What Tamales means
Tamales is a Mexican antojito name of Nahuatl origin meaning "tamales, the plural of tamal". It is built from tamalli (maize dough cooked in a wrapping) and Spanish -es (plural). It is pronounced tah-MAH-les, and it is most associated with the whole country.
English borrowed the plural first and back-formed a singular 'tamale' that no Mexican uses. One tamal, two tamales.
Tamales is one of the many Mexican food words formed in Nahuatl. Spanish borrowed it, and in several cases English borrowed it again from Spanish. See how Nahuatl builds words and the full list of Mexican food names.
This is a site about what Mexican words mean, so there is no recipe here. For the name itself: Antojito means "little craving". These are the masa-based street foods named for their shape more often than their filling: a sope is a small mound, a huarache is a sandal, a gordita is a fat little one, a tlacoyo is an oval patty.
