The Wonderful Scent of El Salvador in California We have a bite of El Salvador in our home, being that I always celebrate the birthdays of each of my three boys with a traditional Salvadorian dinner. The meaning of each celebration is to give thanks to God for another year of life. Living away from our country has become the perfect excuse for me to cook our favorite Salvadorian meal: pupusas!! A pupusa is essentially a thick tortilla made from corn masa flour and stuffed with either pork, cheese, or beans or even all three of these options. Pupusas are cooked on a “comal” or hotplate and served with “curtido”- a cabbage slaw and tomato salsa. The preparation for this special meal actually begins days before. One week before, I prepare “the curtido”with salt and spices and I allow it to ferment. The preparation of the pork and beans is done one day before using a very slow cooking process so as not to lose any of the flavors. On the day of the celebration, we decorate the house with balloons and a big photograph of the “Birthday Boy” and on the table, the salsa and curtido are in place. In the kitchen, I have the corn masa ready along with the ingredients for the stuffing, and the comal is heated to the perfect temperature. Then I begin the “palmar” activity which refers to the palming process of making and shaping the pupusas by hand. The “palmar” activity adds a musical rhythm to the kitchen. The pupusas begin to release their scent once they are placed on the comal. Everyone begins to gather near the comal waiting for their first of many pupusas that will be thoroughly devoured, while still leaving room for the grand finale. We then sing “Las Mañanitas”, a Latin birthday song, and then the candles on the cake are blown out. The cake is served with a non-Salvadorian tradition which are American chocolate chip cookies. They have been adopted as a dessert on our celebration table in honor of the welcome that the United States has given us. Without caring how much work it takes me to make the elaborate pupusa meal, it’s so wonderful for me to smell the irresistible scent of El Salvador in California. Amalia is a student in the Intermediate High/ Advanced Low class in the afternoon.
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