TamalesMedium

Brazo de Reina (Yucatecan Pumpkin Seed Tamal Roll)

Name: Brazo de Reina (Yucatecan Pumpkin Seed Tamal Roll)
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 105 min
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 800 g Dough de maiz para tamales; 200 g Pepita de Pumpkin; 4 Eggs duros; 100 g Pork lard; 4 Banana leaves; 3 Tomatoes; 1 Habanero chilli; 3 sprigs Chives; 10 g Salt

105 min (45 prep + 60 cook) Medium 8 servings Yucatan

Edmond Bojalil

Recetas Mexas

Published: 20 Mar 2026 · Updated: 23 Mar 2026

Large Yucatecan tamal roll filled with ground pumpkin seeds and hard-boiled egg.

About this recipe

Brazo de reina is a unique Yucatecan tamal shaped as a large roll, made with corn masa filled with ground pumpkin seeds (sikil) and chopped hard-boiled egg. It is wrapped in banana leaves and steamed. Served bathed in roasted tomato and habanero sauce, it showcases the intense and distinctive flavours of Yucatecan cuisine.

History & Origin

Brazo de reina is a Yucatecan tamal whose name evokes elegance and celebration. Unlike other Mexican tamales which are prepared individually, this one is made as a large roll that is then sliced into portions, similar to a European Swiss roll, hence its name. Its filling of ground pumpkin seeds, known as sikil in Mayan, reveals its deep pre-Hispanic roots. The pumpkin and its seeds were a fundamental food for the Maya, who cultivated them alongside maize and beans in the milpa system. The hard-boiled egg added to the filling is a post-Conquest incorporation that enriched the recipe. The nixtamalised corn masa is spread on banana leaves, filled with the pumpkin seed and egg mixture, carefully rolled up and steamed. The result is a soft and aromatic tamal that is sliced and bathed in roasted tomato sauce with habanero. In Merida and the towns of Yucatan, brazo de reina is a festive dish that appears at weddings, christenings and Day of the Dead celebrations, where it is offered as hanal pixan on the altars.

Estimated cost

£8.50

Total cost

£1.06

Per serving

* Approximate prices based on UK supermarkets

Nutritional information per serving

380

Calories

14g

Protein

42g

Carbohydrates

18g

Fat

Fibre

480mg

Sodium

* Approximate values. May vary depending on ingredients used.

Method

1
Toast the pumpkin seeds of pumpkin in a comal (flat griddle) over medium heat until it inflen and doren slightly. Grind them in molcajete (stone mortar) or blender until you get a polvo thin.
💡 No tuestes demasiado or amargaran.
2
Mix the dough of maiz with the pork lard melted, salt and a little stock until you get a dough soft and manejable.
💡 La dough this lista when a bolita flota in water.
3
Roll out the leaves of banana and untalas with a layer even of dough of 1 cm of thickness.
💡 Pasa the leaves of banana for the llama for suavizarlas before of usarlas.
4
Distribuye the pepita molida on the dough and anade the egg duro chopped into pieces. Roll up with cuidado como a brazo of gitano.
💡 Leave the bordes of the leaf libres of dough for sellar well.
5
Wrap the rollo in mas leaves of banana and amarra with tiras of the misma leaf. Cook to the vapor for 1 hour.
6
Prepare the sauce asando tomatoes and habanero, licualos and frielos in oil. Cut the brazo of reina into rounds and serve banado with the sauce.
💡 Acompana with red onion curtida for a toque autentico.