MARKETS : Ay Curuba! Good Morning, Colombia

La Sultana del Valle Colombian Bakery and Deli, 14909 Vanowen St., Van Nuys, (818) 781-9056. Open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

Breakfast at La Sultana Del Valle is unlike any other meal in L.A--or for that matter, probably anywhere west of Miami.

The centerpiece of “El Sultan,” as this extravagant $4.99 spread is called, is arepa Antioquena --a Colombian corn cake topped with lean Polish ham, a slice of Muenster cheese and two eggs sunny side up--but there’s a lot more to breakfast. You can also select as many of the shop’s Colombian-style buns as you like from the display case, including pandebono , pandequeso , bunuelos and other items still unfamiliar to most Californians, but all well worth discovering.

And while you’re feasting, you sit at the tiny coffee bar with a Miami-inspired color scheme of fuchsia and black and sip a tumbler of creamy South American-style hot chocolate or a mellow cappuccino made from freshly ground Colombian beans.

“New York City and Miami have quite a few Colombian food shops,” owner Armando Barrios tells me as I polish off my second bun, “but I think we’re the only one on the West Coast.”

Barrios is only half kidding when he says he opened the business because he got tired of lugging boxes and bags of baked goods home to L.A. every time he went to Miami. When he did decide to open La Sultana, after years of this sort of informal import business, he found that the challenge was to get an experienced Colombian baker willing to work here. It took Barrios’ father, who lives in Colombia, several more years to locate one. He came to Los Angeles just long enough to develop the recipes and train an assistant--Elias Navarro, an experienced Mexican baker who now prepares all the Colombian specialties.

Every morning Yolanda Barrios and her sister, Estella Burgos, ready the deli foods for the day. Many hot items, such as the baked sweet plantains stuffed with guava and cheese, the chorizo and the Valluno-style tamales (made with three kinds of meat and wrapped in banana leaves), typify the distinctive cuisine of Valle de Cauca, Barrios’ home in western Colombia. This particular region has a reputation for home cooks who are proud of their handiwork. However, the deli also carries other regional specialties: black sausage and chicharron from Bogota, arequipe typical of Antioquia and the tamales characteristic of Tolima to the east.

La Sultana makes delicious jugos or batidos de leche by blending milk and ice with such exotic fruits as curuba , lulo and passion fruit. “Of course we serve the usual banana, pineapple or papaya too,” says Barrios, “but the Colombian fruits are what everyone misses from home.” La Sultana also stocks a tiny grocery section with imported Colombian chocolate, cargamento beans and other hard-to-find Colombian necessities.

SHOPPING LIST

The cuisine of Colombia, unlike that of Mexico, wasn’t heavily influenced by its Indian cultures, but that doesn’t mean it’s just transplanted Spanish cookery. The Spaniards who settled the country’s isolated valleys learned to make do with the local ingredients--such things as yuca root and yuca flour, tropical fruits, and, of course, corn. La Sultana’s foods illustrate the delicious results of these culinary adaptations.

BAKERY GOODS

The various buns based on yuca flour and cheese-- pandebono , pandequeso, pandeyuca, almojabana and bunuelos --are differentiated from one another by ingredients or cooking techniques. They’re the counterparts of doughnuts in this country, typically eaten either at breakfast or as snacks at any time of day. Although they’re best fresh from the oven, I’ve found that by wrapping the buns individually in foil I can keep them for a day or two. Warm them in their foil wrappers to about 110 degrees before serving.

Bunuelos: It’s been said that enough different bunuelo recipes could be assembled between the Rio Grande and Tierra del Fuego to fill a small cookbook. In some parts of Mexico, bunuelos, resemble flour tortillas sprinkled with sugar. In other areas of Latin America they can be vegetable fritters or rice cakes. La Sultana’s Colombian version is a deep-fried bun shaped like a tennis ball, made with cornstarch and leavening added to the base of yuca and cheese. As if propelled by some magical magnetic force, the bunuelos spin spontaneously in the hot oil while they cook. They emerge a perfect golden brown sphere with a meltingly soft crumb that has no trace of oil.

Almojabana: This is my favorite bun. Although light and slightly chewy, it is quite rich because of the addition of soft aged cheese as well as the more mature cotija . A little sugar in the batter gives almojabana its irresistible savory-sweet flavor.

Pandeyuca: You’d never guess by the ingredients that these horseshoe-shaped buns would be so light. It’s probably the combination of the yuca flour with egg that gives them their slightly chewy texture.

Pandequeso: The same ingredients in different proportions produce pandequeso , a slightly sweeter bun than pandeyuca. Baker Navarro hand-rolls each of the buns to a distinctive ring shape.

