Tamales Negros (Black Tamales) Recipe

Prepare a smooth sauce in the food processor with all the sauce ingredients except the chicken. Cook the sauce and the chicken together in a covered pan over moderate to low heat for 20 minutes. Remove the chicken and cut it into 2 inch cubes. Set aside the chicken and the sauce. Mix the dough ingredients together and simmer in a pan over low heat for 30 minutes, stirring frequently, until the mash is thick and smooth. Set aside. Assembling the Tamale: Aluminum foil cut into 12 inch squares (if you can find banana leaves, this is what they use in Guatemala) 1 small dried pitted prune for each tamale 2 raisins for each tamale 2 pitted green olives for each tamale

Put 1/2 cup of the dough in the center of the foil sheet. Smooth it out to a rectangle 4x5 inches and 1 inch thick. Top this with 2 Tbsp of the sauce and 1 cube of chicken. Around the side gently press in the prune, raisins and olives. Fold the foil toward the center, seal it, then give the ends a twist around to seal the ends. (If you found banana leaves, you would fold it into a packet and tie with string). Cook in a steamer over moderate heat for 1 1/2 hours. To serve, unfold the foil and cut around the edges with scissors, leaving the center part of the foil intact. It is your plate. For banana leaves, cut string and unfold. Serve hot.