Homemade Pupusas [General]
2011 Apr 13
They were good, chopper; even the leftovers were good (same flavours but the texture of the cooked dough was a bit better when fresh - leftovers were better than no leftovers!).
Recipe, well, I used the one Chimichimi posted I think (thanks Chimi!), maybe modified a bit. His recipe calls for 2 cups flour plus 1.25 to 1.5 cups of water and 1 tsp salt but I added less than a tsp of salt and didn't measure the water the first time I made them. The second time I added a total of 1-1/2 cups of warm water, 3/4 tsp salt and 1 tsp baking powder (non-traditional but La Cabana’s pupusa seemed so light and I had seen a recipe or 2 that called for some bp to make them lighter). I dumped the masa flour on the counter, mixed in the salt and powder by hand then mixed in the water slowly by hand, pulling it all together and kneading it til smooth, breaking off an egg sized clump now and again to roll it into a ball and flatten on the counter to check if it would crack – if it did I added more water to the dough; when it didn’t crack I wrapped the whole ball of dough in plastic and let it rest about 10 min. Then I cut the ball in half, wrapped half and cut the other half in 4 pieces (so when all was done I would end up with 8 pupusa from the 2 halves about 4” to 5”). I rolled each piece in a ball by hand and then either you can make a large indent with your thumb and put ~1 Tbs filling in then squeeze together to enclose filling then roll out with a rolling pin on the counter or flatten by hand to 3/8” to ½” thick,... or divide each piece in half again, roll into a ball by hand and then roll out each of the 2 halves out to ~ 4", put a Tbs of filling on top of one & then top with the second piece, pressing the edges together well to seal, and roll out again to 3/8” or ½”. Repeat with the other 3 pieces, cover all with plastic from the reserved half and repeat with making 4 more pupusas from the reserved half. You should end up with 8 pupusas – you can make them bigger if you want.
Heat a frying pan to med or med–low; when hot wipe with an oiled paper towel and cook pupusas til browned, then flip and cook til browned; stack on a plate in a warm oven (covered perhaps) while you finish remaining pupusa. Serve with curtido and hot sauce.
The first time I made curtido I made it using ½ head of cabbage and the same amounts as below; the second time I used ¼ head and the same amounts as below.
This is a mish-mash of what I found online:
Curtido
1\4 head green cabbage, finely sliced
1 carrot, finely sliced
About ¼ tsp finely chopped hot pepper or some ground hot red chillies
½ onion, red, white or yellow, finely sliced
Salt & pepper
½ cup white vinegar
Juice of ½ lime (optional)
¼ cup warm water
Some rubbed oregano
Put sliced cabbage and carrot in a pot or bowl and pour a kettle of boiling water over top to cover; let rest 5 or 10 min, covered. Drain well. Add remaining ingredients, stir to mix well and let rest about 2 hours at room temp then stir and refrigerate.
I mixed my curtido in a 2kg honey jar tightly sealed so I could mix it by turning upside down. Being tall it stored better in the fridge than a bowl; mix it every 2-3 days. It gets better as it ages!
Top your warm pupusa with some well-drained curtido (tongs work well) and a squeeze of hot sauce.
Recipe, well, I used the one Chimichimi posted I think (thanks Chimi!), maybe modified a bit. His recipe calls for 2 cups flour plus 1.25 to 1.5 cups of water and 1 tsp salt but I added less than a tsp of salt and didn't measure the water the first time I made them. The second time I added a total of 1-1/2 cups of warm water, 3/4 tsp salt and 1 tsp baking powder (non-traditional but La Cabana’s pupusa seemed so light and I had seen a recipe or 2 that called for some bp to make them lighter). I dumped the masa flour on the counter, mixed in the salt and powder by hand then mixed in the water slowly by hand, pulling it all together and kneading it til smooth, breaking off an egg sized clump now and again to roll it into a ball and flatten on the counter to check if it would crack – if it did I added more water to the dough; when it didn’t crack I wrapped the whole ball of dough in plastic and let it rest about 10 min. Then I cut the ball in half, wrapped half and cut the other half in 4 pieces (so when all was done I would end up with 8 pupusa from the 2 halves about 4” to 5”). I rolled each piece in a ball by hand and then either you can make a large indent with your thumb and put ~1 Tbs filling in then squeeze together to enclose filling then roll out with a rolling pin on the counter or flatten by hand to 3/8” to ½” thick,... or divide each piece in half again, roll into a ball by hand and then roll out each of the 2 halves out to ~ 4", put a Tbs of filling on top of one & then top with the second piece, pressing the edges together well to seal, and roll out again to 3/8” or ½”. Repeat with the other 3 pieces, cover all with plastic from the reserved half and repeat with making 4 more pupusas from the reserved half. You should end up with 8 pupusas – you can make them bigger if you want.
Heat a frying pan to med or med–low; when hot wipe with an oiled paper towel and cook pupusas til browned, then flip and cook til browned; stack on a plate in a warm oven (covered perhaps) while you finish remaining pupusa. Serve with curtido and hot sauce.
The first time I made curtido I made it using ½ head of cabbage and the same amounts as below; the second time I used ¼ head and the same amounts as below.
This is a mish-mash of what I found online:
Curtido
1\4 head green cabbage, finely sliced
1 carrot, finely sliced
About ¼ tsp finely chopped hot pepper or some ground hot red chillies
½ onion, red, white or yellow, finely sliced
Salt & pepper
½ cup white vinegar
Juice of ½ lime (optional)
¼ cup warm water
Some rubbed oregano
Put sliced cabbage and carrot in a pot or bowl and pour a kettle of boiling water over top to cover; let rest 5 or 10 min, covered. Drain well. Add remaining ingredients, stir to mix well and let rest about 2 hours at room temp then stir and refrigerate.
I mixed my curtido in a 2kg honey jar tightly sealed so I could mix it by turning upside down. Being tall it stored better in the fridge than a bowl; mix it every 2-3 days. It gets better as it ages!
Top your warm pupusa with some well-drained curtido (tongs work well) and a squeeze of hot sauce.
Andy