Pupusas are a traditional dish from El Salvador. They can be filled with different ingredients and they are delicious served with curtido.
Pupusas with Curtido from El Salvador
Ingredients
Curtido
- ½ head green cabbage shredded
- 1 carrot shredded
- ¼ teaspoon finely chopped habanero pepper
- ½ red onion thinly sliced
- Salt and pepper
- Juice of ½ lime
- ½ cup white vinegar
- ¼ cup warm water
Pupusas
- 2 cups masarina or corn flour
- 1 cup warm water
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup cheddar cheese
- ¼ cup queso fresco
- ¼ cup mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup refried beans
- 1 cup cooked chicharrón diced
Instructions
- Combine the masa harina, warm water and salt, mixing thoroughly. Let mixture stand for five minutes.
- Knead with your hands for about 3 minutes, moistening your hands with water as you work.
- Form 8 small balls with the dough. Place each ball between 2 plastic bags and with a flat pot cover, flatten to ½ inch.
- Remove the top plastic of 4 tortillas, sprinkle the cheddar cheese, queso fresco and mozarella cheese over the bottom of each tortilla. Add the refried beans evenly on top of the cheese, then top with chicharron. Top with another tortilla. Press the borders to close the pupusa so the filling does not come out.
- Add the oil to a nonstick pan over medium heat. Place the pupusas in the pan, and cook about 3 minutes on each side, until a crust forms or they are golden brown. Serve warm with curtido.
To make the curtidio:
- Place all the ingredients in a bowl an mix well. Place in the fridge until ready to serve.
Nutrition
My friend Joan from Foodalogue is going on a virtual culinary tour “South of the Border” and the first stop was Mexico, so I joined her with these Chicken Tacos with Tomatillo Salsa.
This week we are going to El Salvador and I am joining her with their national dish, Pupusas. I didn’t know anything about Salvadorian cuisine when Joan announced the itinerary, so I started searching for information about their culture and food. I learned that some Salvadorian dishes are similar to some Colombian traditional dishes. Such similarities can be seen in dishes such as fried cassava and fried sweet plantains.
Pupusas are a thick tortilla made with masa de maiz, which is also used in Mexican tortillas and tamales. Traditionally, pupusas are stuffed with refried beans, Salvadorean cheese, chicharron( fried pork belly), loroco and other fillings like chicken, shrimp and more. They are served with curtido, a cabbage and carrot salad with a vinegar dressing. I made beans and cheese pupusas for my vegetarian husband and I made chicharron, beans and cheese pupusas for myself and they were both delicious with the curtido. I didn’t have Salvadorian cheese, so I used a mix of Queso fresco, mozarella and cheddar cheese.
Divina
This is a mouthwatering dish. It's great to learn something new. 😀
Ben
Oh, I've heard about pupusas before, but I've never knew exactly what they were. Great contribution to the roundup! 😀
Sandra g
I've always wanted to learn to make pupusas, but though it was to complicated, but is not!, thank you Erica, can't wait to try them!
Joan Nova
They came out great, Erica. I think the Salvadorans were smart to pair curtido with pupusas because the acid of the salad cuts some of the fat from the cheese and chiccarones. 🙂 Thanks so much for participating.
Mari
These are delicious, I had hem in Massachusetts and hey were awesome! Thanks for the recipe!
Devon
There is a large El Salvadorian community in my neighborhood, so I can order these for take-out. I hope Ecuador is the next stop on the Foodalogue tour; I'm going there in a few weeks and know nothing about the food.
Erica
Thank you all for the comments 🙂 These pupusas are delicious!
Simply Life
Oh my, this looks like it's just oozing with delicious-ness 🙂
Angie@Angie's Recipes
They look very much like Chinese pancakes. Yummy!
Ruth
I would love to be able to make something like this, sounds so delicious!
Vinolia
that's a yummy refreshing dish you've got there; love the curtido preparartion, must have bennn crunchy and munchy, lovely combination of veggies!! looks great with the filled pupusas!!!!
