Masa: From Mexican Traditions to Modern Nutrition Powerhouse

Masa: The Soul of Mexican Cooking Starts Here

Before there were tacos, tamales, or tortillas, there was masa. This simple-looking nixtamalised corn dough holds centuries of tradition, nourishment, and identity within its soft, fragrant folds. But not just any corn flour will do. True masa begins with a process that predates empires: nixtamalisation – an ancient Mesoamerican technique where dried corn is soaked and cooked in an alkaline solution, typically limewater, transforming it into something far more flavourful and nutritious.

Unlike regular cornmeal or polenta, which is simply ground dried corn, nixtamalised masa is a completely different ingredient. It’s not just about texture, it’s about transformation. This process unlocks deep, earthy flavours while boosting the corn’s nutritional value – making niacin bioavailable, improving protein quality, and reducing harmful mycotoxins. It’s the reason why ancient civilisations thrived on a corn-based diet without suffering from malnutrition.

From a cook’s perspective, masa is magic. It’s pliable, aromatic, and alive with potential, ready to be shaped into tortillas that puff with pride, tamales that steam with joy, or sopes that cradle your favourite fillings. Whether you’re making traditional recipes or creative fusion dishes (like the ones I’ll share below), understanding masa is your first step into the soul of Mexican cooking.

So before we dive into the recipes, let’s pause and appreciate this humble dough. Because it isn’t just an ingredient, it’s heritage, health, and a sense of Mesoamerican home.

You might have seen my article about how to make tortillas at home, and surely you’ve seen how you make corn tortillas from masa, be it freshly ground from nixta corn kernels or reconstituted from masa harina (masa flour) made by brands like Maseca, Masienda and so on.

There is a huge variety of traditional Mexican dishes that you can make with it, and not just taco shells – molotes, sopes, tlacoyos, panuchos, chalupas and of course festive tamales. 

For traditional recipes, which I can’t imagine attempting to screw up, I’d refer to ‘The Art Of Mexican Cooking’ by the famous Diana Kennedy. It’s probably one of the ultimate books for every Mexican cooking aficionado!

Yet my favourite books on Masa and its modern applications and creative experiments are probably: Tacos by Alex Stupak (he is the chef at the famous Empellon venue in New York) and Masa by Jorge Gaviria (the creator of Masienda, probably my favourite masa harina if I compare it with the other brands I’ve tried so far).

With this post, I most want to take things we can do with Masa even further and apply my experience running a vegan restaurant, a natural wine bar, Mexican restaurant in Georgia, but also my Ukrainian roots and some time spent in the Mediterranean. 

My Masa Fusion Ideas

1. Banosh with masa – banosh being a traditional dish made in Western Ukraine using cornmeal, butter and sour cream. You can finish it off by adding a topping: Ukrainians make their own rendition of chicharron (fried pieces of pork rind), sprinkled with Gutsul bryndza cheese and then adding some marinated red onions and coriander just a touch of Mexico. But yes, instead of using cornmeal, simply replace it with masa.  
2. Masa & shimps aka shrimp & grits – confession here, it is a birthchild of some dishes that I saw at the above-mentioned books, and also adding America’s Test Kitchen recipe for Shimps a-la Diabla. So if you’ve tried Southern comfort food like shrimps and grits, simply cook your masa as required and top with the spicy shrimps. I found it truly divine – its contrasting flavours: sweetness from corn masa and spiciness from shrimps are heavenly. 
3. Chvishtari – Georgian corncakes with cheese filling – why not make them with whipped masa? I love this humble and simple dish, yet for me, simple cornmeal is a bit on the dry side and after I tried replacing cornmeal with masa, this has been a success. Plus, you can stuff it with cheese or plant-based filling or else. Great stuff. Similarly, Georgians have a dish called ghomi, which is more or less like polenta with some cheese on top. You can make it with masa. 
4. Tamal steamed in a cabbage leaf (golybtsy fusion) – well, what can I say, I do not have access to banana leaves or even to corn husks for most of the time. So once I decided to make a marriage of a Ukrainian stuffed cabbage dish Golubtsy and Mexican tamal. Again, I won’t even add a particular recipe, you can make you tamal as you’d do normally. But instead wrap it in a pre-cooked cabbage leaf. The additional bonus – you can eat the finished tamal with the cabbage as well. It would be juicy and delicious with a traditional Mexican mole. Two distant countries on the map, but this fusion works really well!
5. Baja fish tacos with masa batter – if you’d seen my recipe for Baja Fish tacos at my Palapa – Mexican Eating at the Beach article, then you can simply imagine this new dish by replacing plain flour with masa harina. I’ve used Masienda’s blue corn masa harina for a test, and it was so good and crunchy!

Some traditional Mexican cookbooks suggest some family-style recipes like Masa Tamal Pie, when you do a whole tray of filling, covering it with masa and baking. Does it sound like Greek Moussaka or even British Shepherd’s Pie to you and me? I’ve tried this too by replacing the topping with whipped masa (I’ve added extra butter and whipped it for extra fluffiness), and they were delicious too.

Question of Traditions, Authenticity and Nutrition

From some of my recipes, you could already gather that I somewhat struggle with authenticity concept. And not in a sense I don’t like to be authentic, I just reject following the traditions simply for the sake of keeping the traditions. This masa article and fusion recipes showcase my approach better – I’d like to use ancestral knowledge when it makes sense nutritionally (and in case of masa it does!) with no promises on authenticity, but to be engaging, flavourful and exciting. And when we speak about Mexican with the elements of keeping it healthy, plant-based with some seafood and fish options, it just sounds like Mexi-terranean, doesn’t it? But more on this later.

Let me know what you think about these fusion ideas.

What could be added to the list?

Do you like to try some traditional recipe but using masa instead?

Cheers