Given its prominent place in Mexican cuisine, tamales (or more properly, the singular tamal) is one of the first things you think of when Mexican food is mentioned. Tamales may be small or large, depending on the region. The largest ones, in Veracruz, are wrapped in layers of banana leaves and baked for several hours. They can be sweet or savory, but are usually prepared with masa dough plus a filling or stuffing.

Nixtamalized corn kernels are the basis for the masa dough, traditionally made with lard. The filling can range from cheeses and meats to fruits like pineapple, but the main thing to remember is that the corn dough takes center stage -- the filling takes a supporting role.

Incidentally, tamales can also be found in the Philippines (among other places, like Peru), though usually made with rice instead of corn.

In the picture is a really simple tamales -- two kinds actually -- that I made to use up the corn husks I bought a month ago. The first one is made with some beef, simmered with onions, garic and bay leaves, then shredded and sauteed with more garlic, a small piece of canned chipotle chili from the freezer, Mexican oregano, some cumin, and tomatoes plus a bit of the stock used for cooking the beef -- if you're looking for "easy" you can also mix pre-cooked beef with canned enchilada sauce. The second one is just cotija cheese and some store-bought salsa (I like Green Mountain Gringo's).

I have two favorite cookbooks just on tamales, and a third one is more about Mexican cuisine and its history -- very interesting read though I haven't had the time to finish it up and have barely made it past the first chapter -- would still highly recommend it though.