Tamales "Throw-Down", Colombia vs. Belize

So for the holidays last year my in-laws were in town and we had the bright idea to embark upon the herculean task of making traditional tamales. The huge kind wrapped in large banana leaves. My MIL is from Colombia and that is how they are made there. Belizean tamales are the same large, banana leaf kind but depending on the region where they are made, the innards can contain different things. My childhood favorite happen to be the chicken tamales, but these are not just any chicken tamales, they contain a bone-in, hearty piece of chicken. Some people don't like theirs with the bone in. The jury is out on which is better, but I happen to love the bone-in kind. So much flavor to be found there! Anyway, the in-laws and I embarked on this journey and even found a Mexican market that carried all our necessary supplies: banana leaves (from the Philippines?!, corn Masa mix, and vital to making a real Belizean tamale- red annato paste. This paste is essential to Belizean cooking because it gives our savory dishes their color and flavor. In Belize we call it "recado" and it is a special blend made only in that region, but Mexican markets carry annato paste which is the closest comparison. So, on to the throwdown. Well, perfecting the consistency of the masa dough is by far the most difficult task. Not enough softness and you end up with one tough tamale. Not good. Somehow, someway, we got it right. In the process I decided to make my tamales my way, Belizean style, and another batch my MIL way, Colombian. What we ended up with was an impromptu Belizean vs. Colombian tamales throwdown! (Shout out to Bobby Flay!) The Colombian style tamales were pale with shredded chicken and vegetables inside. Pretty tasty. Mine were plump, reddish in color and full of juicy bone-in chicken. But I can't end this post without revealing the secret ingredient: the cull (col). This is a special sauce created by the Mayans that is used in the best Belizean tamales. I have to say that this sauce is a game changer in this dish and truly gives the Belizean tamales the edge over any others. Needless to say the Belizean tamales won and I can say that with confidence because my father-in-law gave them the seal of approval over his wife's! As big as they are, he went in for second's! That says it all.