aji | Bolivian Cookbook

Aji Rojo Molido y Frito

Aji rojo and aji amarillo sauce are used a lot in Bolivian recipes.I love making a large batch of this sauce and freeze it for when I need it to use. The process is very simple you just need to get the “vainas de aji rojo”, look at any latino bodega for them. They are called Aji Panca in Peru. Use gloves when you are preparing,otherwise you might have spicy hands for a week. If you like really spicy food you can leave the seeds but I usually don’t. Also You can just freeze the sauce without cooking it. Just peel the peppers with hot water and using the blender make the paste and put it in a container and freeze it.

Serves 3 cups.

Ingredients

38 dried red chillies or ajis (Capsicum baccatum) (about 1/2 lb)

1 cup water

2 garlic clove peeled.

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Preparation:

Cut the top with the stems out. You will see the seed inside.

Put the peppers in a large pot and cover them with water.

Cook them for half and hour or until the skin starts separating from the pepper.

Drained the hot water and move the pepper into cold water. Let it chill.

Using gloves, peel the skin and remove the seeds out.

Press the 2 garlics with a garlic press.

Put in a blender the peeled seedles pepper and the water, cumin, garlic, sugar and salt.

Blend until you have a smooth paste.

Heat the oil and add the paste to it. Cook for about 10 min or until the sauce gets tick enough that starts separating from the pan. You need to stir constantly.

To preserve the sauce freeze in in ice cube tray or mason jar. It freeze well up to 2 years.

Aji de habas secas ( Spiced dried fava beans)

Every time I went to visit my Dad’s side family in Colomi, I was shocked by the beauty and simplicity of everything. They grow potatoes and fava beans and we would go to visit them at harvest time. The smell of freshly dug potatoes and the crunchiness and tenderness of a fresh raw fava beans made those trips the best experiences of my childhood. They would dry some of the best fava beans and potatoes for seed and the other ones would be cooked. This is a recipe with dried fava beans, it goes so well with tiny little potatoes. Enjoy it.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 cups dry fava beans

5 medium yellow potatoes (10 small yellow potatoes)

1/2 lb round steak

2 cups chicken broth

1 onion

1 tomato

2 tbsp vegetable oil

3 tbsp paste of red spicy pepper

1 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp cumin

1 garlic clove

1/2 tsp sugar

2 tbsp chopped parsley

1 small bunch of scallion

Preparation:

A night before measure the dry fava beans into a pot. Add boiling water and cook for a minute and drain the water. Cover with cold water and let it rest overnight.

They will double the size and the skin should be easy to peel. Peel coverings and set aside

Put the ingredients together for the sauce

Cut the meat by hand in thin small sliced pieces.

Peel the potatoes and cut them in 3 pieces or keep them in a piece if they are the small.

Peel and dice the onion and dice the tomatoes into small pieces.

Heat 2 tbsp oil and add the red spicy paste, garlic and cumin. Cook for 2 min and add the onion, cook for 5 min until onion is clear.

Add the meat and mix. Cook for another min and add the tomatoes

Cook for about 3 min until meat is tender, add the oregano, salt, sugar, pepper and parsley.

Mix and add the fava beans.

Add the chicken broth and the potatoes and mix. Cover the pot and cook until potatoes are cooked. It’s so much better if you use small potatoes, they will cook faster and they are going to be bite sized.