Wide view of hen and mote soup, with potato and cooked maize visible in the golden broth.

Region Popayán, Cauca, in Colombia’s Andean region

Category Everyday poultry and maize soup

Yield 6 generous portions

Active time About 35 minutes

Cooking time About 2 hours 30 minutes; allow up to 3 hours for a very mature hen

Ingredients ↓

Overview

Mote con gallina

A comforting Cauca soup of tender hen, peeled maize, potato, onion and garlic.

Mote con gallina is a familiar everyday soup from Popayán in Cauca. Its simple foundation of maize, potato, onion, garlic and hen lets the broth carry the flavor of the poultry while the cooked kernels give each bowl its texture. This measured home version is practical rather than a claim to one fixed household formula.

Here, commercially prepared cooked peeled maize keeps the process manageable and avoids handling caustic alkali. In Cauca, mote has a broader culinary life and also appears in wrapped maize preparations; this recipe is the soup, with kernels left whole so they remain distinct in the broth. Look for food-grade mote or hominy that is already cooked, drain it, and rinse away excess packing liquid.

Mature hen brings a deeper broth and usually needs a longer, gentler simmer than young chicken. The pieces should become tender without breaking apart. Add the potatoes near the end so they soften but hold their shape, then warm the cooked mote in the same pot. If you cannot find mature hen, bone-in stewing chicken works; begin checking it earlier because it cooks faster.

Ingredients

Hen and broth

1.8 kg mature stewing hen, cut into bone-in portions
3.2 L water
180 g white onion, peeled and quartered
20 g garlic cloves, peeled and lightly crushed
8 g fine salt, to start

Mote and potato

700 g commercially prepared cooked peeled white mote or hominy, drained and rinsed
700 g potatoes, peeled and cut into 3 cm chunks
4 g fine salt, only if needed after tasting

Method

Start the hen broth Put the hen, water, onion, garlic and 8 g salt in the pot. Bring just to a boil over medium heat, skimming off foam if it gathers on top. Lower the heat, cover partly and keep the liquid at a quiet simmer, with a gentle simmer and small bubbles at the surface. Do not let it boil hard; a rolling boil can make the broth cloudy and break up the meat.
Simmer until the hen is tender Cook for about 2 hours, turning the pieces once if they are not fully submerged. Begin checking after 1 hour 45 minutes. Insert a clean thermometer into the thickest part of several pieces without touching bone; each must reach at least 73.9°C. Continue simmering until the meat is tender and begins to pull easily from the bone. Older birds may need 30 minutes or more beyond the estimate.
Add the potatoes and mote Lift the hen onto a clean plate and keep it covered. Remove the onion and garlic pieces if you prefer a clear broth. Add the potatoes to the pot and simmer for 12 minutes. Stir in the drained, rinsed mote and return the hen to the pot. Simmer gently for 12–18 minutes, until a knife passes through the potatoes with slight resistance and the kernels are hot throughout. Add a little hot water if the soup has reduced more than you like.
Season and serve Taste the broth and add the remaining 4 g salt only if it needs it. Divide the mote and potatoes among warm bowls, add broth and serve a piece of hen in each. Keep the soup hot until it reaches the table; use clean utensils and serving bowls.

Practical guidance

Practical

Nutrition per serving

These rounded estimates use generic food-composition values and an estimated edible yield for the bone-in hen. The amount of skin and fat that stays in the broth, the mote brand and rinsing, and the salt needed at the table can change the final values.

Equipment

A heavy 6-litre pot with lid, knife, cutting board, slotted spoon, ladle and instant-read food thermometer. A pot with enough room lets the hen simmer without crowding; keep the lid partly on to limit evaporation while allowing a gentle simmer.

Practical guidance

1. Buy mote labelled as fully cooked and ready to eat. Dry maize needs a different soaking and cooking schedule, so do not substitute it gram for gram without following its package directions first. 2. Do not prepare maize with household lye or ash. This version uses commercially prepared food-grade kernels. 3. Cut the hen into even pieces where possible. If a whole bird is difficult to portion, ask a butcher to do it and keep it cold on the way home. 4. A gentle simmer gives the hen time to soften. If the broth is bubbling vigorously, lower the heat and partially cover the pot. 5. A thermometer verifies poultry safety; tenderness is a separate texture check. Check several thick pieces and avoid touching bone with the probe. 6. Add the mote only after it is cooked. It needs to heat through, not soften from raw. 7. The recipe contains poultry and maize. No major allergen is intentionally included; check the mote package for cross-contact statements. 8. If using stewing chicken instead of mature hen, start checking the temperature and tenderness after about 60 minutes. Remove each piece as it becomes ready. 9. Cool leftovers in shallow containers and refrigerate within 2 hours. Use within 3–4 days or freeze; reheat the soup to 73.9°C throughout. 10. Keep raw-poultry boards and utensils separate from cooked food, and wash hands and surfaces after handling the hen.

Allergens and food safety

No major allergen is deliberately added, but check the cooked mote label for ingredients and cross-contact information. Keep raw hen at 4°C or colder, separate it from ready-to-eat food and cook every piece to at least 73.9°C, measured in the thickest part away from bone. Refrigerate leftovers in shallow containers within 2 hours and reheat to 73.9°C.

Final notes

1: Mote con gallina brings together hen, maize, potato, onion and garlic; household proportions can vary. 2: Ready-cooked mote makes this version practical and keeps the kernels whole and visible in the soup.

Nutrition per serving

Serving basis: 1 of 6 portions, including broth, mote, potato and one share of hen
Calories: 535kcal
Carbohydrates: 41g
Protein: 28g
Fat: 28g
Fibre: 6g
Sodium: 1180mg

Mote con gallina

Ingredients

Hen and broth

Mote and potato

Method

Practical

Nutrition per serving

Equipment

Practical guidance

Allergens and food safety

Final notes

Nutrition per serving

Colombian National Dishes

Carne asada

Lomo de cerdo con salsa de mora

Carne asada a la llanera