The first thing we should know is that the prototype of this dish is very ancient, with only records indicating that yellow potatoes with aji were already being prepared.
Some history
It is at this precise moment where stories diverge, as sadly, there is no confirmed account of how the first Lima cause originated and was created.
Nevertheless, it is worth discussing these stories. The first points to the colonial era, a time when the Spanish took the aforementioned prototype of yellow potatoes with aji and added more ingredients, thus creating, according to legend, the Lima cause.
The second version introduces a Lima family, who—without revealing many details—had to host soldiers that were happy and celebrating Independence Day.
How to prepare improvisationally
And to avoid being rude, they needed to prepare a feast with what they had stored, which was olives, eggs, and potatoes. Cooking, unknowingly, the very first Lima cause.
But if neither of those myths seem believable to you, perhaps the third story appeals more—set during the War of the Pacific, a time when food was extremely scarce.
Similar to the second story, the women who needed to feed the army gathered everything remaining—aji, salt, lemon, and potatoes—and cooked it; resulting in a complete success.
The peculiar name “cause” is said to come from the Quechua word “kausay,” which, translated into Spanish, means “necessary sustenance,” referencing the potato.
