flipPurple corn api (hot purple maize drink)
Purple corn api (hot purple maize drink)
Why this dish? Before an attack, there is little sleep; this scarlet sweet drink warmed the hands and hearts of the fighters in the black cold of the Chuquisaca heights, where Juana led her troops at dawn.
A thick, hot drink of ground purple corn, perfumed with cinnamon and clove, sweetened and sharpened with a squeeze of lemon. Comforting, energizing, it is drunk by the ladle from a clay cup.
Drink, my children, before the day rises upon the enemy. This purple corn I would soak all night, then boil with a stick of cinnamon and a few cloves, and at the last moment a squeeze of lemon to wake the tongue. It is a warmth that goes down to the feet when the frost bites the saddle. One gulp of this api, red as spilled blood, and we set off with a steady heart.
- •Purple corn (maíz morado) — two handfuls of ears (coloring and energizing base)
- •Cinnamon and clove — one stick, a few cloves (flavor (colonial trade spices))
- •Cane sugar (chancaca) or honey — to taste (sweetness)
- •Lemon or lime juice — a squeeze (acidity)
Purple corn api (hot purple maize drink)
A thick, hot drink of ground purple corn, perfumed with cinnamon and clove, sweetened and sharpened with a squeeze of lemon. Comforting, energizing, it is drunk by the ladle from a clay cup.
Why this dish? Before an attack, there is little sleep; this scarlet sweet drink warmed the hands and hearts of the fighters in the black cold of the Chuquisaca heights, where Juana led her troops at dawn.
Drink, my children, before the day rises upon the enemy. This purple corn I would soak all night, then boil with a stick of cinnamon and a few cloves, and at the last moment a squeeze of lemon to wake the tongue. It is a warmth that goes down to the feet when the frost bites the saddle. One gulp of this api, red as spilled blood, and we set off with a steady heart.
Ingredients (period version)
- Purple corn (maíz morado) — two handfuls of ears (coloring and energizing base)
- Cinnamon and clove — one stick, a few cloves (flavor (colonial trade spices))
- Cane sugar (chancaca) or honey — to taste (sweetness)
- Lemon or lime juice — a squeeze (acidity)
Ingredients
- Purple corn (ears or maíz morado flour) — 250 g ears or 4 tbsp flour (base)
- Water — 1.5 L (liquid)
- Cinnamon — 1 stick (flavor)
- Cloves — 3 (flavor)
- Brown sugar or chancaca — 4 tbsp (sweetness)
- Lime — 1/2, juiced (acidity)
- Corn flour — 1 tbsp (to thicken) (texture)
Method
- Boil the purple corn (or flour) with cinnamon and cloves in water for 30–40 min until intensely colored.
- Strain, return the purple liquid to the heat.
- Dissolve corn flour in a little cold water and stir in to thicken slightly.
- Sweeten, remove from heat, add lime juice just before serving.
- Serve very hot in clay cups.
How it was made : Api is an ancient Andean drink made from purple corn, rich in pigments. Cinnamon, clove, and cane sugar arrived with Spanish colonization and were common by the early 19th century; they were added when available, otherwise api was drunk plain and tart.
The contemporary twist : Serve the api in a clear glass to reveal its deep purple, with a crisp buñuelo for dipping, as in today's Bolivian breakfast.
Juana Azurduy · Charactorium
