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A gordita (; ) in Mexican cuisine is a dish made with masa and stuffed with cheese, meat, or other fillings.
It is similar to the Colombian and Venezuelan arepa. There are two main variations of this dish, one of which is typically fried in a deep wok-shaped comal, consumed mostly in central and southern Mexico, and another one Baking on a regular comal. The most common and representative variation of this dish is the "gordita de chicharrón", filled with chicharron (a spiced stew of pork rind) which is widely consumed throughout Mexico. Gorditas are often eaten as a lunch dish and accompanied by several types of sauce.
In the deep-fried version, once the masa has been prepared, it is divided into small portions, each filled with meat, and shaped like an oblong disc. The pastry is immersed in boiling oil until golden and crispy on the outside. After cooking, the gordita is allowed to stand to drain excess oil, and then a small slit is cut into one side to allow vapor and excessive heat to escape before lime juice and salsa are poured inside, which gives the gordita its characteristic flavor. In some regions of Mexico, the slit is also used to stuff in additional ingredients, mostly dressings such as fresh cheese, nopal salad, tomatoes, guacamole, potatoes, beans or rajas (sautéed strips of chile). By tradition, gorditas are filled with chicharron, but there are local variations which substitute it with chicken stew, shredded beef, al pastor, eggs with chorizo sausage, carnitas or picadillo.
The baked version is prepared almost identically to the preparation of a common tortilla, except it is thicker. When the masa is prepared, chicharrón is mixed directly in the dough, instead of being added later. The dough is shaped like a flat circle, then placed in a comal until cooked, in most cases without adding additional oil. When slit and filled, this gordita looks like a sandwich made with tortillas instead of bread. This variation is known as gordita de migas.
In most cases gorditas are shallow-fried with vegetable oil in a deep comal, but they can also be deep-fried, making the outside crisper.
In Durango and other 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 .
In eastern and central Mexico gorditas de nata (cream gorditas) are consumed often as a breakfast dish or snack. It is a sweet cake similar to a tiny but extremely thick pancake made with milk cream or clotted cream, called nata in Mexico, cinnamon, sugar, and white wheat flour. They are named gordita too, due to their appearance, similar to the original fried gordita, but their taste is sweet, not salty. Other than their appearance, this snack is not related to the original one. The same flour preparation used to prepare gorditas de nata is also used to cook a flat cookie variation, which by extension it is also called gordita, but in contrast, it is thin and crispy, not thick. To differentiate them, these flat cookies are called "sugar gorditas" instead.
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