
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