Gordita
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A gordita in Mexican cuisine is a corn cake made with masa harina (cornmeal) and stuffed with cheese, meat or other fillings. It is similar to a pasty and to the Colombian/Venezuelan arepa. Gordita means "little fat girl" in Spanish. A gordita is typically fried in a deep wok-shaped comal or baked on a regular comal.
A gordita is typically prepared as a thick tortilla. The dough is most commonly made of nixtamalized corn flour, as also used for tortillas, but can also be of wheat flour, particularly in northern Mexico close to the U.S border. An old variant of corn gorditas uses "masa quebrada"(broken dough) where the corn meal is coarsely ground, leaving bits of broken grain. "Gorditas de Migas" is a version in which fried pork is mixed with the dough.
After cooking, the gordita is allowed to stand to drain excess grease. Then a slit is cut into one side and the gordita is stuffed with additional ingredients. These are usually "guisados" (meat stew) and salsa. Variations of the gordita include fillings of pork or chicken stew, shredded beef, chicharron, nopalitos, carne al pastor, beans, cheese, rajas (sautéed strips of chile), potatoes, eggs with chorizo sausage or picadillo. Gorditas are often eaten as a midday meal and accompanied by several types of salsas.
A classic gordita filling throughout Mexico is chicharrón con chile (a spiced stew of pork rind).
Regional variations
In central Mexico, gorditas are commonly small, about the size of a child's fist. In northern Mexico they tend to be larger and flatter.
In most cases gorditas are shallow fried with vegetable oil in a deep comal, but they can also be deep fried, making the outside more crisp.
In Durango and others states of Northern Mexico, gorditas are commonly made from wheat flour and look like small pita breads. The dough (masa) is identical to that of a wheat flour tortilla. It is cooked on a comal with a hot piece of metal placed on top that resembles a clothes iron. The gordita fills with steam, and a small slit is cut into one side where it can be filled with guisados.
Similar dishes
- The Salvadoran dish pupusa is similar to a gordita, except completely sealed and typically served with curtido, a lightly pickled cabbage relish.
- In Venezuela and Colombia an arepa (a type of corn bread) is often served stuffed with various ingredients.
Other gorditas
The fast food restaurant chain Taco Bell offers a wheat flour gordita that has limited similarity to gorditas as served in Mexico and is more akin to a pita bread taco.
In eastern and central Mexico you can find a "gordita de nata" (cream gordita), a sweet cake made with milk cream, sugar and white wheat flour. This is unrelated to traditional savory gorditas.