Ecuador Bound

The Condor (Vultur gryphus) is the Ecuador’s national symbol, much like the Eagle in the US. Their numbers are quite small compared to the Eagle’s population. There are only 30 Andean Condors left in Ecuador and one active pair who only lay one egg every 2 years, (Augui & Causay), who reside in Quito’s zoo. Not very good odds for their return.

In Ecuador and Chile Condor means “gold coin”. And the Incas of Peru thought the Condor flew the sun into they sky every morning. They thought it was a messenger to the gods.

These birds are seen as a symbol of power and health. Unfortunately, the native villagers think that their bones and organs have special healing powers or that they give males high virility. Their ground bones are believed to alleviate rheumatism. Many natives eat the stomach of the Andean Condor because they believe it cures breast cancer. The eyes of the Condor are often roasted and eaten to sharpen one’s sight, and their feathers are often placed under sleeping blankets to ward off nightmares.

Reproduction of the Andean Condor

The male begins his courtship display by drawing himself erect, fully extending his wings, and clicking his tongue, while the reddish skin of his neck becomes bright yellow. The birds do not build a nest, but lay their eggs on bare ground on a ledge or in a cave. The female lays a single egg which both parents incubate for about 54 to 58 days. Fledging takes another 180 days, so that a pair breeds onlyevery other year under normal conditions. Parents continue to care for the fledgling for a full year.

November 2 of every year is All Souls Day or Day of the Dead. It is practiced around the world. Ecuador, in particular, makes this a festive and family oriented holiday as El Día de los Difuntos, literally The Day of the Deceased, or All Soul’s Day. Ecuadorians find it crude to say “Day of the Dead.”

Families remember their dearly departed by adorning themselves in their finest clothes and visiting their grave sites with offerings of food and flowers, etc. Most roads are closed and blocked off as long processions of people make their way to the cemeteries. The dead are visited and their graves are decorated with fresh flowers and food brought to them.

In the smaller more traditional towns, whole families reunite to clean the graves and then spend their day picnicking at the graves of their loved ones. Colada Morada, a blueberry- and blackberry-based drink, is paired with Guaguas de pan, a sweet dipping bread in the shape of babies, as the traditional food prepared on this festive & uplifting day (not depressing as you would think).

Recipes for Colada Morada will vary from family or region. Most versions will contain blueberries, blackberries, and pineapple. Others will contain naranjilla juice (an Andean fruit), babaco (champagne fruit), strawberries, and even raisins.

Serve the Colada Morada (translated as the purple colada, or oatmeal drink) hot or cold. Ecuadorians eat Guaguas de pan, soft bread loaves shaped in the form of babies [guagua (pronounced wa-wa) - means baby in Quichua] along with their Colada. These breads are filled with chocolate or jellies and decorated with frosting. If you have a problem eating dead babies (LOL) then dip any soft bread into the fruity drink.

One element of the traditional Ecuadorian recipe is purple corn flour. This item is not readily available in other regions of the world so cornstarch can and is substituted for the purple corn flour. Cornstarch will actually keep longer as the corn flour in the drink tends to ferment it. Another is oatmeal that is used to thicken it up, hence it’s translated name.

I have added a few different ingredients in this recipe. Depending on what you have on hand or what you can find, you can use whole spices or ground. If you wish to use fresh pineapple then cook down (approx. 20 min.) to soft but not mushy and substitute for crushed pineapple.

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COLADA MORADA

1 1/2 lbs. of blueberries, be sure to rinse
2 lbs. of blackberries, raspberries or boysenberries (cooks choice)
1 lg. can crushed pineapple (if not using a fresh pineapple)
2+ c. sugar (depending on your desired sweetness)
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 c. pineapple juice
1/3 c. cornstarch (depending on thickness desired)

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*Note: If you choose the whole spices (instead of the ground) then you need to steep the “spice tea” – simply add to pot of water (just enough for small amount of “tea”), boil for 15 min. or so and let cool. Then add this “spice tea” to the juice mixture.

1/4 – 1/2 tsp. allspice or 6-8 whole allspice*
1/4 – 1/2 tsp. cloves or 6-8 whole cloves*

If in Ecuador or a good So. American Market purchase these specifically for this drink:
1/2 bundle of spices for Colada Morada (5-6 orange leaves, 1 fistful each of lemon verbena and myrtle)*
1-2 ishpingo (Ecuadorian spice)*

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4-5 Cinnamon sticks (optional)

Simmer berries in water. Let cool then mash and strain. Put berry liquid in a large pot. Add water at 1:1 ratio of water & juice. Add pineapple and pineapple juice. Mix well and heat thoroughly. Add sugar and spices or “spice tea” (adjust amounts to taste). Stir.

If using cornstarch place in a glass (I like to mix in a glass jar with a lid so I can shake it) of cold water. Stir and dissolve the cornstarch for about 5-10 minutes, allowing the Colada to thicken. When the juice mixture reaches simmer, add cornstarch mixture from previous step.

Mix well. Serve hot or cold. Serve with Guaguas de pan or soft dipping bread.
Makes 10+ servings.

Optional: Serve with cinnamon sticks (best if serving hot).

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This is an Ecuadorian Recipe I translated from Spanish from GoEcuador.com:

INGREDIENTS (40 cups)

1 pound blackberries
1/2 pound of mortiño
10 orangettes
1/2 pineapple, chopped
1 pound strawberries
1/2 pound black flour
o maicena or cornstarch
3 sheets of orange
6 -10 leaves of lemon verbena
10 leaves of myrtle
6 cloves
10 sweet peppercorns
4 sticks cinnamon
1 ishpingo
1 1/2 pound of sugar
1/2 babaco

PREPARATION
Place in a pot with 2 liters of water all the spices (cinnamon, cloves, pepper, shiping). When water grass in about 15 minutes, add the lemon verbena leaves, myrtle, lemon, orange and leave for 5 minutes. CERN is water and carries it back to fire and without herbs.

Mix the cornstarch or flour 2 cups black in cold water until dissolved and mixed in the water in the fire, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.

Station

In addition, the mortiño cook in 2 cups of water for 10 minutes, hovering and liquefies, add the juice to the previous preparation.

Wash berries and liquefied with half a cup of water, getting a thick juice that is added equally to the laundry. Do the same with orangettes laundry and let it boil for 15 minutes.

Chop diced pineapple, strawberries and babaco the end, we put in the wash, add sugar to taste and leave for 10 minutes. To serve, you can use a cup or jar and place raisins to taste. The drink can be taken hot or cold.

The translation leaves a little to be desired LOL

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Below are videos of some of the traditional recipes. I could NOT find any in English but you can watch the preparation & use either recipe above. Either that, just enjoy their festivities and language. Their passion in making these dishes comes through. I couldn’t find any Ecuadorian videos on their festivities either, so I added a Mexican one in the States.