 Papusas are a signature dish in El Salvador. You can find them on almost every corner in the street. Papusas are made with care and thoughtfulness, made by people with only the purest intentions towards those who eat them. It is a simplistic but very delicious traditional plate. Today, me, my mother, and cousin will make some papusas for dinner. So, let's make some papusas. You will need refried red beans. You can find these in any Latin American grocery store. Get some olive oil in a medium pan and cut some onions for taste. Please, be careful as the oil and the onions pop. Cover with a lid until the onions completely char. Then, remove the onions. Now, you can add your refried beans. Cook until they achieve a thick consistency. This is how it should look like. Let it cool off. For the dough, get your masa. Masa is corn flour. You can also find it in your local Latin American grocery store. There are many things you can make using masa, from tortillas to tamales. It is used all over Latin America. Get your warm water and use your hands to mix the two ingredients together. Knead the dough very well. This is how it should look like. For the cheese, I will be using salvadoni to seal. But shredded mozzarella cheese works just fine. Knead the cheese so it's flexible and can evenly spread out when assembling the papusas. My cousin, Carmen, will be demonstrating how she makes her papusa. First, she soaks her hands lightly with water so the dough doesn't stick to her hands. She grabs a medium-sized ball of dough. Enough to fit in her hand. She shapes the ball of dough into a plate. After, Carmen adds her refried beans and kneaded cheese. Just enough to be able to close your papusa. Don't overstuff your papusas because it will be harder to shape into the papusa shape. She closes up her papusa well and then cuts away any excess dough. Carmen continues to create a plate-like shape with her stuffed papusa. And she's finished. Well, not quite. After you're done with assembling and shaping your papusa, wash it lightly with oil and slap it on a low-medium heated flat pan. Flip the papusa on both sides until it looks golden and crisp. Papusas are served alongside a cabbage salad, curtillo, as well as a simple salsa sauce, onion, tomato, and cilantro. After you're done, congratulations! You have created your first papusa. Is it perfectly round and even? Probably not, but don't worry. We all make papusas differently. Making papusas is hard. With practice and time, you will make papusas just like the pupuseras. I still need plenty of practice, as you can see, but it is definitely achievable. My cousin has so beautifully demonstrated how she makes her phenomenal papusas. So, Carmen, what is one of your favorite memories of eating or making papusas? And why is it your favorite? One of my best experiences is that one day, with my family, we went to Holocuilta, which is a place in El Salvador where they make variety of papusas, flavors, so we all gathered together and said, today we are going to eat only exotic papusas. So each one of my family chose a different papusa, and we were exchanging different flavors to get to know them better. We got to know more papusas and we had other experiences with them. It's my favorite because I remember that we were all like, we didn't know what we were going to face with the flavors, but we really liked it. Every time my mom announced that there was going to be papusas for dinner, I was always excited to sit down on the table and watch her make papusas. Mom, what is your favorite experience of eating or making papusas? And why? One of my favorite memories is that I was 15 years old and it was the first time I ate papusas. And when they were cooking, I could smell such a delicious, indescribable smell, the smell that comes out, the smoke that comes out, you love it. You really love the smell. And when you taste it, with a little bit of spice and sauce, it's super tasty. And it was the first time I tried it and my mom was inviting me. Because at that time I didn't have much money. That's why I was so old and I had never tried it before. When the smell comes out, the papusas always remind me of when I was 15 years old. That's why I love it. Papusas are extremely delicious. There are so many different priorities and combinations. The process in which you gather with your family, curate a tasty meal, and be indulged in each other's presence is one of the best parts about making papusas. I strongly recommend you try out this recipe as well as other Latin American dishes. Trying these rich foods help you learn and appreciate these cultures and the people in them. Have fun cooking and learning.