Traditional food
Traditional Colombian food, the dishes worth knowing
What Colombians eat, where to start and the recipes to cook it at home.
Traditional Colombian food is home cooking built on a short list of staples: corn (for arepas, tamales and wrapped corn cakes), potatoes, green and ripe plantains, cassava, rice and beans, with beef, pork or chicken and mild fresh cheese in almost everything. Flavor comes from hogao, a slow-cooked base of tomato and green onion, and very little of it is spicy: the hot sauce, called ají, sits on the table for each person to add.
There is no official national dish, but the ones Colombians point to are the bandeja paisa platter from Antioquia, Bogotá's ajiaco chicken and potato soup, sancocho, a hearty soup made all over the country with different meats, the stuffed roast pork called lechona, and the arepa. Geography sets the menu: the Andes cook with potatoes, corn and thick soups, while the Caribbean and Pacific coasts cook with coconut, fish, cassava and yam.
Below, the dishes are grouped by meal and by region, with notes on what to try first, what is served together and which ingredients you can find in a US or UK supermarket. For the neighbors, see traditional Mexican food and traditional Venezuelan food, and for December, our guide to Colombian Christmas.
The most famous Colombian dishes
If you are cooking Colombian food for the first time, start with ajiaco: one pot of chicken, three kinds of potato, corn on the cob and an herb called guascas, which you can buy dried online. It is served with heavy cream, capers and avocado at the table, and if you make the broth the day before, it takes 45 minutes on the day. Sancocho de gallina, a hen and plantain soup, is just as forgiving and comes with white rice, avocado and ají.
The bandeja paisa is a project: beans, rice, ground beef, pork belly crackling, chorizo, blood sausage, a fried egg, ripe plantain, an arepa and avocado on one plate. Cook the beans the day before and leave the frying for the last 15 minutes. Lechona and the tamal tolimense are party food that takes most of a day, worth it for a big group rather than a weeknight.
SoupsColombian Ajiaco, the Bogotá Chicken and Potato Soup
Colombian ajiaco is Bogotá's thick chicken and potato soup with corn and guascas, ready in 90 minutes (40 hands-on) for 6 bowls. US and UK potato swaps, where to buy guascas, a make-ahead plan, costs and storage.
LunchBandeja Paisa, the Colombian Platter and How to Build It
Bandeja paisa, the twelve-part Colombian platter of beans, rice, chicharrón, ground beef, chorizo, morcilla, egg, plantain, arepa and avocado. Ready in 140 minutes for 4. Calories per part, US swaps and the cooking order.
SoupsColombian Sancocho de Gallina, the Hen and Plantain Soup
Colombian sancocho de gallina, the Valle del Cauca soup of stewing hen, green plantain, corn, yuca and culantro. Ready in 140 minutes for 8. Hen or chicken and what changes, US swaps for every root, why the broth goes thin, storage.
LunchColombian Lechona, Roast Pork With Crackling Skin
Lechona tolimense is pork skin stuffed with marinated pork and yellow split peas, roasted 3 hours at 320 °F and 40 minutes at 390 °F so the skin puffs. The two temperatures, what to order from a butcher and how to carve it.
LunchColombian Tamal Tolimense, With Rice in the Dough
Tamal tolimense: cracked corn soaked three days, rice and split peas in the dough, chicken, pork ribs and belly. Boiled two and a half hours in banana leaf, why the soak cannot be rushed and what to buy in the US.
Colombian soups
In Colombia, soup is lunch, not a starter, and often the whole meal with a little rice on the side. The three-meat sancocho uses beef, pork and chicken and needs nothing else; the fish sancocho is the coastal version with coconut and yam, and catfish steaks stand in well outside Colombia. Also from the Caribbean, mote de queso, a yam and cheese soup, is the easiest one here.
Highland soups are heavier: cuchuco, a cracked wheat and pork soup from Boyacá, mondongo tripe soup, and mute from Santander, made for 10 to 15 people or for freezing in portions, with hominy in place of Colombian dried corn.
SoupsSancocho Trifásico, Colombian Three-Meat Sancocho
Sancocho trifásico puts beef, pork and chicken in one pot, with the chicken going in three quarters of an hour after the other two. The five staggered entries, the cuts to buy outside Colombia and the 195°F that keeps the broth clear.
