Pour the water into a mixing bowl. Add the salt and sugar to the water. Now slowly add the corn meal while mixing. Continue to mix until you get a nice smooth dough.

Let the dough rest or a few minutes.Then divide into 8 equal sized balls.

Cut out 2 squares of plastic (I used a ziploc bag for this). Put a dough ball on one of the plastic squares then top with the other square. Then take a heavy bottomed pot to flatten the dough. Transfer the flattened arepa to a skillet over medium heat and cook for five minutes on each side. They should be browned with some darker spots as well. 

Repeat the above process with the remaining dough balls. Once the cooked arepas are cool enough to handle use a knife to cut them open. Stuff them with your favorite fillings and enjoy!

Store any leftover arepas in the fridge.