Due to some ongoing congenital hip issues, I haven’t been able to stand for long periods of time. The biggest downside for me has been that I haven’t been able to do much cooking. Anything that takes longer than 10 – 15 minutes, makes my left hip ache and my leg cramp up.

With a lot of physical therapy, I’m on the mend. Last weekend was the first time I was able to actually make something new. In honor of Cinco de Mayo, I decided to make gorditas. We had some delicious ones at Gracias Madre in West Hollywood the week before and it reminded me how delicious a simple corn cake can be.

My mother made them for us often as a weekend treat. We ate them simply, with butter and sometimes cheese. I learned how to form the little patties by slapping the dough between my hands from watching both my mother and grandmother.

Here is a video I found on YouTube showing how to make the masa and how to form the gorditas. In the video, they are putting refried beans inside, which is like a pupusa and equally delicious. This video makes my heart ache as it is a mother and daughter. Coincidentally, the daughter is named Silvia. When the mom calls her daughter “mija“, it makes me miss my mom something fierce.

The recipe I used differs slightly from the video, but is still very simple and no changes were needed to make it vegan. I used Bob’s Red Mill Masa Harina, which is probably sacrilege, but is actually very good and you can buy it in smaller amounts. Maseca, the brand shown in the video, is outstanding however.

So, in honor of Dia de las Madres, a simple recipe for Gorditas that reminds me of my mom.

Gorditas

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Course Main Dish

Cuisine Mexican

Ingredients

  

• 3 1/2 cups Maseca or Bob’s Red Mill Masa Harina Corn Masa Flour
• 2 1/4 cups warm vegan chicken broth
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil or shortening melted
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder

Instructions

 

• Heat griddle to medium.
• Mix masa flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt.
• Add oil and warm broth and mix until moist dough forms. Add more water if needed.The dough should be moist and hold together when pressed.
• Wet hands and shape into 2″ balls. Cover with plastic wrap to keep moist.
• With moistened hands, pat and flatten into 1/4 inch patty, forming a 3 – 4 inch circle. They don’t need to perfect.
• Place the gordita on heated griddle and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until starting to turn brown. Check to make sure the heat is not too high.
• You can either slice the gordita and fill it with beans, lettuce, tomato, salsa, guacamole, etc. our just place toppings on top like a tostada.