SoupsFish Sancocho, Colombian Coconut Fish Soup with Plantain
Fish sancocho is the Colombian coast's fish soup, bone-in steaks poached last in a coconut broth with green plantain, cassava and yam, 90 minutes for 6. Which fish to buy in the US or UK, the 145°F (63°C) test and how to store it.
SoupsColombian Mote de Queso, Yam and Cheese Soup
Mote de queso from Colombia's Caribbean coast: white yam boiled until it thickens its own broth, with cubes of salty cheese added at the end. Which yam to buy, which cheese holds its shape and why halloumi works.
SoupsCuchuco, Colombian Cracked Wheat and Pork Soup
Cuchuco de trigo is the thick cracked-wheat soup of Boyacá, built on pork neck bones, favas and two kinds of potato. What cuchuco actually is, what to buy instead abroad, and why the grain goes in at minute 60.
SoupsColombian Mondongo, Tripe Soup Without the Smell
Mondongo paisa: beef tripe scrubbed with lime and salt, pressure-cooked an hour, then simmered with pork ribs, chorizo and vegetables in stages. How to clean tripe, how long it really needs and why the first boil gets poured away.
SoupsColombian Mute Soup, Santander Corn Stew with Beef and Tripe
Colombian mute soup is a thick Santander stew of whole white corn, beef and pork ribs, tripe, chickpeas and beans. Serves 12 in 4 hours plus an overnight soak, with hominy swaps, a no-tripe version, costs and freezing.
Colombian breakfast
A Colombian breakfast almost always means an arepa, eggs and something hot to drink. Huevos pericos, eggs scrambled with tomato and scallions, take 15 minutes, and calentado turns yesterday's rice and beans into a crisp skillet hash with a fried egg on top. In Bogotá breakfast can also be a soup: changua, with milk, water and a poached egg, or caldo de costilla, a beef rib broth.
To drink, Colombian hot chocolate with cubes of cheese at the bottom of the cup. On Sundays and holidays breakfast is a tamale: pork tamales wrapped in banana leaf are made in big batches and frozen.
BreakfastHuevos Pericos, Colombian Scrambled Eggs with Scallions
Huevos pericos are Colombian scrambled eggs cooked into a quick tomato and scallion base, so they stay juicy and never watery. Ready in 15 minutes for 4, with the Venezuelan perico, US and UK onion swaps, scaling for 20, cost and storage.
BreakfastColombian Calentado, Yesterday's Beans and Rice
Calentado paisa: leftover beans and rice fried with chorizo until a crust forms, topped with a fried egg and an arepa. The 2-hour rule, the 165 °F reheat and why Colombians cook extra beans on purpose.
BreakfastChangua, Colombian Milk and Egg Breakfast Soup
Changua from Bogotá is an egg poached whole in milk and water with scallion and cilantro, served over dry bread. The temperature window that keeps the yolk soft, why the milk is cut with water and what goes in the bowl.
SoupsCaldo de Costilla, Colombian Beef Rib Soup Recipe
Caldo de costilla is Colombian beef rib soup with potatoes, scallions and cilantro, the Bogotá breakfast bowl, ready in 120 minutes for 4 bowls. Short rib cuts, US and UK potato swaps, a night-before plan, Instant Pot timing and freezing.
DrinksColombian Hot Chocolate With Cheese in the Cup
Colombian hot chocolate made from sweetened table chocolate, frothed with a molinillo and served with a cube of fresh cheese melting in the cup. Why it must never boil, which cheese holds up and the calories of each version.
BreakfastColombian Pork Tamales in Banana Leaf
Colombian pork tamales built on leg and spare ribs, with the masa hydrated by the pork's own broth and checked with the float test. Why this tamale needs no added lard, and how much broth per cup of masarepa.
Arepas and Colombian cheese breads
Every region has its own arepa. To start, cheese arepas made with precooked corn flour (masarepa, sold in the Latin aisle) take 30 minutes. The arepa paisa is thin and barely salted, for butter and cheese or alongside beans. The coastal arepa de huevo has a whole egg fried inside, sweet corn arepas work with frozen corn out of season, Boyacá arepas are stuffed with fresh cheese, and the Santander arepa has cassava and pork cracklings in the dough.
Colombian cheese breads are made with cassava starch or corn, not wheat (check labels if you cook for someone with celiac disease). Pandebono uses twice as much cheese as starch, and well-drained feta is the closest substitute for Colombian costeño cheese; pandeyuca uses equal parts, so it bakes drier and crisper; almojábanas use fresh curd, and ricotta works. Corn envueltos are steamed in the husk and freeze well in a big batch.
