A güirila is a sweet type of
tortilla
A tortilla (, ) is a thin, circular unleavened flatbread from Mesoamerica originally made from maize hominy meal, and now also from wheat flour.
The Aztecs and other Nahuatl speakers called tortillas ''tlaxcalli'' (). First made by the indi ...
made from young white
maize
Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...
. They are usually eaten with ''crema'' (sweet or sour cream) and ''
cuajada
Cuajada ( milk curd) is a dairy product traditionally made from sheep's milk, but now it is more often made industrially from cow's milk. It is popular in the northern regions of Spain (Asturias, Cantabria, Basque Country, Navarre, Aragon, Casti ...
'', a type of salty Nicaraguan crumbled white
cheese
Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk (usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats or sheep). During prod ...
.
The güirilas are made from shelling sweet young maize, milling it and cooking or grilling the mixture in
banana
A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus '' Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing the ...
leaves to prevent them from sticking or burning. Sugar and/or salt are usually the only additions to the mix itself, although adding milk is common for street vendors who wish to stretch out the mixture. They are also typically enjoyed alongside meat or pork, or as a snack by itself.
Güirilas originated in
Matagalpa
Matagalpa () is a city in Nicaragua which is the capital of the department of Matagalpa. The city has a population of 112,697 (2022 estimate), while the population of the department is 606,643. Matagalpa is Nicaragua's seventh largest city, the ...
, in the north of
Nicaragua
Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...
. The city made history when they made a güirila that was just over 650ft. in circumference at the National Corn Fair.
References
Tortilla-based dishes
Nicaraguan cuisine
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