Gorditas are Mexican specialties made from nixtamalized corn masa and filling usually of cheese, meat, or other.
Gordita means “chubby” in Spanish.
There are two variants, one deep-fried in a wok-like comal, mainly consumed in central and southern Mexico, and the other cooked on a classic comal.
The most common variant is the “gordita de chicharrón”, filled with chicharron (fried pork crackling), like the Salvadoran pupusas.
In Mexico City, we tried them twice with a pork-based filling: gorditas de carnitas.
The following recipe is the basic one, which you can then use with the filling of your choice.
They are very similar to Venezuelan arepas, but should not be confused with the similarly named sweet Mexican ones:
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Cheap
- Rest time: 15 Minutes
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 12 pieces
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Mexican
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 9 oz corn flour
- 1 cup hot water
- to taste salt
- 2 tbsps vegetable margarine (or lard)
- to taste vegetable oil
Steps
For the masa:
• Mix the corn flour and salt.
• Add the margarine (or lard).
• Gradually add the water while continuing to mix and knead until you get a smooth and homogeneous dough.
• Divide the dough into 12 or 14 balls and cover them. Let them rest for 15 minutes.
• Using a tortilla press, a rolling pin, or manually, press each ball between two sheets of parchment paper (or plastic wrap) to form a circle about 5 inches in diameter and 0.2 inches thick.
To cook the gorditas, place each one on a preheated comal (hot plate or skillet) coated with oil.
Cook each side for 2 to 3 minutes, until they are slightly golden and cooked.Once all the gorditas are cooked, take each one and cut them on one side with a knife dipped in water each time.
Only half of the tortilla should be cut, like a pita.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
What is nixtamalized corn masa?
A dough made with corn flour prepared from dried corn kernels, soaked and cooked in an alkaline solution like water with lime.
The nixtamalization is a very ancient process, invented by the Mesoamerican populations who noticed that cooking corn in a mixture of water and lime (or ash) made the dough last longer.