BreakfastColombian Cheese Arepas, the 30-Minute Breakfast
Colombian cheese arepas made with masarepa, queso fresco in the dough and mozzarella melted inside. Ready in 30 minutes for 4 large arepas. Which corn flour actually works, which US cheeses melt, dough troubleshooting and freezing.
BreakfastArepa Paisa, Thin Colombian White Corn Arepas
Arepa paisa is the thin, plain white corn arepa from Medellín and Antioquia, griddled dry and eaten with butter and cheese. Makes 8 in 45 minutes, with the right flour, a no-crack dough, pressing between plastic and reheating.
BreakfastColombian Arepa de Huevo, a Whole Egg Fried Inside
Arepa de huevo is a Caribbean-coast corn arepa fried twice with a whole egg sealed inside its own steam pocket. How that pocket forms, the five-minute window for cutting it open, US substitutions and every way it fails.
BreakfastColombian Sweet Corn Arepas, Griddled With Cheese
Arepas de chócolo: fresh sweet corn blended with a little precooked corn flour, cooked in butter over medium-low heat and topped with cheese. Why tender corn sweetens itself, when the cheese goes on and how it differs from a cachapa.
BreakfastArepas Boyacenses, Stuffed with Fresh Cheese and Panela
Boyacense arepas are yellow corn dough with 28% wheat flour, stuffed with fresh curd and panela and browned in butter. Why the wheat is what lets you seal them, and which cheese softens without melting. Eight arepas.
BreakfastArepa Santandereana, with Cassava and Pork Cracklings
The santandereana arepa rests on three ingredients that each do a job: hulled corn for texture, cassava for the starch that binds, cracklings for fat. Cooked dry on a griddle, eight at a time, in three hours.
BreakfastColombian Pandebono, Cheese Bread That Puffs Without Yeast
Colombian pandebono is a gluten-free cheese bread that rises on steam alone, from sour cassava starch fermented for a month and dried in the sun. Which bag to buy, which cheese works and the oven heat that makes it puff.
BreakfastColombian Pandeyuca, Crisp Cheese Rings From Cassava
Pandeyuca is a crisp Colombian cheese bread made with plain tapioca starch, cheese and baking powder, baked 13 minutes at 445 °F. Why it uses sweet starch rather than sour, why the dough chills, and how it differs from pandebono.
BreakfastColombian Almojábanas, Cheese and Corn Buns with Cuajada
Colombian almojábanas are soft cheese and corn buns made with fresh curd cheese and masarepa, baked 20 minutes at 400°F (200°C) for 12 buns. Which US or UK cheese to use, why they go flat or hard, costs and freezing raw.
BreakfastColombian Corn Envueltos, Fresh Corn Steamed in the Husk
Colombian corn envueltos are fresh corn ground with butter and fresh cheese, wrapped in its own husk and steamed for 60 minutes. Makes 12 in 2 hours, with sweet corn fixes for US and UK cooks, dried husks or foil, freezing and costs.
Empanadas, patacones and fried snacks
This is street and party food, and most of it can be shaped ahead and frozen raw, then fried as guests arrive. Colombian empanadas have a crisp corn shell with beef and potato inside (Yukon Gold stands in for the Colombian potato), and the peanut empanadas from Popayán are filled with potato and peanut. Both are eaten with ají picante, a fresh, vinegary hot sauce you can make a day ahead.
Patacones, twice-fried green plantains, are the easiest side to master, but they stay crisp for only about 10 minutes, so serve them straight from the pan. The coast has carimañolas, cassava fritters filled with beef; the Cauca Valley has aborrajados, ripe plantain with cheese. For a snack platter, add papas rellenas, made with russets, and papas criollas, small yellow potatoes sold frozen in Latin stores.
SnacksColombian Empanadas, the Crispy Corn Empanadas of Cali
Colombian empanadas the Cali way: yellow masarepa shells filled with shredded flank steak and yellow potato, fried at 350°F until they shatter. Ready in 150 minutes for 20. US swaps, why they burst in the oil and how to freeze them unfried.
SnacksEmpanadas de Pipián, Colombian Peanut and Potato Empanadas
Empanadas de pipián from Popayán are filled with yellow potato, ground toasted peanut and hogao, fried in four minutes and eaten with a peanut ají. Why the peanut defines them, and why the filling has to go in cold.
