Alright, so I decided to tackle making colada morada. Seen it around, figured I’d give it a proper go myself. It’s definitely a bit of a project, not just a quick mix-and-drink thing.
Getting Started – The Prep
First up, had to get all the bits and pieces together. The main thing is the purple corn flour. Found some, thankfully. Then the fruits. I grabbed:
- Pineapple
- Strawberries
- Blueberries
- Blackberries (or Andean Mora, if you can find it, I couldn’t)
Also needed spices. Got cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, and allspice berries. Some recipes call for more herbs and stuff, like lemon verbena or orange leaves, but I decided to keep it straightforward for my first real try.
Making the Base Liquid
Okay, action time. I started by chopping up the pineapple. Kept the peel and the core – don’t throw those out yet. Put a big pot of water on the stove. Tossed in the pineapple peels, the core, the cinnamon sticks, cloves, and allspice. Let that boil gently for maybe half an hour. The kitchen started smelling really good, all warm and spicy.
After simmering, I strained everything out. Carefully fished out the peels and spices. What’s left is this fragrant, slightly colored water. That’s the foundation.
Cooking the Fruit and Thickening
Next, dealt with the fruit. Diced the pineapple flesh. Cut the strawberries. Left the blueberries and blackberries whole. Some people cook all the fruit down, but I wanted some texture.
Then the crucial part: thickening. Took the purple corn flour and mixed it with some cold water in a separate bowl. You have to whisk it really well until it’s a smooth paste. Absolutely no lumps allowed, otherwise, you’ll get clumps in the drink. Learned that the hard way before on something similar.
Poured this purple slurry slowly into the warm spiced water in the pot, whisking the whole time. Constantly. You can’t stop, or it sticks and lumps up at the bottom. Brought it back up to a simmer, still stirring. You see it thicken pretty quickly. Needs to cook for a bit, maybe 10-15 minutes, keep that whisk moving.
Finishing Touches
Once it was nicely thickened, I added the diced pineapple and the strawberries. Let those cook for a few more minutes just to soften slightly. Right at the very end, stirred in the blueberries and blackberries. Didn’t want them to break down completely, just warm through.
Then, sweetening. Traditionally it’s panela, but I just used brown sugar. Added it bit by bit, tasting as I went until it felt right. It’s not supposed to be super sweet, more of a balance with the fruit and spice.
Gave it a final taste check. Maybe needed a tiny bit more spice, perhaps some ground cinnamon if the sticks didn’t give enough punch. Could add a squeeze of lime or lemon juice too, for brightness, but I skipped that this time.
The Result
And that was basically it. Poured it into a mug. It’s thick, almost like a thin porridge, packed with fruit and definitely very purple. It’s quite filling.
Took a good chunk of time, maybe two hours from start to finish, with all the chopping, simmering, and stirring. Lots of stirring. It’s a labor of love, I guess. But, I did it. Made colada morada from scratch. Tastes unique, warming, fruity, spicy all at once. Worth the effort? Yeah, I think so. At least now I know how it’s done.
