Chairo is the Aymara word for soup, and it is a traditional dish in the city of La Paz. It has pre-Colombian origins, and its basic ingredient is chuño (freeze-dried potato).
Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 cups water
- 250 gr lamb
- 250 gr beef jerky
- 100 gr peeled fava beans
- 100 gr peas
- 100 gr chopped carrot
- 500 gr peeled and diced potatoes
- 120 gr ground chuño
- 120 gr cooked, ground corn
- 120 gr cooked wheat
- Chopped onion
- Black pepper
- Cumin
- Garlic
- Salt
- Mint
Preparation
- Boil the water and add the meats. Skim foam off the water and boil for one hour.
- Add fava beans, carrots, peas and potatoes; boil another 15 minutes.
- Add chuño, wheat and corn.
- Fry onion in a separate frying pan; add garlic, black pepper, cumin and salt.
- Add fried ingredients to the soup.
- Cook another 10 minutes.
- When done, serve sprinkled with chopped fresh mint.