Here is the recipe for a mouth-watering traditional Chilean snack or appetizer that is usually munched during the rainy winter season with a steaming cup of tea. After walking down the streets of Santiago you can unwind in the evening with a couple of home-made Sopaipillas. Sopaipillas are fried rounds of pumpkins soaked in syrup. They make good breakfast as well. There are sold by street vendors too but nothing compares with the taste of homemade ones.

Key ingredients

Zapallo squash - 9 ounces

Flour - 41/4^th cups

Baking Soda – 1 teaspoon

Salt – 1 teaspoon

Melted butter – 10 tablespoons

Canola oil – 2 cups

Preparation

Peel the zapallo and cut it into chunks. Remove the seeds. Then place the cut pieces of zapallo into a saucepan with water and boil them in a medium heat for about 15-20 minutes. Check the softness of the zapallo pieces by piercing them with a fork. Drain the excess water and allow it to cool for sometime.

Whip the flour with baking soda and salt. Stir the zapallo squash with melted butter perfectly. Then mix the blended flour with butter mixture until the dough is homogeneous. A well kneaded and smooth dough is essential. Now cover the dough with a towel and keep it aside for some time.

Now, roll out the dough on floured surface with thickness of 1/8 inch and cut into circles of 3 inch diameter. Prick holes in the circles to prevent them from rising.

Heat vegetable oil in a deep skillet or a deep fryer to 385 degrees F or 195 degrees C. Now place the dough circles in batches into the hot oil until they turn golden brown, say for 4-5 minutes. Drain excess oil on paper towels and dip the Sopaipillas in the syrup.

Serve warm Sopaipillas with sour cream, whipped cream or sea-buckthorn.

Zapallos are also referred to as Jamaican pumpkins and are found in abundance in South America. Sugar pumpkin can be used as a substitute for Zapallos.

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