Healthy Recipes From Fit City
Low Fat Mexican Tamales
Filling for Tamales:
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 54 Tamales
Ingredients:
| 3 | half chicken breasts |
| 1 | whole head of garlic |
| 1 | medium onion, quartered |
| 2 | stalks celery, cut into chunks |
| 1 | tomato, quartered |
| 1/2 | cup cilantro, chopped |
| 1 | medium green bell pepper, chopped |
| 1 | cube chicken bouillon (Knorr) |
| 3 | teaspoons chili powder |
| 1 1/4 | teaspoons salt |
| 2 | large garlic cloves |
| 1/4 | teaspoon ground cumin |
| 1/8 | teaspoon black pepper |
| 1/2 | cup water or chicken broth |
| 1/2 | cup chopped onion |
| 1 | teaspoon canola oil |
| juice of one lemon |
Remove skin from chicken and wash it with lemon juice. Cook chicken breast with herbs and vegetables (garlic, onion, celery, tomato, cilantro, bell pepper, and chicken bouillon) in approximately 8 cups of water, as you would prepare chicken soup. When done, remove chicken breast from broth and set aside in a container to cool.
In a skillet, brown the remaining onion (1/2 cup) and garlic (2 large cloves) in canola oil. Add shredded chicken and remaining spices. Add water or chicken broth and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. Set aside.
Place chicken broth with all vegetables in a container and remove the fat. Let it cool. In a blender or food processor, puree chicken broth and vegetables. Place chicken broth in a colander to drain and remove leftover vegetables. Set aside for use in masa.
Masa for Tamales:
| 5 | cups Maseca (corn flour) |
| 1 1/2 | teaspoons salt |
| 2 | teaspoons baking powder |
| 5 | cups chicken broth, warmed |
| 5 | tablespoons red chili powder |
| 1 | cup softened corn oil tub margarine (light) |
In a bowl, add margarine, salt, baking powder and chili powder to the chicken broth.
Place the Maseca in a large bowl. Add chicken broth mixture to the Maseca. Mix well.
Refrigerate 2-3 hours or overnight. Cold masa is best for spreading on shucks.
How to Assemble the Tamales:
Place one package of corn husks in hot water to soak for 1-2 hours. Drain and pat dry with paper towels.
Prepare a large area to work with tamales. Set out filling, masa, and shucks. Masa and filling should be cool. Separate shucks into individual pieces about 8" x 5".
Place one corn shuck on the palm of your left hand, with the narrow end facing away from your body. Take about 2 tablespoons of masa and spread it with the back of a spoon on 3/4 of the shuck, leaving 1/4 of the shuck on the left side empty for folding. Fill with shredded chicken and roll carefully.
Place a small round object such as a molcajete or a steamer basket inside the Dutch oven. Place folded husks in the basket with opening of each tamal facing upward. Carefully pour 4 to 5 cups of hot water around sides of arranged tamales and cover with remaining pieces of shucks or aluminum foil to form a seal.
Steam the tamales in tightly covered Dutch oven over low heat for about 60 minutes. Open cover seal with caution.
Nutrional Analysis (One Tamale) :
Calories 70
Fat 3g
Carbohydrates 9g
Sodium 213mg
Cholesterol 5mg
Protein 3g
Nutritional analysis will vary depending on yield.
Recipe
developed by Ana Pacheco, RD, CDE,
and the Texas Diabetes Institute.