Mazamorra

Mazamorra bowl

Mazamorra (from Spanish language, Moors dough) is a traditional maize-based Latin American food.

In Colombia

Mazamorra in Colombia is also known as Peto. It is typically accompanied with panela, and very popular as a side dish to typical food such as Bandeja paisa. The drink typically includes maize grains, crushed with Mortar and pestle, then soaked in water with soda lye (although the traditional reagent used is fern ash, which contains high amounts of potassium carbonate), and finally cooked until soft. Mazamorra is very common during lunch and dinnertime at any time of year. It is usually sold as city food. The vendors usually ride a tricycle adapted with a large Cauldron and announce themselves with a klaxon.^[1] They sell the base mazamorra, and the customer must add the milk and the panela.

Other derivations exist. In Cundinamarca and Boyacá, where the corn is cooked with onions, coriander, garlic, faba beans, potatoes and mashuas, often with pieces of ribs or beef. This dish is known as Mazamorra Chiquita (small mazamorra).^[2]

In Paraguay

Also known as "kaguyjy" (Guaraní language), Mazamorra in Paraguay is made with the native "locro" variety of maize. It is one of the most traditional desserts of the country. According with the ingredients added to the cooked corn, the dish is denominated "kaguyjy eírare" (Honey mazamorra), "kaaguyjy kambýre" (milk mazamorra) or "kaguyjy azucáre" (sugar mazamorra). Kaguyjy reached great popularity in Paraguay due to the food scarcity during the War of the Triple Alliance (between 1864 and 1870) as a nutritious substitute for a regular meal.^[3]

In Peru

Peruvian Purple Mazamorra

Mazamorra in Peru is made with a local variety of Maize, "Maiz Morado", rich in anthocyanin which gives to the mazamorra a deep purple color. The maize is cooked with pineapple, cinnamon and sweet potato flour. This dish is made specially in October for the celebrations of the Lord of Miracles day.

In Puerto Rico

Puerto Rican mazamorra is basically a Corn porridge, which is made cooking the maize in milk and adding corn starch. Powdered cinnamon is commonly sprinkled on top of the finished dish.

Non related to maize

Mazamorra de calabaza

• Panama : A local dessert made with the Nance fruit (also known as "Pesada" ("heavy")).
• Spain :
  • A Cold Soup similar to Salmorejo. It is made with bread, almonds, garlic, olive oil and vinegar.
  • In La Guardia in Toledo Province it is a combination of fried vegetables [1]
• Peru : Mazamorra de Calabaza is a popular dessert in the Huanuco region, made with pumpkin

See also

• Mote (food)
• Atole
• Champurrado

External links

• http://www.chispaisas.info/cocina28.htm Recipes for Colombian Mazamorra

References

1. ^ http://fabricadecosas.com/2009/05/mazamorra-y-panela-machacada/
2. ^ http://www.redcolombiana.com/mipais/recetascolombianas/BoyacayCundinamarca/Mazamorrachiquita.asp
3. ^ "Karú rekó – Antropología culinaria paraguaya", by Margarita Miró Ibars