A thick, spiced purple drink simmered from purple corn flour with blackberries, Andean blueberries, naranjilla and pineapple, scented with cinnamon, cloves and aromatic leaves. Drunk warm for Day of the Dead alongside guagua de pan bread.
An iconic Ecuadorian beverage drunk on Dia de los Difuntos (Day of the Dead, November 2), with pre-Incan roots in Quito-region harvest rituals; its name means strained purple.
Warm, thick and deeply fruity, it tastes of tart blackberry and naranjilla wrapped in sweet, mulled cinnamon and clove. Pieces of soft fruit float through each spoonful, making it as much a drinkable dessert as a beverage.
Purple corn flour gelatinizes as it simmers, thickening the drink to a spoon-coating body while lending its deep color. Steeping whole spices and aromatic leaves first extracts their oils for a layered, mulled fragrance before the fruit goes in.
Variations
berry mixes vary, some add mortino blueberries, sweetness and spice levels differ by family, thinner versions are sipped from a cup
On the Palate
Where Colada Morada sits in the Ecuadorian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 8How it's made
7 steps · 30 min
- 120 min
Simmer cinnamon, cloves, allspice and aromatic leaves in water to make a spiced infusion.
Watch outSteep the whole spices and leaves long enough that the water turns fragrant and tinted — this mulled base is the drink's backbone, so don't rush it.
- 25 min
Strain the infusion and return the fragrant liquid to the pot.
- 320 min
Cook blackberries and Andean blueberries, then blend and strain into the spiced liquid.
- 410 min
Add naranjilla pulp and panela and bring to a gentle simmer.
- 55 min
Whisk purple corn flour into a little cold water, then stir into the pot.
Watch outSlake the purple corn flour in cold water before it goes in, whisking out every lump — dump it in dry and it clumps into gluey knots.
- 620 min
Simmer, stirring, until the drink thickens to a pourable, velvety consistency.
Watch outSimmer and keep stirring until it thickens enough to coat the spoon and pour in a velvety ribbon — stop there, over-cooked it turns pasty.
- 75 min
Stir in diced fresh fruit such as pineapple and strawberries and serve warm.
