Glossary of Peruvian Cuisine
Most Common Terms, Dishes, and Ingredients.

Ají: Spanish for Chili-peppers, ají is a fundamental ingredient in most Peruvian recipes; indeed, one could perfectly say that ajíes are ubiquitous in Peruvian cuisine: it's present in most dishes, from ceviche to ají de gallina, from tiradito to causa to tacu tacu to ocopa. The most known -and used- varieties include:

Ají Amarillo, or yellow ají, is probably the most common variety, used to flavour many different dishes, including lomo saltado and causa. Long and aromatic, it's frequently made into a paste before used for cooking. In spite of it's name, ají amarillo can also be orange or green.
Ají Limo is a small and rounded ají, its colour ranging from yellow to green to red. It's very spicy and mainly used for preparing ceviche.
Ají Panca or Colorado is a big, red purplish ají, which is typically sun-dried and grounded before using. It's tasteful yet not very spicy, and thus used across a wide variety of dishes.
Ají Mirasol is the sun-dried ají amarillo, and can be used whole, grounded, or made into a paste.

Ajíes belong to the Capsicum genus of plants from the nightshade family (Solanaceae). Peruvian ajíes are part of the Capsicum baccatum species, which originated either in Bolivia or in Peru and, according to archaeological evidence, was probably domesticated in Peru about 2,500 B.C.

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