Chicha Morada is a sweet Peruvian beverage that is made from purple corn by boiling the corn with pineapple, cinnamon, cloves, and sugar. This version, however is non-alcoholic and in our home is a favorite amongst our son Zechariah.
You can buy this drink in most Peruvian restaurants and markets. It can also be found in supermarkets, but as I mentioned above, this is Zechariah’s favorite drink he does not encourage me to buy it unless it is a specific brand of Gloria Chicha Morada.
I even sent instant Kool-aid style packets home to my mom so she could make this for my nieces and nephew and Zechariah stuck out his tongue and said “ew, no way mom!” He’d prefer I didn’t send them because to him the Kool-aid style packets are gross.
When I decided to make this drink, I was excited. My idea was I can make a huge pitcher each week, and Zechariah would love it!
I made it and it’s however very easy to prepare but it does take some time to boil. My house though smelled amazing! I actually want to turn the smell into a candle or one of those burning oil things. The sweet smell of the corn and pineapple was great but the spices add a perfect touch, that reminds me of fall back home. Which is kind of weird because there is no purple corn back in Central IL.
Anyways, I had such high hopes for this juice. I thought it tasted ok not great, and actually out of 5 stars I’d give it only a 2. Zechariah came home from school and asked what the smell was in the house. He actually did a little happy dance when he found out I made him Chicha. But he took about three maybe four sips and told me with a big fake smile that it was great.
Later that evening when I asked him if he’d like more he told me no. Josh, said it was good and he didn’t find anything wrong with it though.
I’ll try making it again and I included a recipe below if you’d like to try it at home as well.
But I'm not sure can you actually find purple sweet corn in The US?
What You Will Need:
- 2 (15-ounce) bags dried purple corn (maíz morado)
- Rind and core from one large, ripe pineapple
- 2 Granny Smith apples, quartered
- 1 heaping tablespoon whole cloves
- 4 Cinnamon sticks
- 2 gallons + 1 cup water
- 250 ML of lime juice
- 1 cup of sugar
How To Make It:
Add purple corn, pineapple, apples, cloves, cinnamon, and water in a large pot. Bring to a boil, and cover the pot, after covering the pot reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 45 minutes covered, uncover and continue simmering for 45 more minutes.
Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Strain and discard the solids.
Stir in lime and sugar. Now you can drink it chilled over ice but in a lot of places here they serve it at room temperature and no ice.
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