Ka'í Ladrillo is a typical dessert of the

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to t ...

an cuisine prepared mainly with

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small an ...

s and

molasses Molasses () is a viscous substance resulting from refining sugarcane or sugar beets into sugar. Molasses varies in the amount of sugar, method of extraction and age of the plant. Sugarcane molasses is primarily used to sweeten and flavour foods ...

Origin of the name

The name ''ka’i ladrillo'' is the result of the combination of two words, “ka’i” that means “monkey” and “ladrillo” that is brick, used to refer to all things with that shape. So the “ka’i ladrillo” is the “brick of the monkey” because it is usually made with a rectangular form like a brick and because the monkey (ka’i mirikina) is an animal natural of the Paraguayan jungles that likes to eat everything that is sweet. And this dessert is especially sweet. It is also called “azukapé manduví”, Guaraní words for “

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or do ...

” (azuká), “flat” (pé) and “peanut” (manduví).

Preparation

To prepare the ka’i ladrillo are needed: toast peanuts and molasses. Some varieties of the dish also include a little of sour orange or grapefruit juice, which give it a bittersweet taste and diminishes the excessive sweetness.

Ingredients

The molasses is boiled, stirring, until it became possible to see the bottom of the pot when passing the spoon. Then, add the peanut, whole or in little pieces (the traditional is made with whole peanuts) and is cooked for a few more minutes. After, the preparation is poured in flat molds previously damped with some cold water, and let it cool. Once cold, the dessert is taken out of the molds. According to some scholars of social history of Paraguay, all the Paraguayan popular gastronomy, which establishes itself as a small family industry after the

Paraguayan War The Paraguayan War, also known as the War of the Triple Alliance, was a South American war that lasted from 1864 to 1870. It was fought between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, the Empire of Brazil, and Uruguay. It was the deadlies ...

where Paraguay fought the Triple Alliance composed of (

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

, between 1864 and 1870), is really abundant in caloric content, because of the situation that overcame to the country after the conflict. In the aftermath of the war, food was limited, groceries were hard to find. So Paraguayan cooking has a high protein content to make up for the scarcity of every day meal.

References

External links

Guarani Raity
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ka'i Ladrillo Paraguayan cuisine Confectionery Molasses