A pupusa (Spanish pronunciation: [puˈpusa], from Pipil pupusawa) is a traditional Salvadoran dish made of a thick, handmade corn tortilla (made using masa de maíz, a cornmeal dough used in Mesoamerican cuisine). Pupusas are commonly prepared with a variety of fillings:
Pupusa revuelta contains a blend of cheese, pork (chicharrón), and refried beans
Pupusa de quesillo or pupusa de queso contains cheese (queso, usually a soft cheese called quesillo found throughout Central America)
Pupusa de chicharrón contains cooked and seasoned pork meat ground to a paste consistency (called chicharrón, not to be confused with fried pork rind, which is also known as chicharrón in some other countries)
Refried beans (frijoles refritos)
Queso con loroco (loroco is a vine flower bud from Central America)
Pupusas are typically served with curtido (lightly fermented cabbage slaw with red chilies and vinegar).
Pupusas are cooked on a comal which is a smooth flat griddle, not fried. Pupusas are similar to the South American arepa, the main differences being that pupusas are filled prior to cooking and pupusas are made from nixtamalized maize whereas arepas are made from untreated corn flour.
The average revuelta pupusa contains around 400 calories.
The Mexican gordita is also similar to the Salvadoran pupusa, but the ingredients vary. Gorditas generally have more filling than pupusas (hence the name gordita—"little fatty") and normally have an opening at the center of the tortilla.
