The strangest and most delicious tamales in Mexico

If you think tamales are just dough with salsa and chicken wrapped in a corn husk, get ready for a journey that will change your perspective. Mexico has more than 500 documented varieties of tamale - one of the most diverse culinary catalogues in the world for a single dish. Every state, every region, every village has its version, with local ingredients, unique techniques and wrappers ranging from banana leaves to avocado leaves.

In this article we present the strangest, most surprising and most delicious tamales you will find across the length and breadth of Mexico. Some will seem exotic, others will inspire you to experiment in your kitchen, and all of them will prove that the tamal is much more than a simple snack.

1. Zacahuil: the giant tamal of the Huasteca

The zacahuil is the largest tamal in the world. Originating in the Huasteca (a region covering parts of San Luis Potosí, Hidalgo, Veracruz, Tamaulipas and Querétaro), this tamal measures between 1 and 3 metres long and can weigh up to 50 kilos. It is made with coarsely ground maize dough, filled with a whole pig or turkey in a cascabel and guajillo chile adobo, and wrapped in banana leaves to form an enormous parcel.

The zacahuil is cooked in a wood-fired oven all night long (10-12 hours) and is prepared for festivals, weddings and community celebrations where dozens of people are fed from a single tamal. Each portion has a unique texture: the outer dough is crisp and caramelized, while the inside is soft and juicy.

2. Oaxacan tamales de bola

Oaxacan tamales are different from any other Mexican tamal. They are wrapped in banana leaf (not corn husk), which gives them a silkier texture and a milder flavor. The tamal de bola is a variety in which the dough is shaped into a sphere and filled with black mole and chicken. The banana leaf is closed into a square parcel tied with strips of the same leaf.

The Oaxacan black mole inside the tamal is a sauce of more than 30 ingredients including black chiles, chocolate, burnt plantain, toasted avocado leaves and spices. It is a complex, deep explosion of flavor.

3. Michoacán corundas

Corundas are the tamales of Michoacán and have a completely different shape: they are triangular, with no filling, made with maize dough mixed with lard and wrapped in the green leaves of the maize plant (not the dried ones). The dough is softer and fluffier than that of a conventional tamal.

They are served bathed in green tomato salsa or red salsa, with sour cream and crumbled fresh cheese on top. Although they have no filling, the combination of the soft corunda with the salsa and the cream is absolutely addictive. In Michoacán they are the breakfast of choice.

4. Ash tamales (tequesquite tamales)

In some regions of Guerrero, Oaxaca and Puebla, tamales are made whose dough is mixed with tequesquite - a natural alkaline mineral similar to bicarbonate that the Aztecs gathered from the lakes of the Valley of Mexico. The tequesquite gives the dough a greenish color and an extraordinarily light, fluffy texture.

These tamales tend to have a simple flavor: bean, quelites (wild herbs) or chile, and they are wrapped in corn husks. Their flavor is earthy, mineral and deeply pre-Hispanic.

5. Nicaraguan-Mexican nacatamales

On the southern border of Mexico, especially in Chiapas and Tabasco, tamales of Central American influence are made that are true miniature feasts. Nacatamales contain maize dough, pork, cooked rice, potato, olives, prunes, capers, sweet pepper and boiled egg, all wrapped in banana leaf. They are enormous, heavy and eaten as a main course.

6. Chipilín tamales (Chiapas)

Chipilín is a wild herb of Chiapas with a unique vegetal flavor, similar to spinach but more aromatic. Chipilín tamales mix the leaves of this herb directly into the maize dough, which gives them a marbled green color and an unmistakable herbal flavor. They are filled with fresh cheese and wrapped in corn husk. They are light, aromatic and represent Chiapas cooking at its finest.

7. Iguana tamales (Guerrero and Oaxaca)

Yes, iguana. On the coasts of Guerrero and Oaxaca, the green iguana has been a traditional source of protein since pre-Hispanic times. Iguana tamales are made with iguana meat (which tastes similar to chicken but more delicate) in a costeño chile salsa or green mole. It is a dish that sparks controversy, but in the coastal communities it is an integral part of their culinary heritage.

8. Sweetcorn tamales

Sweetcorn tamales are sweet, moist and made with fresh maize (not dried dough). The tender corn kernels are blended with butter, sugar, cinnamon and a little milk to form a creamy dough. They are wrapped in corn-cob leaves (the green leaves that cover the cob) and steamed. The result is a soft, sweet tamal with an intense fresh-maize flavor. They are popular all over Mexico during the corn season (July-September).

9. Yellow mole tamales (Oaxaca)

Oaxaca has seven moles, and yellow mole is one of the least known outside the state. Yellow mole tamales are made with dough wrapped in banana leaf, filled with chicken or chochoyotes (little dough balls) in yellow mole - a sauce made with yellow chilhuacle, hoja santa, chepiche and tomato. The flavor is completely different from any other mole: it is herbal, slightly spicy and a beautiful golden color.

10. Tamales barbones (Sinaloa)

Tamales barbones are a speciality of the Sinaloa coast. They are called 'barbones' (bearded) because the antennae of the shrimp used as filling stick out of the ends of the tamal like beards. The dough is made with shrimp stock, which gives it an intense seafood flavor, and it is filled with whole shrimp in chile salsa. They are wrapped in corn husks and are a unique coastal delicacy.

11. Sweet tamales (pink, pineapple, strawberry)

Sweet tamales are popular all over Mexico as a pudding or as part of breakfast. The dough is mixed with sugar, beaten lard and pink colouring (for the classic sweet ones), candied pineapple or strawberries. They usually contain raisins. They are served with hot atole and are particularly popular on Candlemas (2 February), when whoever found the little figure in the Rosca de Reyes must buy tamales for everyone.

12. Michoacán uchepos

Uchepos are the sweet cousins of corundas. They are made with tender maize (fresh sweetcorn) blended with sugar and a touch of cinnamon. The dough is runnier than that of a normal tamal and is wrapped in fresh corn leaves. When steamed, they come out moist, soft and with an intense sweet-maize flavor. They are served with sour cream and salsa verde. The sweet-sour contrast is sublime.

Tamales in the US

More and more Mexican restaurants in the US offer tamales on their menus, especially around Candlemas and the September independence celebrations. Some even do home deliveries of tamales to order.

If you want to make tamales at home, the essentials are good nixtamalized maize dough and lard (or vegetable shortening for a vegan version). Dried corn husks can be found in Mexican shops, and banana leaves in Asian or Latin shops. Check our recipes section for step-by-step guides.

Tamales are the most diverse, creative and regional expression of Mexican cooking. With more than 500 varieties, they are a culinary treasure that deserves to be explored, celebrated and shared. Which would you like to try first?