Please enjoy the video below that we recorded in Doña María's kitchen
No pierdas detalle de la elaboración de los tamales de nopal gordo.
The dish to be prepared requires the selection of large nopales (prickly pears) and corn, ingredients that cannot be missed in Oaxacan food.
Sazón. (2020) by Jesús CansecoSecretaría de las Culturas y Artes de Oaxaca
Preparation of the masa dough
The masa dough for tamales is seasoned with leaves of yerba santa.
La olla y su corona. (2020) by Jesús CansecoSecretaría de las Culturas y Artes de Oaxaca
The pot and its crown
La olla, para habilitarla como vaporera, debe contar con una corona al fondo, la que tejen con pedazos de carrizo.
Al vapor. (2020) by Jesús CansecoSecretaría de las Culturas y Artes de Oaxaca
Steamed
Una vez que la olla ya está evaporando, se colocan los tamales sobre la corona para su cocción.
The nopal (prickly pear) is placed directly on the wood-burning grill for the cooking of its pulp.
Doña Maria extracts the flesh and juice from the large nopal (prickly pear).
Para la salsa. (2020) by Jesús CansecoSecretaría de las Culturas y Artes de Oaxaca
Ingredients for the salsa
Tomotoes and chilis are steamed over the tamales.
Salsa roja o verde. (2020) by Jesús CansecoSecretaría de las Culturas y Artes de Oaxaca
Salsa roja or salsa verde
When serving tamales, Doña María ask if they are preferred with salsa roja or verde.
Nopal con salsa. (2020) by Jesús CansecoSecretaría de las Culturas y Artes de Oaxaca
Nopal (prickly pear) with salsa
The nopal (prickly pear) is mixed with salsa—we cannot deny that the consistency is so thick first of all that it does not seem pleasant—but the result is surprisingly rich.
Doña María (2020) by Jesús CansecoSecretaría de las Culturas y Artes de Oaxaca
Doña María
The tamales are opened and the result of mixing the salsa and the nopal (prickly pear) is served.
Tamales de nopal gordo. (2020) by Jesús CansecoSecretaría de las Culturas y Artes de Oaxaca
Tamales of large nopal (prickly pear)
They can be prepared with salsa roja or salsa verde in any way, the tamales of large nopal (prickly pear) are delicious.
Pulque. (2020) by Jesús CansecoSecretaría de las Culturas y Artes de Oaxaca
Pulque
To accompany the tamales of large nopal (prickly pear), Doña María offered us an excellent pulque.
Doña Maria's kitchen, with a thin ceiling and walls, was a very special kitchen for the recording equipment, it was late, it was very cold, but there was great human warmth. The story of Doña María and her family is a story of struggle, effort, sacrifice, but of a lot of family love.
