Enjoy Aji de Gallina in a lower-carb version!
Peruvian food is one of my favorite types of foods, and I was so happy to make this keto-friendly. Peruvian food has an authentic taste, and when I eat it, I feel a connection to our ancestors. I have not been to Peru, but one day I would love to go and see the Nazca lines and Machu Picchu. My husband’s dad’s side of the family happens to be from Peru, so that, of course, is what inspired me to make this dish! A few months ago, I talked to my sister in law, Teresita, and she said she was making Aji de Gallina, so I thought I might try it out! I have to give her credit for helping me!
The key ingredient is Aji Amarillo
The key ingredient Keto Aji de Gallina is Aji Amarillo. Now, I have found that it is hard to find unless you have a local Peruvian grocery store. I ended up ordering the Aji Amarillo from Amazon. The brand I would recommend is by Inca Food. Click here to find it! I ended up using 4 tsp in this recipe, but you can use more or less depending on your tolerance for heat. I found that the 4 tsp was perfect in terms of spice. I would recommend that you start with 1 tsp of the Aji Amarillo and then sample the mixture. You want to enjoy your creation without drinking a gallon of water!
Make or use low-carb bread.
The key to making this Keto Aji de Gallina is keto-friendly bread! You can now purchase or make any keto bread you would like, but I would recommend Sami’s Lo-Carb 7-grain fiber. Not only is it 2 grams of net carbs, but it tastes so much like regular bread! I find that I don’t even miss the taste of traditional bread. Also, if you have an egg allergy as I do, then this bread is a better choice since many keto types of bread contain eggs.
Since we are on the topic of eggs, you probably noticed in the picture that I used eggs for garnish. The original recipe of Aji de Gallina does call for eggs, but it is not a necessity. I think that using eggs does add to the authenticity of the dish, and it is keto-friendly! I wish I could eat eggs!
Keto Aji de Gallina is done in steps.
Keto Aji de Gallina’s creation is done in several steps, so you would want to set aside some time to do it. It reminds me of making lasagna; it takes some time to make it. However, that being said, the final product is so worth it! I also found that we had a lot left over for maybe 1-2 nights of dinner!
First, make a broth.
The first step in making Keto Aji de Gallina is making your broth out of pieces of chicken, carrots, onion, garlic, and water. I ended up using 14 cups of water, just in case I needed extra broth for the mixture. When I made the broth, I found that I even had additional broth remaining for a soup for my kids. I don’t know about your kids, but mine don’t like any spicy foods! This broth concoction cooks for about 30 minutes, and after it is done, you strain the broth from the chicken and vegetables.
For the broth, I used chicken on the bone for added flavor, and after it was done cooking with the broth, I took the chicken out and let it cool. After it cooled down for a bit, I then shredded the chicken.
Second, blend the bread with the broth
After you have made the broth, you will proceed to blend the broth with the bread. I used one loaf of the Sami’s Lo-Carb 7-grain fiber bread. I found that around 6-8 cups of the broth were sufficient to blend with the bread. You may need to add more or less depending on the absorption of the bread. Make sure you cut up the loaf of bread into small pieces, and you add a little bit of the bread at a time into the broth. You don’t want to overload your blender, and you want an excellent puree! When I did this, I added about a 1/3 of the loaf of bread at one time and then blended it. After I combined all of the bread and made a nice puree, I added in the almonds and parmesan cheese.
Bringing everything together
The last step entails sauteeing the chicken with onions, garlic, and the Aji Amarillo in a large skillet. I used my iron skillet for this one. You want to make sure that whichever one you choose is deep because after you sautee the chicken mixture above, you add the wonderful concoction you created in the blender. In the recipe section below, I will explain each step of the process in detail. I hope you enjoy this! Feel free to leave me any comments or feedback.
Keto Aji de Gallina
This is a keto-friendly version of the Peruvian dish Aji de Gallina. It turned out to taste like the real deal!
