The masa used for tamales is different than the one used in tortillas, as it is way more liquidy, more like a batter than a dough. To make the masa, my host mom started by blending the corn in her blender with water and straining it into a large pot. The really thick pieces of corn will make the masa taste grainy, so you have to make sure they don't end up in the masa. She, then, added more water to the pot along with some seasonings, stiriing occassionaly until the masa started getting thicker and forming at the bottom of the pot. The craziest part to me is that my host mom didn't measure anything! This is because she has made tamales so many times, she knew how much to add just by taste and looking. Once the masa started getting a little bit thicker, she started added fat, or lard, she had saved in the fridge into the pot--three large spoonfulls! Once the fat started melting, she threw in just a little bit of sliced sweet pepper, and the masa started thickening super fast. All I had to do was stir and watch her add everything from memory.
Once the masa was thick at the bottom of the pot, we had to strain it again to get rid of all the extra liquid that wasn't needed. While we were making the masa, my host dad was cutting banana leaves from his garden, so that we would have something to fold the tamales in. When the masa was all drained, cooled, and ready, and we had washed and laid out the banana leaves, it was time to start folding. As we started folding, my host dad headed out to the outdoor kicthen to make a large wood fire where we would eventually cook the tamales over.
My host mom carefully took a scoop of masa and placed it on top of a banana leaf with a little hole in the center.
