Recipe: The national dish of Bolivia – Picante de Pollo (2024)

• 1 chicken
• 250 g green peas fresh, peeled or frozen
• 4 potatoes
• 250 g rice
• 4 cayenne peppers fresh or dehydrated
• 3 onions
• 4 garlic cloves
• 150 g parsley finely chopped
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• salt
• pepper
• ground cumin

Chuño phuti (can be replaced with more potatoes or made with the ingredients below if you can't buy it in the store)

• 250 g potato starch
• water
• 3 tsp salt
• 50 ml oil
• 1 small onion
• ½ tomato
• 3 eggs
• shredded cheese

• Debone the chicken and put it in boiling water.

• Add the potatoes, a pinch of salt and cook on medium heat.

• After 20 minutes, add the peas and bring to a boil until the chicken and potatoes are soft - about 40 minutes. Stir occasionally.

• Fry the rice in 1 tablespoon of oil, continuously stirring for about 5 minutes. When the rice is golden brown, add enough water to cover the rice and let it boil on low heat, without stirring, until it becomes soft – about 25 minutes. Add more water if necessary.

• Remove the seeds from the cayenne peppers and blend with 150 ml water to make a thick sauce. If you have cayenne powder, you can make the same sauce by adding water.

• Finely chop the onions and garlic

• In a large pan, fry the onions and the garlic in 2 tablespoons of oil until they become golden brown. Add some little water to avoid burning if needed. Set aside ¾ in a bowl. To the remaining ¼, add the red pepper sauce and season. Stir all the time.

• By now, the chicken should be ready, so incorporate it and the peas in the chili sauce. Add about 5 tablespoons of broth and cook for another 15 minutes.

• Serve the chicken with some chili sauce on top, adding 1 potato on the plate and the same amount of chuño and rice. Sprinkle the chopped parsley over and you are ready to serve a Bolivian spicy dish.

Chuño phuti

• One night before preparing, put the potato starch to soak in warm water

• The next day, sort through the soaked potato flour, removing any undesirable bits of peel. Split into four parts and knead repeatedly until the bitter taste disappears.

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• Bring to boil with enough water and two teaspoons of salt. Once cooked, drain in a colander.

• Chop the onion and the tomato and shred some cheese

• In another pot put the oil over medium heat. Once hot, add the onion and fry until it is golden brown.

• Add tomatoes, stir and cook for about five minutes.

• Add the eggs and mix again.

• Add the cooked and drained potato flour and cook for about five minutes.

• Finally, before serving, add cheese and stir over low heat.