A tamale or tamal (from Nahuatl tamalli) is a traditional Latin American food that begins with a corn meal dough called masa (or a masa mix such as Maseca ) mixed with water . This mixture is then filled with meats, cheese (post-colonial) and sliced chiles or any preparation according to taste. The tamale is wrapped in a corn husk for before cooking.

Tamales are an ancient American food, made throughout the continent for over 5000 years. Their essence is the masa maize dough, usually filled with a sweet or savory filling, wrapped in plant leaves or corn husks, and cooked, usually by steaming, until firm. Tamales were developed as a portable ration for use by war parties in the ancient Americas, and were as ubiquitous and varied as the sandwich is today.

Tamales are difficult to make. The procedure in Central and Northern Mexico goes as follows: the masa (about one-inch diameter ball or so) is smeared like butter on the individual corn husk with a spoon. Then the filling (see below) is placed length-wise on the center of the husk; meats (chicken, pork) should be pre-cooked. The sides of the husk are folded and the newly made tamale is steam-cooked for an hour or until the masa has a cake-like consistency. The proportions of filling and masa vary widely according to taste. Once made, however, they can be frozen quite easily (the husks help to keep them from sticking together) and reheated as needed. Because of this, the making of tamales is often a social occasion, with friends and family all pitching into help make hundreds of tamales to be shared out.

The plural is tamales, and this is the form of the word most often seen in the United States among Hispanics, with the singular frequently given as tamale (seeming incorrect to other Spanish-speakers, who know the correct form is tamal) As tamales have acquired mainstream popularity in the United States, other fillings have become more common, such as beef; another popular filling is corn. Tamales are popular as Christmas meals in the southwestern states of the USA. A basic modern southwestern tamale contains a spicy meat filling, usually shredded pork , beef, and Venison often served with a chili con carne sauce.

The tamale is a staple food along the Mississippi Delta. It grew in popularity in the early 1900s when Mexican farmworkers introduced it to black workers in the cotton fields in the deep South.