La Historia of Pupusas and How to make them

 

What is a pupusa?

A pupusa is a handmade corn biscuit-like flatbread. Made from masa de maiz (corn flour) which is popularly used in Latin American cuisine. The pupusa is typically stuffed with frijol and queso (refried beans and cheese) I normally use mozzarella cheese but in El Salvador, they usually use a soft cheese called quesillos. Pupusas can also be stuffed with chicharron (fried pork meat ground), ayote (squash), loroco (which is a climbing vine with edible flowers that grows in Central America)

How to make Pupusa 

Step 1 

Making the dough: add masa de maiz and salt to a large mixing bowl. 

Add warm water, little by little, mixing the dough or masa with your hands (don't be shy about putting your hands all up in that dough) the dough will be ready once it is soft

Step 2 

Shape the dough into a golf ball-sized portion. If the masa starts to stick into your hand just add a little bit of water and oil into a small bowl and dip your hands in it so that the dough won't stick. 

Step 3 

Adding the filling:  grab the balled-up dough and pat the dough with the palm of your hand. Make sure that the dough ends up looking like a disc. After that add your filler whether it's frijol con queso, chicharron, queso y loroco, or queso con ayote. 

Step 4 

Once you have the filler you are going to gently bring the edges of the masa around the filling closing in the filler inside and your masa should look like a ball again. Then you going to pat/slap the dough back and forth between your palms making it into a disk 

Step 5 

Cook and serve: place pupusa on a comal (griddle or skillet) and cook for 2-4 minutes on each side until golden. Once done serve the pupusa with curtido (fermented cabbage relish) and salsa de tomate (tomato sauce) 

If you would like to have curtido with your pupusa here's my recipe to it as well 

que es curtido