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The gorditas are a Mexican dish made from corn or wheat dough, stuffed with pork rinds, beans or other various ingredients (depending on the geographical area).

Description

The gorditas are handmade tortillas that, before cooking the disc of raw dough, are filled with some ingredient (generally, pressed pork rinds, fresh cheese or beans); later they are fried in vegetable oil in a kind of frying pan called a comal, or they are also cooked directly on the comal —without using oil.

They are not always filled, because there are also preparations in which the corn dough is uniformly mixed with the ingredient to use. The way of preparing them varies from region to region.

In the north of Mexico they can also be made in a way that looks like a small tortilla, somewhat thicker than a usual tortilla, they are cooked on a griddle and once cooked they are opened in half and filled with cheese or some stew such as: picadillo, chicharrón, nopales, etc. In the states of Durango, Coahuila and Chihuahua there are also gorditas de harina that are made with wheat flour.

Gorditas get their name from the fact that to make them, it is necessary to create a thicker (fatter) than normal tortilla, regardless of whether the corn dough disk is filled or mixed. This is a dish that can be easily found in street food stalls, so popular in Mexico.

In south-central Mexico, a gordita is a ball of dough filled in the center with pressed chicharrón, lightly flattened with the palms of the hands, and then fried in oil or lard. Once fried, it is opened in half and cilantro, onion, grated cheese or Oaxaca cheese is added. If the diner prefers, you can also add green or red sauce.

Variants

The gorditas de horno are a traditional Mexican food made from corn, cow's milk derivatives, lard and sugar.

They are basically prepared in rural areas in an artisanal way, with traditional recipes that are passed from one generation to another. They are highly requested at the Day of the Dead festivities and it is very common to send them as a gift from the inhabitants of the countryside to their relatives who are in the city or abroad.