Christine @ Fresh Local and Best
Gosh, it's been ages since I've had papusas! I love the warm crispy exterior and how filling these patties are.
grace
oh, how delicious. and those beans make the perfect filler--i could probably eat my weight in these. 🙂
Faith
I am really loving this virtual culinary tour! These look super tasty and just perfect with the curtido on the side!
Erica
Thank you guys 🙂 I appreciate all your comments!
Velva
Delicious!!! The Culinary Virtual Tour is an awesome idea.
Arlene
I've seen the ready-made frozen Goya puposas, but I'm sure they're nothing like the real thing. Yours look amazing.
Sook
Oh pupusas!! I've heard SO MUCH about it from my Dominican friend! I am bookmarking this recipe to try it sometime. Thanks!
monicajane
yum...i've eaten pupusas many times in restaurants but now I live where there are no El Salvadoran restaurants...this looks very doable...and I'd love to make them...
I need to find a source for the flour used.
Erica
Monica- You can find that flour at Latin markets, some brands are Maseca and Goya.
Natasha - 5 Star Foodie
The pupusas and curtido sound excellent! I would love to try! I tried to make something for the tour but totally failed, so hope to join on the next stop.
Claudia Medeiros
Hi, Erica ! Delicious menu ! 😀
I wish you a wonderful 2010, dear friend, full of all great things God can allow you 🙂
xoxo
Carla
What a great recipe. I have almost a full bag of Masa Harina left from making arepas and need more recipes to use it for. Thanks for the great idea. Looks delicious.
anncoo
Never tried this before, looks very delicious!
Kim
The papusa look delicious. It all looks so homemade and delicious Erica. Great job.
Erica
Thank you everyone 🙂
Kitchen Butterfly
How yummy are these.....I joined the tour - such a great idea!!!!!!
Oysterculture
I love pupusas - in the DC area there was a lot of pupusa restaurants, not so common here in SF, but you've inspired me to keep looking!
Soma
I have never heard of this before. But it sounds so much like the stuffed breads we make except with wheat flour and different kind of stuffing. Thanks for sharing Erica.
Erica
Thank you all for visiting my blog!
Sandra g
Erica made the curtido and pupusas tonight, they were delicious!
Erica
Sandra g- Thank you for your feedback!
lisa
Hi Erica! I'm actually Salvadorian-American (Is it Salvadorean or Salvadoran?) and the pupusas that are most commonly made here are the "pupusas revueltas" or pupusas made from chicharron and queso. However, Salvadorian pupusas are more diverse, they can be made with cheese and beans, or cheese only, cheese and loroco (my least favorite, I don't like loroco) and shrimp and cheese or fish and cheese. I only stick to my pupusas revueltas and cheese pupusas. Another thing, you don't have to use Salvadorian cheese as a matter fact most people use mozarella cheese to make pupusas. Pupusas are similar to the arepas of Venezuela. They are delicious if made the right way. The curtido also has other ingredients besides vinegar, but my mom would know best since she makes it all the time.
Austin
I feel like an idiot but... what's the difference between arepas and pupusas?
Erica Dinho
Pupusas are made with a different corn flour.
Allison Marie
Thanks for sharing! My Salvadoran ex's family made pupusas every weekend, they were delicious. In addition to the encurtido they also served it with salsa roja, a tomato based sauce.
Kathryn
What is the ratio of flour to water for the pupusas recipe?
Linda
What is the recipe to make the pupusas? I don’t see that recipe here.
Erica Dinho
It's fixed.
Cindy
I just discover papusas in the last year at an El Salvadoran market/restaurant. I absolutely love them with beans and cheese or meat and cheese. Your recipe makes it easy to enjoy these any time I want! They rival any I've eaten out. The curdito is bright and crunchy. I also add a little hot sauce on mine along with the curtido because that's how I've eaten them out. Thank you for posting your recipe. I can say from making them, it's a good one!