SnacksColombian Ají Picante, the Fresh Hot Sauce for Empanadas
Colombian ají picante is a fresh, spoonable hot sauce of scallions, tomato, cilantro, chile, lime, vinegar and water, ready in 15 minutes for 12 servings. Scoville heat per chile, lime vs vinegar, fridge life and US and UK swaps.
SnacksColombian Patacones with Hogao, Twice-Fried Green Plantains
Colombian patacones are tostones with a job to do, fried twice at 330 and 355 °F and topped with hogao, a scallion and tomato sauce cooked for 20 minutes. Why the plantain must be green, two oil temperatures, US swaps and a 45-minute plan.
SnacksColombian Carimañolas, Cassava Fritters With Beef
Carimañolas from Colombia's Caribbean coast: boiled cassava mashed while hot, stuffed with seasoned ground beef and fried at 350 °F. Why the dough must be mashed hot, which cassava to buy and how to freeze them.
SnacksAborrajados, Colombian Cheese-Stuffed Plantains
Aborrajados from Colombia's Valle del Cauca: blackened ripe plantain fried, flattened, stuffed with cheese, battered and fried again. How ripe the plantain must be, which cheese holds and the 5-minute chill that stops leaks.
SnacksColombian Papas Rellenas, Stuffed Potato Balls Recipe
Colombian papas rellenas are russet mash wrapped around beef in tomato sofrito with rice and egg, battered and fried at 350°F (175°C). Makes 12 in 2 hours, with a freezer plan, air fryer method, party quantities and US cost.
SnacksPapas Criollas, Colombian Yellow Potatoes Fried or Roasted
Papas criollas are small Colombian yellow potatoes fried whole in their skins at 340°F (170°C) until wrinkled outside and creamy inside. Also roasted, air fried or boiled, with timings, doneness cues, frozen bags and US or UK swaps.
Colombian dishes by region
Caribbean and Pacific coasts. Coconut, fish and plantain. In Cartagena, posta negra, beef braised in burnt sugar, comes with coconut rice and fried ripe plantain. Fried mojarra, a whole crisp fish, works with frozen whole tilapia and goes with coconut rice and patacones; the seafood stew with coconut milk is the dish for guests. From the Pacific, fish in coconut sauce, with a sauce you can make the day before.
Inland. From the Cauca Valley, the breaded pork chuleta valluna and arroz atollado, a soupy rice with pork. From Antioquia, red beans with plantain, the base of the bandeja paisa and a dish children usually like. From Bogotá, sobrebarriga, an inexpensive flank steak that spends most of its time simmering unattended. From the eastern plains, ternera a la llanera, beef roasted on stakes over wood, adapted here for an oven or a covered grill.
LunchColombian Posta Negra, Beef Braised in Burnt Sugar
Posta negra from Cartagena: eye of round marinated overnight, seared, and braised 150 minutes in a dark panela caramel. The caramel temperature, which US cut to buy and why it is sliced only after resting.
LunchColombian Coconut Rice, Golden Arroz con Coco with Titoté
Colombian coconut rice is golden, not white, because a can of coconut milk is cooked down for 40 minutes into titoté, browned oil that coats every grain. Which can works and which never will, a 75-minute timeline and US swaps.
LunchColombian Fried Mojarra, Crispy Whole Fried Fish
Colombian fried mojarra is a whole tilapia, scored and rubbed with garlic, lime and salt, fried at 355°F (180°C) for 6 minutes a side to 145°F. Serves 4 in 90 minutes, with times by weight, US and UK fish swaps and an air fryer option.
LunchColombian Seafood Stew With Coconut Milk
Cazuela de mariscos from Cartagena: shrimp-shell stock, sofrito, coconut milk and cream, with the shellfish added in order over the last 4 minutes. Doneness cues, US shopping swaps and why the sauce must never boil.
LunchColombian Fish in Coconut Sauce, Pacific Coast Recipe
Colombian fish in coconut sauce is firm white fish poached in coconut milk and hogao until it reaches 145°F (63°C). Serves 4 in 55 minutes, with canned or fresh coconut milk, US and UK fish swaps and how to stop the sauce splitting.
