Chipá

Chipa

Type	Bread
Course	Breakfast or snack
Place of origin	Paraguay
Created by	Guaraníes
Main ingredients	Cassava starch or [[corn starch, fat, milk, egg [cheese]]

Chipa is a type of small, baked, cheese-flavored rolls, a popular snack and breakfast food in Paraguay.Its origin is uncertain; it is speculated that the recipe has existed since the eighteenth century by the indígenas (Guaraníes). It is inexpensive and often sold from streetside stands and on buses by vendors carrying a large basket with the warm chipa wrapped in a cloth.

The original name is from Guarani chipa (Guaraní pronunciation: [tʃiˈpa]). It is also known as chipa, chipacito or chipita and in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, the term cuñapé (Guarani) is often used.

Chipá has been prepared in the Guarani region (Paraguay) since humans settled in the area. During inception, the Guarani people prepared it only with cassava starch and water. After the arrival of the colonists and Jesuit missionaries, and with the introduction of cattle, chickens and new products derived from this (like cheese and eggs), chipá began to gradually evolve into the widely used recipe of the early 21st century.

In the Guaraní region, chipá is often baked in smaller doughnuts or buns that may be called chipa'í or chipacitos. These are sold in small bags by street sellers of big cities and small towns. In the preparation of chipa yeast is not used, so in spite of the high temperatures of the region it can be preserved for many days. It is a festive food and can be found in every popular religious celebration.

Other common variants in Paraguay include the chipa caburé or chipá mbocá (cooked around a stick, in consequence it doesn't have the spongy inner center) and the chipa so'ó, filled with ground meat. There are other varieties of chipa with different ingredients; chipa manduvi (made with a mix of corn flour and peanut), chipá avatí and chipa rora (made of the skin of the seed of corn after being strained, like a whole-wheat bread).

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Wikipedia