Peruvian Chicha Morada

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Peruvian Chicha Morada is a beverage originated in the Andean regions of Peru that’s made from dried purple corn, along with fruit and spices. Served over ice, this delicious drink is very popular throughout Peru. Serve it with Ají de Gallina and Papa a la Huancaina.

Peruvian Chicha Morada

It has been so hot in Los Angeles. This unattractive heatwave inspired me to make my favorite cooling-off-drink of my childhood: Peruvian Chicha Morada. This is what my mama would make me when I was little.

What is Chicha Morada?

Let’s talk about Chicha Morada. This is a drink from Peru. This drink is made from corn. Yes! Corn! Beautiful Peruvian dried purple corn. You can find it at most Latin supermarkets and online here.

Note: It should run you about $4 at a latin market, so amazon is a little bit more expensive. If you’ve watched a food tv show about Peru, you’ll most likely be familiar with chicha as a drink that people make in Cusco, Peru. But it’s actually made all over Peru in varying ways. In Lima, it’s made from boiling dried purple corn.

Peruvian Chicha Morada

How to Make Chicha Morada

  1. Look how pretty the purple corn is! To a large pot, you add the water, cinnamon sticks, whole cloves and the peel from a pineapple (waste nothing! and plus it gives it a hint of pineapple flavor).
  2. Simmer for 45 minutes, until it smells fragrant and all of the flavors have married together.
  3. Next, it’s time to add the fresh lime juice and sugar. Below it says 1 cup of sugar. This wasn’t super sweet, so feel free to taste it after the 1 cup of sugar and add more if you like!
  4. Transfer to the fridge to chill for about 3 hours.
  5. Dice up the apple and add a handful of diced apple and ice to each glass. And then, pour in the chicha morada.
Peruvian Chicha Morada

There are different types of Chicha!

Chicha usually comes in two forms: fermented and non-fermented.

That’s not what we’re making today! But if you decided to add a splash of rum or pisco to this, I wouldn’t be angry with you.

Top each drink of Peruvian Chicha Morada with a small handful of diced pineapple and apple. Screams summer time.

Peruvian Chicha Morada

More Peruvian Recipes

If you tried this Peruvian Chicha Morada Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!

5 from 11 votes

Peruvian Chicha Morada

Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 45 minutes
Total: 55 minutes
Servings: 8
Chicha morada is a beverage originated in the Andean regions of Perú that’s made from purple corn, along with fruit and spices. Served over ice, this delicious drink is very popular throughout Peru. 

Ingredients 

  • 1 (15-ounce) bag of dried purple corn
  • 16 cups water
  • 3 whole cinnamon sticks
  • 5 whole cloves
  • 1 whole pineapple, diced , (peel reserved)
  • 1 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
  • 1 green apple, diced, for serving (peel reserved)

Instructions 

  • To a large pot, add the dried purple corn, water, cinnamon sticks, cloves, the pineapple peels, sugar and apple peel. Heat over high heat and once the mixture reaches a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 45 minutes.
  • Remove the chicha from the heat. Place a strainer atop a large bowl and pour mixture through it, catching the large corn ears, pulp and pineapple. Transfer to a pitcher and allow to come to room temperature before refrigerating until cold. When the chicha has gotten cold, stir in the lime juice, diced pineapple and diced green apple. Divide amongst glasses and serve.

Notes

Reuse for a Larger Batch!
If you like, you can reuse the scraps of the dried corn/pineapple peels/apple peel once more. You can make more chicha by adding 8 cups of water and 3/4 cups of sugar. Any more water and I fear it’ll be bland! 
Ingredients: 
Dried Purple Corn 
Equipment: 
Large pot | Strainer | Wooden Spoon | Pitcher (similiar to pictured) | Glasses  |
 

Nutrition

Serving: 10g | Calories: 124kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 5mg | Potassium: 25mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 100IU

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Drinks
Cuisine: Peruvian
Like this Recipe? Please Rate & comment below!
Peruvian Chicha Morada

This post was originally published on July 18th, 2012. It has been since updated with new information and formatting.

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50 Comments

  1. Hahahah oh man, I was in Peru a couple years back and the signs for the fermented Chicha Morada by the side of the road on some mostly-deserted plateau town were not really enticing me to drink any. This looks much better. But still not sure. I stuck with the pisco sours most of the time. Or Cuzcena beer.

    xo
    Nicole
    www.hourglassandbloom.wordpress.com

    1. Ahhh, yes. The fermented Chicha Morada tastes quite different than this. This is alcohol free and a milder flavor. It tastes almost like grape juice. I bet you’d love it!

  2. I have never heard of a drink like this one! I would love to try you childhood fave. Thanks for sharing!

  3. I’ve never seen or used purple corn before, but you’re right – it’s gorgeous! And this drink sounds so refreshing… I’m featuring this post in Food Fetish Friday (with a link-back and attribution). I hope you have no objections and thanks for creating such amazing food…

  4. This sounds both bizzare and lovely at the same time. I’ll have to see if I can track down some Peruvian corn…

  5. Hey – This is completely unrelated to this post, but I wanted to let you know I tried out your spicy caramel bacon popcorn recipe last weekend! It was a huge success! I put it up on my blog (with links back to you of course!)
    http://runningblonde.com/2012/07/18/spicy-caramel-bacon-popcorn-recipe/