LunchChuleta Valluna, Colombian Breaded Pork Cutlet Recipe
Chuleta valluna is a Colombian pork cutlet pounded to 5 mm (3/16 inch), marinated in lime and cumin, breaded and fried at 350°F (175°C). Cut, pounding, crust that sticks, safe pork temps, air fryer, US cost. 80 minutes for 4.
LunchColombian Arroz Atollado, Soupy Rice With Pork
Arroz atollado from Colombia's Valle del Cauca: unwashed medium-grain rice cooked in pork and chicken broth until it pools on the plate. The exact broth ratio, US ingredient swaps and why it must be served immediately.
LunchColombian Red Beans, Frisoles Antioqueños with Plantain
Colombian red beans are cranberry-style beans simmered with pork belly and thickened with green plantain, 105 minutes in a pressure cooker for 8. Which beans to buy in the US or UK, Instant Pot and stovetop timings, cost and freezing.
LunchColombian Sobrebarriga, Braised Flank Steak Two Ways
Colombian sobrebarriga is flank steak simmered 150 minutes until fork-tender, then stewed in Creole tomato sauce or baked under breadcrumbs. 190 minutes for 6 servings, with US and UK cut swaps, Instant Pot times, make-ahead plan and cost.
LunchTernera a la Llanera, Colombian Stake-Roasted Beef
Colombia's llanero barbecue: a young calf butchered into four named cuts, driven onto stakes beside a wood fire and roasted 4 hours with nothing but salt. The fire, the four cuts and a home version at 310 °F.
Colombian desserts and sweets
Most Colombian sweets start with milk and panela, an unrefined cane sugar sold in blocks in Latin stores (dark brown sugar is the usual stand-in). Arequipe is Colombia's dulce de leche, and it fills obleas, thin wafers that take 18 minutes to assemble. Cuajada with melao is unsalted fresh cheese in panela syrup (queso fresco works outside Colombia), and mazamorra is cooked corn served cold with milk and a piece of panela.
December brings natilla, an eggless custard, and buñuelos, cheese fritters where cotija replaces Colombian cheese, plus manjar blanco in the Cauca Valley, milder than arequipe. For hot days, Cali's cholado: shaved ice, fruit, syrups and condensed milk in one cup.
DessertsArequipe, Colombian Dulce de Leche From Milk
Arequipe made the long way: a quart of milk, sugar and baking soda reduced for 125 minutes down to 225 °F exactly. Why baking soda darkens the milk, how to read the set without a thermometer and the five ways it fails.
DessertsColombian Obleas Recipe, Wafer Sandwiches with Arequipe
Colombian obleas are two paper-thin wafers sandwiched with arequipe, blackberry, grated cheese and cream, 12 in 40 minutes. Where to buy the wafers in the US and UK, swaps, a party bar plan and how to keep them crisp.
DessertsCuajada with melao, Colombian fresh cheese in panela syrup
Cuajada with melao, Colombian fresh cheese set with rennet at 95°F (35°C) from 1 gallon of milk and served under a dark panela syrup. Makes 6 servings in 155 minutes, or 25 with store-bought queso fresco, plus US and UK swaps and cost.
DessertsColombian Mazamorra, Cooked Corn Served Cold With Milk
Mazamorra paisa is cracked corn soaked overnight, simmered two hours and served cold with milk and panela on the side. What the claro is, why baking soda is not nixtamalization, how it differs from peto and how long it keeps.
DessertsColombian Natilla, the Eggless Christmas Custard
Colombian natilla, the firm eggless Christmas custard of milk, cornstarch, panela and cinnamon, made for 10 people. Fifteen minutes of work plus 4 hours chilled, how much cornstarch per quart and why it will not set.
DessertsColombian Buñuelos, the Christmas Cheese Fritters
Colombian buñuelos, the salty cheese fritters of Christmas, made with cotija or queso costeño, cornstarch and tapioca. Fried at 300-330 °F so they puff without splitting, 20 of them in 57 minutes. Cheese swaps and why they burst.
DessertsColombian Manjar Blanco, the Rice-Set Christmas Milk Sweet
Colombian manjar blanco is milk and sugar reduced with soaked, ground rice until it sets firm enough to cut with a spoon. About 3 hours on the stove for 20 servings, the cold-plate test, US and UK swaps, a Christmas plan and costs.
DessertsCholado Recipe, Colombian Shaved Ice with Fruit and Syrups
Colombian cholado is shaved ice layered with five chopped fruits, homemade blackberry and passion fruit syrups and condensed milk. Ready in 50 minutes for 4 cups, with no-machine ice, US and UK swaps and a party plan for 20.
