🫔 Tamales de Rajas

Name: Tamales de Rajas
Total time: 120 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Mexico
Ingredients: 500 g masa harina (nixtamalised corn); 600 ml warm vegetable stock; 80 ml neutral oil; 1 tsp salt; 1 tsp baking powder; 4 poblano peppers; 200 g fresh white cheese, cut into strips; 150 g corn kernels; 18 dried corn husks

Origin: Mexico

310kcal

per serving · 200 g

155kcal

per 100 g

10 gProtein5 g / 100 g

14 gFat7 g / 100 g

36 gCarbs18 g / 100 g

Tamales de rajas are vegetarian tamales filled with strips of roasted poblano pepper, melting cheese and sweet corn kernels. The corn masa steams into a soft, fluffy casing around a filling that is smoky, mild and cheesy. They are a popular meat-free choice at Mexican breakfasts, street stalls and holiday tamaladas.

Diets

✓

Vegetarianno meat or fish in a typical recipe

✓

No pork

✓

Gluten-freeno wheat, barley or rye in a typical recipe

Not veganbecause of: cheese

Contains dairybecause of: cheese

Not keto18 g carbs per 100 g

Allergens

Contains (in a typical recipe):

⚠ Milk

What it is made of

masa corn doughpoblano peppercheesecorn

Recipe

6 servings120 min

Ingredients

500 g masa harina (nixtamalised corn)
600 ml warm vegetable stock
80 ml neutral oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
4 poblano peppers
200 g fresh white cheese, cut into strips
150 g corn kernels
18 dried corn husks

Method

Soak the corn husks in hot water for 30 minutes.
Char the poblanos over a flame or under the grill, steam them in a covered bowl, peel, seed and cut into strips.
Beat the masa harina with oil, salt, baking powder and warm stock into a soft dough.
Spread masa on each husk, add pepper strips, a strip of cheese and a few corn kernels, then fold.
Steam upright for 60–75 minutes until the dough releases from the husk.

How to make it lighter

Use a lower-fat fresh cheese and a smaller strip per tamal.
Add more poblano strips and corn so the filling stays generous with less cheese.
Reduce the oil in the masa: 1 tbsp oil ≈ 120 kcal.

History

Rajas, meaning strips, refers to the roasted poblano peppers that have long been a staple of central Mexican cooking. Rajas con queso is one of the classic tamal fillings sold alongside pork and chicken versions throughout Mexico today.

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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →