The sensationally tasty snack created by an ancient empire

The dish: Gorditas Mexico

Plate up Quick tip: don’t talk about gorditas around your Colombian or Venezuelan friends. They might point to the huge similarities between Mexico’s gorditas and the national dish of both Colombia and Venezuela, the arepa.

The perfect snack, Mexican gorditas.Credit: iStock

And indeed, both are thick flatbreads made with ground maize, which are then split open and filled with various delicious combinations of meat, cheese and vegetables. One of the key differences is that the gordita – which means “little fatty” in Spanish – is made using masa harina, where the maize is nixtamalized (cooked in an alkaline solution); arepas, meanwhile, use masarepa, which isn’t nixtamalized.

Let’s just say both are delicious, and in Mexico you will find a wild array of techniques and fillings for gorditas, some deep-fried, some shallow-fried, some dry; some stuffed like empanadas, some filled like a pita bread, some topped like cheese on toast. All, however, will be a staple of local cuisine, eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner, and all will be sensationally tasty.

First serve Rest easy, Colombian and Venezuelan friends. It’s clear that gorditas do not, in fact, involve thievery of ideas from your wonderful cuisines, but rather were developed organically by another great civilisation which relied on corn as its staple stodge.

Gorditas can be traced back to the Aztec Empire, one of many key periods of Mexico’s indigenous history – indeed, the word nixtamalization comes from nixtamalli, a word in the Aztec Nahuatl language. The Aztecs began using lime, or calcium hydroxide, to cook maize meal, which increases its flavour and ability to be digested, while retaining its nutritional properties. From there, classic Mexican tortillas and gorditas were born.

Order there Gorditas are like tacos in Mexico – you will find them everywhere, sold by street-food vendors peddling delicious regional variations. In Mexico City, head to local favourite El Cardenal (restaurantelcardenal.com) and order the breakfast gorditas hidalguenses.

Order here In Sydney, sample gorditas at legendary Mexican eatery The Tamaleria & Mexican Deli (thetamaleriaandmexican.yumbojumbo.com.au) in Dulwich Hill. In Melbourne, try the pork gorditas at Maiz y Cacao in Southbank (maizycacao.com.au).

One more thing There’s yet another Latin American dish similar to gorditas and arepas: pupusas, which are from El Salvador (or Honduras – it’s controversial). These stuffed flatbreads are made with non-nixtamalized maize, so fall closer to the arepa family.