Ingredients
Infusion
- 3 litreswater
- 4cinnamon sticks
- 8cloves
- 6allspice berries
- 4star anise
- 1 tbspfennel seed
- 20orange leaves
- 10lemongrass stalks
- a bunch of arrayán or bay leaves
Body
- 500 gpurple maize flour
- 400 gpanela
- the skin of 1 pineapple
Fruit
- 300 gblackberries
- 300 gmortiño or blueberries
- 2naranjilla, pulped
- 200 gpineapple flesh, chopped
- 200 gstrawberries, halved
To serve
- guaguas de pan
Directions
- Simmer the water with all the whole spices, the orange leaves, lemongrass and arrayán for 30 minutes, then strain it.
- Make this infusion first and entirely separately. Every aroma in the finished drink comes from this stage, and boiling the spices together with the fruit muddies both.
- Simmer the pineapple skin and the panela in some of the infusion for 15 minutes, then strain that in as well.
- Cook the blackberries and mortiño with a splash of water until soft, then blend and pass through a sieve to remove the seeds.
- Whisk the purple maize flour into 500 ml of cold infusion until completely smooth. Tipped into hot liquid it lumps on contact and the lumps never come out.
- Bring the rest of the infusion to the boil, pour in the flour slurry while stirring hard, and cook for 20 to 30 minutes.
- Stir the entire time and scrape the base of the pan. Maize starch catches quickly, and a scorched pot ruins three hours of work in about ten seconds.
- Add the sieved berry purée and the naranjilla pulp and cook for 10 minutes more.
- Add the chopped fresh fruit for the last 5 minutes only, so it keeps its shape and does not collapse.
- It should coat a spoon and pour thickly, somewhere between a drink and a thin soup. Loosen it with more infusion if it has gone too far.
- Serve hot on 2 November with guaguas de pan, the bread figures shaped like swaddled infants that are eaten alongside it for the Day of the Dead.
Technique
- It is a drink for one day of the year and it is made in enormous quantity, shared among neighbours and taken to cemeteries.
- The purple maize is not interchangeable with ordinary corn flour. It gives both the colour and a distinct earthy backbone.
- Make the infusion the day before if it helps. It only improves standing overnight.
Substitutions
- Whole purple maize, soaked and ground, if you cannot find the flour.
- Blueberries and blackcurrants in place of mortiño.
- Passion fruit in place of naranjilla.
Variations
- Thinner, drunk from a glass rather than a bowl.
- With babaco added, which is common in Ecuador.
- Served cold the next day, which is not traditional and is very good.
History
Purple maize and berry drink made for the Day of the Dead on 2 November, drunk with bread figures called guaguas de pan.
Frequently asked questions
What is Colada morada?
Colada morada is a drink from Ecuador: spiced purple-corn and berry drink for Day of the Dead. Purple maize and berry drink made for the Day of the Dead on 2 November, drunk with bread figures called guaguas de pan.
How long does Colada morada take to make?
Colada morada takes 40 min of preparation and 1 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 3 litres. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Colada morada?
Yes, within limits. Whole purple maize, soaked and ground, if you cannot find the flour. Blueberries and blackcurrants in place of mortiño. Passion fruit in place of naranjilla.
What is the most important thing to get right in Colada morada?
Simmer the water with all the whole spices, the orange leaves, lemongrass and arrayán for 30 minutes, then strain it.
