Llajua or Llajwa, is a staple, fresh and spicy sauce for any Bolivian household.

Every Bolivian house has a jar of fresh llajua. It is one of those spicy sauces that are on the table for every meal. It is a fresh sauce, made almost daily. Very simple and with few ingredients.

Each region and each house has its own recipe. Some add onions to it, others oil, parsley and/or quirquiña, but the two ingredients that are always present are tomatoes and locoto (habanero pepper).

Since we don't have locoto in Paraguay, at least not in my garden, I used these small chili peppers I had on hand. The important thing is that it needs to be fresh peppers.

It is said that the best llajua is the one made using a batán (mortar and pestle). The texture is not as liquid as when we used a blender. So if you have a mortar and pestle, use that instead.

How to make llajua?

This is a tomato base llajua. Add a tomato to the blender, some parsley, and blend. If you're not sure how hot the peppers you're using are, you might want to start with half a pepper, blend, try your sauce and add more to your liking. Finally, add some salt and serve.

How to serve llajua?

Llajua is usually served with savory dishes. With soups. With barbecue chicken or beef. With empanadas or meat patties. With hamburgers. With hot dogs. My favorite is, on a piece of French bread with some peanut soup (Bolivian soup).

Note: This recipe was published for the first time on March 18, 2016, on my old blog. As we celebrate Bolivia's independence in the month of August, I thought it was a good time to update my Bolivian recipes.

See you on Friday for more delicious Bolivian recipes!

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