Tamalitos de Chipilin

Wash your hands. In a large bowl which you will use for mixing, put about ¼ of the flour and add some of the water (maybe 1 cup). Start mixing it in using your hands. Add some more flour and about another cup of water. Mix it in. Add the margarine. Mix it in. More flour, then add the chicken broth. Mix it in. Add more flour and more water or chicken broth until you have finished the Maseca package. Add the chipilin leaves, a handful at a time. Mix, mix, mix. This mix should feel moist, but not wet. Try to get an idea of the texture through our photographs. Assembly: Take a couple of individual corn husks, and cut strips out of them, which you will use to tie up your tamal. Make about 24 strips. Place a corn husk on the counter. Open it up. Place about a handful of masa in your hand; try to give it an oval shape. Put it in the middle of your corn husk, leaving a space of about 2 inches on the top (this is the part you’ll tie up). Fold the sides in. Fold the bottom up. Gather the top together by sort of crunching it. Tie it tightly with a strip of corn husk. Go around a couple of times and then tie it up. Set aside. You have your tamalito! Repeat all the assembly steps until you have used up all your masa. Cooking: Get a large, deep pot (see picture below). Place a few corn husks on the bottom of the pot. Start arranging all your tamalitos, tied side up, side by side. Fill the pot with water and the tablespoon of salt until you have just covered them. Place a wet cloth on top, to cover them. Cover your pot with the lid. Turn the heat to medium and wait for it to start boiling, about 15 minutes. Set your timer to 1½ hours. When the time is up, remove the cloth carefully so you don’t burn yourself and drain out any liquid. Serve warm! You can leave them in the pot if you will serve them within a few hours. Otherwise, lift them out of the pot using tongs and let them cool. Then refrigerate them.