Guatemalan tamales — Tayuyos

There are two kinds of tamalitos de frijol that I have encountered in Guatemala: Tayuyos and Chepitos. Today I bring you tayuyos which are basically small tamales, thus tamalITOS, with paste of black beans mixed in before cooking and wrapped with maize plant fresh leaves.

As I have said before, in Guatemala alone, there must be over 100 different kind of tamales under various different preparation methods and names. Tamales are an ancient Pre-Columbian food, made throughout the continent for over 5000 years.

How many kinds of tamales have you tried in Guatemala?

Our loyal and long-time reader Jessica Flores explained the differences on Facebook. Here are my quick and dirty translations on the fly:

Chuchitos = corn dough, tomato-based sauce y meat inside, wrapped in dried maize husks. Eaten as an appetizer.

Tamalitos = single corn dough and other ingredients such as chipilin, chicharrón, etc., no sauce, wrapped in green maize leaves mosh. Eaten instead of tortillas.

Tamales = twice-cooked corn dough, meat, tomato-and-spices-based sauce wrapped in plantain leaves or mosh. Eaten as a main meal.

Paches = potato dough, sauce, chile and meat wrapped in plantain leaves or mosh. Eaten as a main meal.

Here’s the original, simple and concise explanation by Jessica Flores on AntiguaDailyPhoto on Facebook.

Chuchitos = masa de maíz, recardo y carne adentro, envuelto en tusa/hoja de elote. Eaten as an appetizer/antojito.

Tamalitos = masa de maíz (And other things such as chipilin, chicharon) no recado, envuelto en hoja de milpa o mosh. Eaten like a tortilla.

Tamales = masa de maiz, carne, recado envuleto en hoja de plátano o mosh. Eaten as a main meal.

Paches = masa de papa, recado, carne envuelto en hoja de plátano o mosh. Eaten as main meal.

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