The chipa guasu is a cake made with corn grains, onions and Paraguayan cheese. It is one of 70 varieties of ''chipa'', a traditional set of
side dish
A side dish, sometimes referred to as a side order, side item, or simply a side, is a food item that accompanies the entrée or main course at a meal. es from Paraguay. It is often served in
asado
' () is the technique and the social event of having or attending a barbecue in various South American countries, especially Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay where it is also a traditional event. An ''asado'' usually consists of bee ...
s.
History
Some revisionist historians point out that, during the colonial era, the German traveler
Ulrich Schmidl
Ulrich Schmidl or Schmidel (1510 in Straubing - 1579 in Regensburg) was a German Landsknecht, conquistador, explorer, chronicler and councilman. Schmidl was, beside Hans Staden, one of the few Landsknechts who wrote down their experiences of ...
was already talking about the recipe for that kind of starchy bread made by the Cario-Guarani people (a native tribe who used to live in
Asunción
Asunción (, , , Guarani: Paraguay) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay.
The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay o ...
). Schmidl was in charge of noting in the logbook of the Spanish ship in which the expedition led by Juan de Ayolas arrived, which would arrive in Asunción later, thus giving rise to the first encounter between Spaniards and the Cario-Guarani people. Back then, there was a menu that was already part of the varieties of bread that the Cario-Guarani natives had in the early days of the conquest. The food the Cario-Guarani people used to eat was “mbujape”, which translated from Guarani means “bread”. To cook the mbujapé, corn flour or cassava starch was combined with animal fat and then it was wrapped in a banana leaf and placed in the
tanimbú to cook it.
There is the wrong idea of naming Paraguayan cuisine as "Guarani cuisine". Paraguayan gastronomy was born from the fusion of Spanish cuisine and Cario-Guaraní cuisine, which was developed due to the influence of the Franciscan priests, the Spanish conquers and the mestizos asuncenos, which took place in Asunción and its surroundings. Towns such as
Tobatí
Tobatí is a city in Tobatí District in the Cordillera Department, Paraguay. The population of the city is 9,688.Direccioón General de Estadística, Encuentras, y Censos. Censo Nacional de Población y Viviendas 2002.
History
Tobati was fo ...
,
Atyrá
Atyrá is one of the oldest cities of Paraguay, alongside Yaguarón, Villarrica, Encarnación, Pilar, San Lorenzo, Humaitá among others. Atyrá is 61 KM East from the country's capital, Asunción, located in the Altos