Tamalitos Nortenos

From Teresa Breinholt!

Meat Ingredients
4 pounds of pork loin or chicken breast or any kind of chicken
8 oz of California chili pod
6 cloves of garlic
1 medium onion
4 medium tomatoes
1 teaspoon of whole cumin
salt to taste
chicken bouillon to taste

Dough
1 package of tamale mix (Maseca, sold in Winco or Walmart in Hispanic section)
3 lbs of lard
1 cup chicken bouillon
about 8 cups of water
salt to taste

Corn Husk preparation
3 packages of corn husk 8 oz (recommended Casa Valdez or El Guapo brands)
Soak corn husk in warm water for about 30 minutes or until soft

Meat Preparation
-Boil meat in water until it's cooked through, preferrable soft so it's easily shredded.
-TIP: when you boil the meat, add 2 cloves of garlic and salt to taste
-Wait for the meat to cool down while you prepare the chili paste.

Chili Paste
-Take the seeds and stem out of the chilis and boil until soft, add cumin while boiling.
-Chop the tomatoes, garlic, and onion into pieces. After the chilis are done boiling, put into blender along with 1 cup of water and the tomatoes, garlic, and onions. Mix or blend to a pastey consistency.

After the Mixture is done, shred the meat.

In a wide pan, add 2 Tbls of cooking oil, the meat, and the chili paste. Mix well and add salt and chicken bouillon to taste.

Tamale Dough
-In one big mixing bowl add the package of tamale mix and chicken bouillon and 8 cups of water. You might need to add more water.
-Melt the lard in the microwave in a large container, until it's almost a watery consistency.
-Mix well all ingredients in a mixing bowling. Taste and add ingredients until desired flavor.

Wrapping Tamalitos
Once the dough, meat, and corn husk are ready we can start wrapping. First put the dough in the corn husk, then the meat, then wrap and have fun!

Steaming tamalitos (cooking)
Put the wrapped tamalitos in one large steaming pot and boil for about 1 hour and 45 minutes. When you check them, they may be kind of soft, but they harden as they cool down.

ENJOY!!!