Almojábanos

Ingredients

Dough

• 400 gmasarepa, precooked white maize flour
• 500 mlwarm water
• 1 teaspoonsalt
• 1 tablespoonsugar
• 1egg

Cheese

• 250 gqueso blanco or a fresh salty white cheese, grated
• or 250 g queso fresco

To fry

• neutral oil, for deep frying

To serve

• extra fresh cheese, in slices
• coffee or hot chocolate

Directions

1. Rinse feta and reduce the added salt if you use it. Grate or crumble it up finely. Put the masarepa in a large bowl. Add the salt and the sugar to it. Pour in the warm water gradually. Mix it with your hand as you pour.
2. Let it stand for five minutes. Now knead it in the bowl for two minutes. Work the grated cheese into the dough. Knead until it is evenly distributed. Beat the egg and work it in as well. The dough should be soft and slightly sticky. Add a splash of warm water if it cracks. Add a little more masarepa if it is too wet.
3. Taste a pinch and check the salt. Wet your hands with cold water. Take a piece of dough about the size of an egg. Roll it into a rope on the work surface. Aim for about fifteen centimetres long.
4. Make it about as thick as your finger. Bring one end round in a curl. Bring the other end round the opposite way. Set each one onto a lined tray. Keep them covered with a damp cloth. Frying them needs the right heat. Pour oil into a deep pan to six centimetres. Never fill a pan more than halfway with oil.
5. Heat the oil up to about 170C. A piece of dough should sizzle steadily. Fry them for about four minutes. Turn them over as they colour. They should be deep golden all over.
6. Break one open to check the first batch. The inside should be cooked with no raw dough. Lift them out onto a wire rack. Let the oil recover between batches. Serving them is always done hot.
7. Pile them onto a serving plate. Serve slices of fresh cheese alongside. Coffee or hot chocolate goes with them. Fry them to order rather than in advance. Uncooked shaped fritters keep a day refrigerated.

Technique

• The name almojabana travelled from Andalusi Arabic into Spanish and then across the Americas, where it now describes several different things.
• The Colombian almojabana is a baked cheese bun and is quite different from the Panamanian fried corn version.

Substitutions

• Any fresh salty white cheese works, and mozzarella can be mixed in for more melt.
• Masarepa has no real substitute here, since ordinary cornmeal will not bind.

Variations

• Some cooks shape them as simple rings rather than S curves.
• A sweeter version with more sugar is made for children.
• Hojaldres, the Panamanian fried flatbread, is the other standard breakfast fritter.

History

Curled corn dough fritters eaten at breakfast with fresh cheese, descended from Spanish almojabana fritters.

Frequently asked questions

What is Almojábanos?

Almojábanos is a snack from Panama: s-shaped corn fritters with fresh cheese. Curled corn dough fritters eaten at breakfast with fresh cheese, descended from Spanish almojabana fritters.

How long does Almojábanos take to make?

Almojábanos takes 25 minutes of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes about 16 fritters. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Almojábanos?

Yes, within limits. Any fresh salty white cheese works, and mozzarella can be mixed in for more melt. Masarepa has no real substitute here, since ordinary cornmeal will not bind.

What is the most important thing to get right in Almojábanos?

Make it about as thick as your finger. Bring one end round in a curl. Bring the other end round the opposite way. Set each one onto a lined tray. Keep them covered with a damp cloth. Frying them needs the right heat. Pour oil into a deep pan to six centimetres. Never fill a pan more than halfway with oil.