What to use instead of masa harina
It depends entirely on what it's doing in the dish. Here's the job, what else does it, and what to skip.
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Dough for tortillas, pupusas, sopes and gorditas
The corn has been cooked in slaked lime, which frees the starch and protein so the ground flour hydrates into a cohesive dough that holds a pressed shape and stays pliable off the comal.
Fresh nixtamal masa from a tortilleriaGluten-free
1 lb fresh masa in place of 1 1/2 cups masa harina plus its water
Softer, sweeter and far more corn-forward. It dries out within a day, so press and cook the same afternoon.
Masarepa, the precooked flour for arepasGluten-free
1 cup masarepa + 1 1/4 cups warm water per 1 cup masa harina
Takes more water and gives a smoother, blander dough. It cracks at the edge when pressed thin, so shape thick discs and cook them longer.
Corn tortillas, blitzed and rehydratedGluten-free
6 tortillas blended to crumbs + 1/3 cup hot water
Comes together into a workable dough for sopes and thick cakes. It tastes toastier and the texture is coarser, and it will not press into a thin tortilla.
What doesn't work: Cornmeal, polenta or corn flour. None of them are nixtamalised, so the starch never binds no matter how much water goes in. The dough stays a wet sand that cracks on the press and falls apart on the griddle.
Thickener that also flavours a chili, mole or champurrado
The starch swells and sets the liquid while the toasted corn adds body and flavour, so the pot thickens and tastes of something at the same time.
Corn tortillas, torn and blended into the hot liquidGluten-free
2 corn tortillas per 2 tbsp masa harina
Thickens more slowly and tastes toastier. Blend it smooth or you get soft flecks through the sauce.
Fine cornmealGluten-free
2 tbsp per 2 tbsp masa harina, simmer 20 min
Grainy unless it gets the full simmer, and the flavour is raw sweet corn rather than nixtamal. Settles to the bottom, so stir it.
Cornstarch slurryGluten-free
1 tbsp cornstarch + 2 tbsp cold water per 2 tbsp masa harina
Glossy and clear where masa is opaque and matte, and it adds no flavour at all. It thins back out after 20 minutes of hard boiling.
All-purpose flour cooked in fat firstRan out
2 tbsp flour + 2 tbsp fat, cooked 3 min, per 2 tbsp masa harina
Holds a long simmer better than starch and gives a heavier, gravy-like body. Mutes the chiles, so add another spoon of chili powder.
What doesn't work: Dry masa harina shaken straight into hot liquid. It hydrates on contact and seizes into lumps that never disperse. Slurry it with cold water first, at 2 tbsp masa to 1/2 cup water, then pour it in.