Chicken & Black Beans Gorditas

In Spanish a "gordita" means little fats one, the puffy gorditas are made with Maseca. I first cook the gorditas on the comal and then I deep-fried. The gorditas are cut open

and stuffed with different meats. You can make "chicharron, pork, beef, deshebrada, chicken and mariscos.

You may make the dough gorditas with your hands or a tortillera. It is essential to get the gorditas smooth out the edges of the dough to eliminate any small cracks that had developed during flattening. This ensured that air got trapped in the gordita during the frying step, which meant that they could puff properly.

Two steps to cook:

first we cook the gorditas in the flat surface "comal"

Second step, we deep-fried so they can puff nicely.

Chicken & Black Beans Gorditas

Ingredients:

3 chicken thighs boiled and chopped

2 cups corn Maseca

1 1/2 cup warm water

1 cup of cooking oil

1 roma tomato chopped

1 tablespoon chopped red onion

1/3 cup queso fresco

1 lime cut in wedges

1 can black beans

1 avocado

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon coriander

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon achiote sauce

Instructions:

In a pot over medium high boil the chicken for about 20 minutes. Remove it from the heat and chopped the meat.

Use a frying pot to cook the chicken over medium high heat. Add the black pepper, coriander, cumin, smoked paprika, achiote, salt and lime juice.

Reduce heat and simmer stirring frequently until all ingredients are mixed well.

In a bowl, mix the masa harina with warm water, using your hands knead dough briefly and then make the balls.

To make the gorditas you can use your hands or use a tortillera to flat the ball.

Heat a skillet or comal to cook the gorditas, flip the gorditas twice, cooking on both sides 3-5 minutes.

In a frying pan add the cooking oil over medium high heat to fry the gorditas, flipping often, until they puff about 2 minutes.

Place the gorditas over paper towel to remove the oil excess.

Using sharp knife to open the gorditas, and fill with the meat and vegetables.

Garnish with queso fresco, avocado and lime squeeze.

Enjoy

Letty