Riguas de Elote (Sweet corn pancakes)
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Riguas are soft, sweet and buttery pancakes made with fresh white corn, they can be eaten plain, with butter or even stuffed with beans, cheese and different types of protein. Riguas is a common street food in El Salvador and can be found being sold off a hot griddle cart. Riguas are very similar to tamales de elote (corn tamales), with the difference that these are thin pancakes and cooked on a griddle as opposed to steamed.
How to make Riguas de Elote?
Riguas de elote seemed to be one of the easiest treat to make but for me it took multiple times to get it right. Here are some tips to consider if it's your first time making them:
Use a good blender or processor: My first attempt did not go well because my blender did not process the kernels well enough and it caused a separation between the kernels and the juice the corn produces
If you see the separation happening then strain half of the mixture to decrease the amount of corn juice, this should help with the consistency of the mixture.
Ingredients: This makes 4-6 riguas depending on size
6 fresh white corn: You can substiture with yellow if you cannot find white corn and or canned corn.
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter
Banana leaves
1tsp oil
Instructions:
Prepare the banana leaves: Cut them into pieces large enough for the size of riguas you want to make. I typically cut them into 10x10 inc pieces. Don't cut themt too big because it becomes an issue once on the griddle but they shouldn't be too small to avoid the mixture from spilling out. Wash and clean them off with a napkin.
Shuck and clean the corn and make sure to remove all the corn silk.
Scrape the corn from the cob and remove any last pieces of silk.
Blend or process the corn. If the mixture has too much liquid (corn juice), strain the excess liquid to improve consistency. Typically yellow corn contains more liquid so make sure to strain most of it out.
In a cotainer, add the corn mixture, sugar, salt, and melted butter. Mix well.
Place a skillet or griddle on medium heat.
Spread oil with a brush onto the dull side of the banana leaf, place the banane leaf onto the griddle and add about a 1/3rd of a cup of the mixture onto the middle of the banana leaf. Fold the banana leaf over, shaping the mix into half moon shape. Cook 2-3 minutes on each side and then place the rigua directly on the griddle by removing the leaf. If the rigua is still not firm enough, let it cook a few more minutes on each side.
Let the rigua cool off for a few minutes before serving. Add Salvadoran sour cream (crema) and/or fresh cheese (queso fresco), some add refried beans or plain old butter.
Hope you enjoy these riguas de elote! For more recipes follow @flourishwithg on Instagram, TikTok and facebook.
