Anticuchos

Anticuchos are popular, inexpensive skewered meat dishes that originated in the Andes during the pre-Columbian era, in the Antisuyu region of the Inca Empire, and take their name from the Quechua Anti Kuchu, meaning Eastern-style cuts. The dish was adapted during the Spanish colonial era between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries and is now found across several South American countries, commonly sold as street food. The meat, most popularly beef heart in a preparation called anticuchos de corazon, is marinated in vinegar and spices such as cumin, aji pepper and garlic before being grilled on skewers, often alongside potatoes threaded on the same skewer. In Peru the dish carries particular cultural significance through its association with the procession of the Senor de los Milagros.