Tamale

Tamales are what the effort of the season looks like. Making them is a ceremony of its own in many communities, with the whole family spreading masa and folding husks or leaves for a batch big enough to feed both the altar and the house. Mexico City's own description of the ofrenda names chile tamales among the dishes set out for adults who have died, next to mole. The filling is less fixed than the act: what goes in is usually what the family makes best or what the person being remembered asked for. Make extra, because a batch like this is meant to be shared.