Pandebono: This is one of the most popular of the group. It’s dome-shaped and a little more dense than the others, made with white cornmeal added to the combination of yuca flour, cheese, egg and butter.

Pan roscon: Very Spanish in its origins, this eggy, slightly sweet yeast bread is shaped into a large ring and filled with guava paste. It’s eaten as a coffee cake--naturally, Colombian coffee is preferred.

Pan alinado: This is a simple, slightly sweet yeasted egg bread along the lines of hallah or kugelhopf . Shaped like a French loaf, pan alinado makes delicious toast. It’s also sold as pan tostado , already toasted.

Pastel Gloria: This wonderful pastry is Colombia’s tropical answer to the Danish. It consists of flaky dough filled with a mixture of guava jam and arequipe, a creamy sweet condensed milk pudding.

Suspiros: The name literally means “sighs” in Spanish, but in this case it also means the meringue so popular throughout South America. These airy cookies are meringue piped into a round swirl and sprinkled with tiny multicolored sugar balls.

Polvorona: Believe it or not, this buttery-soft melt-in-your-mouth cookie is composed of wheat and yuca flours, cheese and corn starch.

Achiras: Originally from the Tolima area, this biscotti- like cookie, made from cheese and cornmeal, has a crumbly texture. In the European style, achiras are only slightly sweet. La Sultana also carries an imported bite-sized version in snack-sized packets. “It’s what everyone in Colombia buys to eat at the movies,” says Barrios.

Piquitos: Another movie-time favorite is nicknamed “tiny kisses.” These crunchy, savory little balls are also based on the familiar Colombian cheese-and- yuca -flour combination.

Bride’s cake: Pastel de novia , also called pastel negro , looks for all the world like a huge, dense chocolate cake displayed on its pedestal cake holder, but the cake’s deep color comes from pureed figs and raisins. Its flavor is reminiscent of the brandy-soaked English-style plum pudding my Aunt Julie used to make and then set ablaze on Christmas Eve. Though bride’s cake is soaked with wine, rather than rum, the effect is the same--a sort of after-dinner liqueur cake. The cakes are sold either in an eight-inch round, in a large sheet or by the slice.

DELI FOODS

Empanadas: Unlike Argentine empanadas with their pie crust-like covering, or Salvadoran empanadas with their exterior of mashed plantain, the Colombian empanadas sold here have a dainty cornmeal crust enclosing a beautifully seasoned filling of finely shredded marinated meat, diced potato and chopped egg.

Arepas con queso: Cornmeal cakes are the basic soul food of Colombia. Arepas vary from region to region, some recipes using salt, others leavening or egg. In addition to the Antioquia-style arepas served with the “El Sultan” breakfast, La Sultana makes arepas con queso , made with cheese in the style of the Valle de Cauca. These are thick, grilled cakes with a soft, rich, buttery interior.

Valluno tamal: One of the few foods that the Spanish settlers in Colombia borrowed from the Indians was the tamal . The Valluno-style tamal , another Valle de Cauca specialty, is no mere item on the Number 10 combination plate; it is a combination meal in itself. Under a smooth, thin exterior of corn masa lurks a veritable stew of chicken, pork and beef chunks along with vegetables. The whole thing is wrapped in banana leaves and steamed.

Tolimense tamal: The Tolimense tamal contains the same festival of meats and vegetables, but also a little rice and hard-cooked egg.

Maduro relleno: Sweet plantains--called maduros , meaning ripe--are split and layered with mozzarella cheese and sweet guava paste, then baked.

Aborrajado: This is virtually the same as maduro relleno, but the stuffed plantain is dipped in batter and deep-fried. It’s usually available only on weekends.

Fried yuca: Another weekend item is sliced deep-fried fresh yuca root, a sort of tropical equivalent of French fries.

Roast leg of pork: This fabulous meat, sold by the individual serving, is meltingly tender and moist, though it has been roasted until it nearly falls from the bone. The secret: a whole pork leg is marinated for several days in beer, wine and a complex mixture of seasonings.

Chorizo: Another Valle de Cauca specialty, this chorizo is sold fully cooked.

Morcilla: Whether it’s called blutwurst , black pudding, boudin noir or soondae , blood sausage is popular around the world. This particular version, studded with rice, is a close relative of the Valencia-style morcilla of Spain with its faint note of cinnamon.

Chicharron: Unlike the crispy pork skin chicharron of Mexico or the chunks of deep-fried pork called chicharron in Central America, the Colombian version takes the form of strips of pork fat slit to the skin so they twist and then deep-fried. You can ask for it to be cooked soft or crisp.

