Gorditas: what they are, how to make them and fillings

What is it?

Gorditas are Mexican antojitos of nixtamalised maize masa (or maize flour) cooked on a comal, forming round pieces thicker than a tortilla but smaller than a sope. Once cooked they are split along one side with a knife, forming a pocket, and stuffed with stews: chicharrón in green or red salsa, picadillo, shredded meat, curd cheese, bean with cheese, potato with chorizo, nopales, rajas with cheese or mole. They are one of the best-known gastronomic specialities of Aguascalientes — where the annual 'National Gordita Fair' is held — Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí, Durango and other areas of central and northern Mexico. In Mexico City the chicharrón gorditas of the Villa de Guadalupe are iconic. Mexico Travel Club and Aguascalientes Top document them as a regional identity antojito. Their versatility of fillings makes them a complete dish for a quick lunch or dinner, and they are served with chopped onion, green or red salsa and lime to taste.

Origin and history

Gorditas have a pre-Hispanic origin. The word 'gordita' is an affectionate Spanish diminutive applied to a native preparation: the Mesoamerican cultures cooked thick tortillas on a comal that they called 'tlaxcalli' or regional variants. Colonial documents such as Sahagún's (sixteenth century) describe thick tortillas cooked to accompany stews. The present-day form of the gordita — split along one side to be stuffed — became established in the nineteenth century in the Bajío and the north, especially in Aguascalientes, where ranchers and miners prepared them as a portable lunch. Aguascalientes especially developed the 'oven gordita' or crumb gordita, made with maize masa, lard and panela baked in an earth oven. The gordita of the Villa, popular at the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City, arose in the nineteenth century to feed the pilgrims visiting the shrine, sold by local women. In Zacatecas and Durango 'oven gorditas' and 'curd gorditas' are made. In the north (Sonora, Chihuahua) the gordita is made with wheat flour, not maize, a legacy of northern wheat farming. Today they are one of the best-selling antojitos in markets, patron-saint fairs and antojerías across the country.

Characteristic ingredients

The masa may be fresh nixtamalised maize or maize flour (Maseca or another) hydrated with water and salt. In northern Mexico, wheat-flour masa with lard is used, giving the 'flour gorditas'. The masa is formed into balls of 60-80 grams, flattened in a press or by hand to 1-1.5 cm thick, and cooked on a dry comal on both sides (3-4 minutes per side) until they puff up and form an inner air pocket. Immediately a cut is made along the side with a knife to open the pocket. Some are finished in hot lard to brown the surface. The classic fillings are: pressed chicharrón in green salsa (the most popular at the Villa), beef picadillo with potato, shredded beef, curd cheese with epazote, rajas with cheese, mole with chicken, refried beans with cheese, nopales in salsa. In Aguascalientes the gorditas of 'Doña Maguita' and the oven gorditas with piloncillo or sugar are famous. In Querétaro there are the 'martajada gorditas' made with stone-cracked maize. The northern flour gordita is prepared with pork or vegetable lard, soft and folded.

Cultural significance

Gorditas are one of the gastronomic emblems of the Bajío and northern Mexico. Aguascalientes has held the 'National Gordita Fair' each August since 1995 in the municipality of Pabellón de Arteaga, where more than a hundred cooks compete with traditional and creative presentations. The Aguascalientes Tourism Secretariat promotes the gordita as a regional icon alongside the San Marcos fair and aguardiente. In Mexico City, the 'gorditas of the Villa' are part of the essential route of the Guadalupan pilgrim: there is documentation of cooks selling them since the nineteenth century at stalls around the Basilica of Guadalupe. The 2010 UNESCO declaration of traditional Mexican cuisine implicitly includes maize antojitos — gorditas, sopes, tlacoyos — as living expressions of the Mexican gastronomic system. Economically, gorditas sustain thousands of small family businesses; at some patron-saint fairs, hundreds of thousands of pieces are sold in a single week. Chefs such as Carmen Titita Ramírez Degollado, Margarita Carrillo and Mónica Patiño have elevated gorditas into contemporary Mexican fine dining.

Frequently asked questions