pupusa

noun

pu·​pu·​sa pə-ˈpü-sə 

plural pupusas

: a disk of masa dough filled typically with savory ingredients (such as vegetables, meat, and cheese) and fried usually on a griddle or pan

Once you get a feel for shaping the masa, pupusas are easy to make for snacks or a light meal.

—Elaine Johnson

Salguero's pupusas are entirely made from scratch. He starts with soaked corn that he mills and makes into masa. Then, he shapes the masa by hand around fillings, like cheese, mushrooms and braised pork shoulder, before cooking the flattened rounds … .

—Momo Chang

You don't have to drive far in Los Angeles to find pupusas, El Salvador's favorite comfort food …

—Rubén Martínez

… the taco's Latin American cousin the pupusa is overdue for its moment in the spotlight.

—Whitney Filloon

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Central American Spanish, probably borrowed from Pipil (also Nawat, language spoken in western El Salvador that is closely related to the Nahuatl language of central Mexico) pupu:sah, of uncertain origin

First Known Use

1947, in the meaning defined above