Mexican recipe for Banana Tamales

Ingredients:

The tamal dough or masa:
* 2 cups (250 g) wheat flour
* 2 cups (250 g) corn flour for tamales (Maseca)
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 2 teaspoons salt
* 1/2 cup lard, or vegetable shortening
* 2 cups water boiled with 3 green tomato leaves

Filling:
* 1 teaspoon butter
* 1 banana, diced into small cubes
* 1/3 cup brown sugar
* 1/2 cup raisins
* 1 bunch of corn husks for tamales, soaked and dried, as needed

For assembly:
* a steamer for tamales, or a big pot for steaming
* 1 coin
* A damp cloth

Preparation:

1) For the masa, in a bowl mix the flour, brown suagr, the masa flour and baking powder.

In a blender, blend the lard or shortening until it changes color, add the salt, then gradually pour the flour mixture in, add water by tablespoons while pulsing the blender until everything is perfectly combined. The dough will be humid but must absolutely not stick to the hands, if so you're not finished blending.

2) Now for the filling: heat up a pan and melt the butter with the banana, frying for a minute or two, then adding the raisins; cook for a minute or two. then reserve.

Boil water in a tamale steamer or, place a coin at the bottom, above the grid, covered with sheets and keep covered tamale steamer.

3) Fill each husk with two tablespoons of the tamale dough we did, starting from the bottom, then add a tablespoon of the banana filling. Close the tamale and fold the tip of each husk.

4) When finished place the tamales upright with the bottom of the husks facing down so that the dough does not slip out. Top with the remaining cornhusks, then the damp cloth. Steam-cook for about 40 minutes. The tamales are ready once the dough is sticking out of the leaf, and you can cleanly peel a leaf.

Note: with steamed recipes such as tamales, we better add a little more salt or brown sugar as in this case, as with the steam process the salt goes away. With this in mind your tamales will not be bland.