Plant-based Tamales At Last!

I learned to make tamales. Here is my plant-based recipe, adapted from a couple I found on the internet. I pared down the size of the recipe; I'm not feeding an army [okay, maybe an army of one.] After I made them I was trying to figure out what would work more easily for a steamer, as I used a kettle and the steamer plate from the pressure cooker set, set atop a ceramic bowl for added height. The tamales are supposed to steam vertically. Anyway, it just hit me. Of course. Steam the tamales in the pressure cooker. I'll have to figure out the time by more experimentation. So for this recipe one can just figure on a regular steamer and the long cooking time.

Plant-based Tamales:

Dough:
2 cups water
3 cups Masa Harina flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup oil

Filling:
2 cups cooked black beans
one baked yam, peeled and mashed
half an onion, diced
half a red bell pepper, diced
several cloves of garlic, grated
one small tomato, diced
several shakes green Tabasco sauce [to taste]
several shakes cayenne pepper [to taste]
a shake of ground cumin
a shake of coriander

[As you can see I didn't bother with cooking down tomatillos or any of that stuff; go for it if you have the time.]

The Process:
Soak several corn husks for about half an hour. Tip: separate the corn husks so they really soak well, instead of leaving them in a bunch the way I did until I figured it out. Take one of the larger husks and tear off quarter-inch strips for tying the tamales.
Mix dough with your hands, mix filling.

With tapered end of the corn husk facing you, take about 1/2 cup or less of dough and spread it across the top half of the husk. Add about a tablespoon of filling. Fold the right and left sides over, fold up the end and tie a strip of corn husk around the middle to secure it and place it in the steamer upright, with the open end up. Be sure there's plenty of water in the steamer.

Steam them all for about 1 1/2 to two hours. They won't overcook.

You could use anything for the filling; vegetables, spinach, whatever you like. Experiment and enjoy!