- Blender
- 1 stockpot
- 1 iron skillet that is deep along or another deep pan ( about 2-3 inches in depth)
- 3 lbs chicken (with the bone in)
- 3 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 cups onion
- 1 loaf Sami's bread low carb 7 grain
- 2 cups carrots
- 1 can evaporated milk (12 oz)
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 quarts water
- 1/2 cups parmesean cheese
- 2 tsp tumeric
- 1/2 cups kalamata olives
- 2 tsp aji amarillo
- 4 eggs hard boiled
- 14 cups water
- 0.25 cups almonds
- 2 cups cauliflower rice
- 2-3 tsp salt
- 2 tsp onion powder
First cut everything up and make the broth
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The first thing you want to do is make your broth. First, proceed to cut up the two cups of carrots, 2 cups of onions, and 4 garlic cloves. Also cut up the 1 loaf of bread into cubes.
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Set aside 1 cup of onion and 2 garlic cloves for the last step. Take the other 1 cup of onion and 2 garlic cloves along with the carrots and sautee them in about 1 tbsp of coconut oil in a stock pot.
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After you saute the vegetables for 5 minutes, proceed to add 14 cups of water. Mix well and add 1-2 tsp of salt and the 3 lbs of chicken with the bone in. Bring mixture to a boil and then cook for about 30 minutes. Also during this time, take about 2 cups of cauliflower rice ( either make your own or from a bag) and sautee them in about 1 tbsp coconut oil. The cauliflower rice will cook for 10-20 minutes then set it aside.
Make the bread sauce
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Have your blender ready. After the broth mixture has cooked for about 30 minutes, you will want to set the chicken aside and shred it off the bone. You will also want to strain all the vegetables. Let the broth cool a bit, and then pour about 6 cups of the broth into a blender.
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Next add about 1/3 of the amount of bread you have cut up into cubes and puree it in your blending with the broth.
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After this has pureed, proceed to add another 1/3 of the cubes and puree. Then, finally add the remaining 1/3 of the cubes and puree, until you have pureed all of the cubes.
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Next, add in the parmesan cheese, 12 oz can of evaporated milk and the 1/4 cup of almond. Then place puree on your blender to mix those with the bread sauce. Set this aside for now.
Combining everything together
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Now that you have made the bread sauce, you can combine all your ingredients. First, you will want to take an iron skillet or regular skillet that is deep ( at least 2 inches but better if it is 3 inches).
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After you have your iron skillet, take the remaining onions and garlic and saute them in the pan in 1 tbsp coconut oil for a few minutes. Then, add the chicken that you shredded off the bone. I would cook this for at least 10 minutes.
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After you have cooked it for 10 minutes, add about 2 tsp of the Aji Amarillo ( or more to your liking). Then, add the bread sauce slowly while stirring well. Add a little bit of the sauce at a time while stirring, you don't want to pour it all in once.
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After you have put in all the bread sauce with the chicken saute, cook for 10-20 minutes until it thickened. You can add the remaining vegetables that you strained earlier as well if you like. Season with tumeric, salt or other seasonings to your preference.
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Finally, it is done and you are ready to enjoy! Let the Aji de Gallina cool prior to serving. You can garnish with the eggs and the kalamata olives you have prepared. Serve also with the cauliflower rice!
In conclusion, I hope you enjoy this Keto Aji de Gallina! Please feel free to give me any feedback in the comments section. If you want to get started on a healthy journey with me, please sign up for my email list for updates! If you aren’t sure how you can start on a path of wellness, then I encourage you to visit my Start right here page.
In Conclusion
Remember, living a healthy life is more than just choosing keto; it is energetic wellness too. If you want to find out more about this, please listen to my podcast series, Keto and Energetic Wellness for you. I would recommend that you start with the first podcast, which is Keto diet and chakra balance for your health. After this podcast, listen to podcasts on the Root chakra, Sacral chakra, etc.
Also, if you want to learn more about how to lose weight on a keto diet, please read this post. I also have a whole section on fasting, which you can look at to learn more. Read the posts and listen to the podcasts to learn about them all and begin your health journey with keto and energetic balance!
Namaste!
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