Colombian juices and drinks
Fresh fruit juice comes with lunch in Colombia, made with water or with milk. Lulo juice, somewhere between pineapple and lime, and blackberry juice are the classics; outside Colombia, look for frozen lulo or naranjilla pulp in Latin grocery stores. Lulada from Cali is mashed lulo with lime and ice, and coconut lemonade from Cartagena is thick and frothy, made with cream of coconut from the cocktail aisle.
Aguapanela, panela dissolved in water, is drunk hot with cheese or cold with lime. Cold champús, with corn, lulo and pineapple, is mostly waiting time, and salpicón, a fruit cocktail in watermelon juice, can be prepped the day before a party.
DrinksColombian Lulo Juice with Water or Milk, Never Bitter
Colombian lulo juice with water or milk, 280 g (10 oz) of pulp per liter, pulsed so the seeds stay whole, ready in 10 minutes for 4 glasses. Frozen pulp in the US and UK, lulada, party amounts, costs and storage.
DrinksColombian Blackberry Juice (Jugo de Mora), Water or Milk
Colombian blackberry juice with 300 g (10.5 oz) of Andean mora per liter, blended 30 seconds and strained, for 4 glasses in 10 minutes. How to adjust supermarket blackberries, the milk version, frozen pulp and cost.
DrinksColombian Lulada, the Mashed Lulo Drink from Cali
Colombian lulada is Cali's chunky lulo drink, fruit diced and mashed with sugar, never blended, plus lime, water and ice, in 15 minutes for 4 glasses. Frozen pulp swaps for the US and UK, party amounts, costs and storage.
DrinksColombian Coconut Lemonade, Frothy Cartagena Limeade
Colombian coconut lemonade is a frozen limeade blended from cream of coconut, fresh lime juice and ice, 4 glasses in 10 minutes. How to make it with coconut milk instead, how much sugar to add, why it turns bitter and a 20-glass party plan.
DrinksAguapanela, the Colombian Cane Sugar Drink, Four Ways
Aguapanela is unrefined cane sugar dissolved in water, 5 oz per liter, ready in 12 minutes and drunk hot or cold. The four strengths it is made at, why panela goes into cold water and how it compares with juice and soda.
DrinksColombian champús, a cold corn, lulo and pineapple drink
Colombian champús from Valle del Cauca, made with 10.6 oz (300 g) of soaked cracked corn, lulo, pineapple and spiced panela syrup for 12 glasses. US and UK swaps, a make-ahead plan, how long it keeps and the cost.
DrinksColombian Salpicon Recipe, Fruit Cocktail Drink
Colombian salpicon is diced fresh fruit in strained watermelon juice with orange and lime, ready in 30 minutes for 6 tall glasses. The ratio per glass, how to stop browning, soda swaps, ice cream and cheese, and a plan for 20.
Frequently asked questions
What is the national dish of Colombia?
There is no official one. The dishes most often named are the bandeja paisa from Antioquia, ajiaco from Bogotá and sancocho, a soup made across the country with different meats. Lechona and the arepa round out the list.
Is Colombian food spicy?
Rarely. Dishes are cooked without heat, and ají picante is served on the side so each person adds as much as they like.
What Colombian food is easy to make first?
Cheese arepas (30 minutes), huevos pericos (15), patacones and mote de queso. For a first main dish, ajiaco, which is all in one pot.
What do Colombians eat for breakfast?
An arepa with eggs, often huevos pericos, and hot chocolate with cheese or coffee. In Bogotá also changua or caldo de costilla; calentado uses up the previous day's rice and beans, and tamales are a Sunday breakfast.
What is in a bandeja paisa?
Red beans, white rice, ground beef, pork belly crackling, chorizo, blood sausage, a fried egg, ripe plantain, an arepa and avocado. The beans are best made the day before; the bandeja paisa recipe has the timing.
Where can I buy Colombian ingredients in the US or UK?
Masarepa (precooked corn flour), frozen fruit pulps such as lulo and blackberry, frozen papas criollas and panela are sold in Latin grocery stores, and dried guascas for ajiaco online. Supermarket swaps work for the rest: feta or cotija for Colombian cheeses, Yukon Gold or russet potatoes, and frozen tilapia for mojarra.