Today is the day of the candelaria in Mexico It is tradition to eat tamales, a tamal (from Nahuatl tamalli, plural tamales), is a traditional Native American food consisting of steam-cooked corn flour (masa harina) dough with or without a filling. Tamales can be filled with meats, cheese (post-colonial), and sliced chillis or any preparation according to taste. The tamal is generally wrapped in a corn husk or plantain leaves before cooking, depending on the region from which they come. In English-speaking countries the tamal is usually called tamale in the singular, though there is no obvious linguistic basis for this name.
