Facts About Chipa
Chipa is a type of small, baked, cheese-flavored rolls, a popular snack and breakfast food in Paraguay. The recipe has existed since the 18th century and its origins lie with the indigenous Guaraní people. 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. A small chipa may be called a chipita. In Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, the term cuñapé (Guarani) is often used. In some parts of Argentina, it is called chipá (with an accent mark), or chipacito when it is small.
History
Chipa has been prepared in the Guarani region (Paraguay, Northeastern Argentina, Southeastern Bolivia and Southwestern Brazil) 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 livestock (like cheese and eggs), chipa began to gradually evolve into the widely used recipe of the early 21st century.
Paraguay and Northeastern Argentina
In the Guaraní region, chipa 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), chipa avatí and chipa rora (made of the skin of the seed of corn after being strained, like a whole-wheat bread).
Brazil