Chicken and Vegetarian Tamales With Red Mole Sauce

Soak dried corn husks in cold water. For same-day preparation, soak for up to 1 hour; otherwise, soak overnight. Remove husks from water, dry each with a paper towel, and set aside.

In 1/4 cup olive oil, fry 5 Roma tomatoes, 2 small onions, and 4 garlic cloves for 10 minutes, or until tomato skins begin to fall off. Cool the mixture and remove tomato skins.

Remove stems and seeds from 6 chile ancho peppers and 5 chile guajillo peppers. Wash and dry the peppers. On medium-high heat, toast the peppers until slightly browned on the skin for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, place in a bowl, and cover with hot water for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, toast 2 tablespoons of pumpkin seeds and 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds until browned. Grind them in a coffee grinder until they form a meal.

After 30 minutes, drain the peppers. Place the cooled tomato mixture, peppers, and 4 cups of vegetable broth (or chicken broth) in a blender.

Liquefy the mixture in the blender and pass it through a sieve into a saucepan. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, the ground seed meal, 1/4 cup Taza cinnamon/chocolate pieces, 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seeds, 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Simmer the mixture for 30 minutes.

Boil 6 chicken breasts with 4 bay leaves and 3 garlic cloves for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, drain water, cool, and shred the chicken. In a separate saucepan, heat 1/2 cup corn oil, 5 tablespoons chili powder, 2 tablespoons cumin, 2 tablespoons garlic powder, 1/2 tablespoon black pepper, and 1 tablespoon salt for 5 minutes. Pour the mixture over the shredded chicken, mix thoroughly, cool, cover, and refrigerate.

In a separate bowl, combine 2 pounds of instant corn masa with 3 tablespoons paprika, 3 tablespoons salt, 1/2 tablespoon cumin, 3 tablespoons chili powder, and 3 tablespoons garlic powder. Mix the masa and spices well. Add 2 cups of corn oil to the masa mixture. After incorporating the oil, slowly incorporate 5 cups of vegetable broth, mixing thoroughly until a dough forms. (This can be done by hand or with a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.)

Sauté the vegetarian filling (leeks, cilantro, poblano pepper, mushrooms, zucchini) for 10 minutes.

On day 2, assemble the tamales. For efficiency, spread masa on all husks first, then add the filling. Spread masa 1/2 inch thick, covering 2/3 of the wider portion of each corn husk, leaving the narrower top third and one side uncovered.

Add 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of shredded chicken filling to each tamale husk, adjusting quantity based on husk size.

Add 2 tablespoons of vegetarian filling to 12 of the tamale husks.

Roll each tamale, ensuring the corn husk does not overlap. Fold the bottom portion of the husk to seal each tamale. Place the sealed section facing down.

Arrange the tamales in a double steamer, ensuring the water level does not overflow into the steamer basket. Steam for 2 hours, periodically checking and refilling the water to prevent evaporation. After 2 hours, remove tamales from the steamer, let cool on a plate for 3-5 minutes. Remove the corn husk, serve with mole sauce, and enjoy.