DRINKS

Batidos or jugos: These are sophisticated shake drinks with a creamy texture and flavors that beat the egg cream, the ice cream soda, the malted or even the Indonesian es cendol hands down. If any shakes could be called “gourmet,” it would be La Sultana’s batidos . All of them are made with the frozen pulp of fruits imported from Colombia. Try the one made with curuba , a small oval fruit with smooth flesh resembling a somewhat tart mango, grown only in Colombia and Ecuador. Lulo is a small Colombian tree fruit with yellow flesh and lots of black seeds, and mora is a close cousin of the mulberry.

Avena: If you think an oatmeal-and-milk drink sounds like something Oliver Twist would get for lunch, this cold, smooth beverage, lightly flavored with cinnamon, will surely change your mind. It’s the sort of thing that could even become habit-forming.

Kumis: Simply a mixture of buttermilk and sugar, this drink may have originated with Colombia’s large Middle Eastern population. Like the Middle Eastern yogurt drinks, it is supremely refreshing.

MISCELLANEOUS SPECIALTIES

Arequipe: Used both as a rich pudding and a pastry filling, this consists of milk and sugar, or sometimes sweetened condensed milk, cooked slowly until slightly caramelized. It’s popular in many South American countries under other names, such as manjar blanco or dulce de leche . Colombians love it as a spread on pan tostado , or as part of a dessert plate with mermelada de guayaba , or simply spooned from the container. La Sultana also spreads it on obleas , a large, thin, waffle-like disk. At Christmastime, La Sultana makes natilla , a version using the raw brown sugar called panela (available in the grocery section).

Cargamento beans: These beautiful pink-beige beans swirled with deep burgundy markings look almost too beautiful to eat. But they are essential for Colombian frijol dishes, such as the recipe given below.

Mermelada de guayaba: A sweetened guava puree is formed into a long loaf shape. It’s often served in slices for dessert along with cream cheese. For formal meals, the mermelada is arranged on a plate with the cheese, arequipe and a white Colombian fig in syrup. The shop also sells guava nectar in jars that Colombians use to make home-made batidos .

Colombian chocolate: These blocks of dark chocolate, lightly flavored with cinnamon, are what the shop melts down with milk for its morning chocolate drink. The blocks are available in the grocery section.

From the departamento of Antioquia--the area around Medellin--comes this combination plate, which you can assemble largely from items available at La Sultana. The reduced tomato - and - green - onion mixture called for in the Colombian Frijoles -- it resembles the Spanish preparation called sofrito -- is known as hogao. In reality, there is no set recipe for Bandeja Paisa; this one is merely a suggestion. Alter it to fit your own taste.

BANDEJA PAISA

1 1/3 cups cooked rice

1 to 2 maduros (cooked sweet plantain)

1/2 cup Colombian Frijoles or as desired

1 serving roast leg of pork or grilled meat

1 cooked chorizo

Chicharron as desired

1 to 2 eggs, cooked sunny-side up, optional

Pack cooked rice into small (4-inch) bowl and invert onto 1 side of large plate. Arrange maduro, Colombian Frijoles, roast pork, chorizo and chicharron beside rice. Top rice with cooked egg. Makes 1 serving.

Colombian Frijoles

3 cups cargamento beans

15 cups water

1 1/2 pounds fresh pork hock

2 pounds plum tomatoes

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil

6 green onions, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon azafran (safflower, imitation saffron)

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper or to taste

2 green plantains, quartered lengthwise and sliced

1 carrot, peeled and grated

2 teaspoons ground cumin

Salt, pepper

Arepas

Wash beans and soak in 15 cups water overnight. Combine beans, soaking water and pork hock in large pot. Bring to boil, then simmer, covered, 3 hours.

In small batches, dip tomatoes briefly into boiling water. Remove skins and chop flesh coarsely.

Heat 1/4 cup oil in large skillet. Saute green onions until tender and translucent. Add tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until tomato juice is almost completely evaporated and mixture will mound in spoon. Season to taste with salt, azafran and pepper.

Add 1 cup tomato-green onion mixture together with plantains and carrot to beans. Continue to simmer, covered, until beans are almost tender.

Remove meat from bones and discard bones. Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil, cumin and season to taste with salt and pepper. Continue to simmer, uncovered, until beans are tender and sauce is thick but still slightly soupy.

Serve beans on combination plate or place in bowl with boiled white rice on side, accompanied with arepas and chicharron and remaining tomato-green onion mixture. Makes 6 to 8 servings.