New Zealand is rich in tradtion and culture.
Hungi is a style of cooking customary in New Zealand. The actual cooking process is underground in a pit. Indigenous Maori settlers were the first to bring Hungi cooking to New Zealand. The technique is step driven, which means there is a process to follow that begins with digging the pit. Hungi cooking is laborious and can take as long as a few days to prepare a meal. Hungi is generally reserved for public buffets because it is so time consuming. Add this to my Recipe Box.
Process
The first step in preparing a Hungi meal is to put down the hungi. You have to dig a pit, lay down heating stones which are lava rocks, then get the stones white hot by setting a fire. Hungi baskets filled with wet cloth and raw food are set on top of the white rock. Hungi cooking buries the food under hessian bags, sheets, flax mats and dirt. The hungi baskets stay in the pit for 3 hours without any peeking to see if the dish is cooked. The basket, when opened, fills the air with spicy aroma. The food is rich with flavor and the fusion of flavor makes the hungi meal a unique dining experience.
Full Meal
A full hungi meal combines chicken, beef, potato, sweet potato (kumara), pumpkin and cabbage in the hungi basket. The spices commonly used in the hungi basket included garlic and rosemary. The flavors fuse together while cooking forming an au jus that encompasses all the flavors of each food type. Corn on the cob is often a part of a hungi meal. The corn cooks separately in a pool of water. Steamed pudding is a common dessert. The pudding steams over the hungi pit from water dripping on the white rocks. Fruit salad is also a common dessert in New Zealand.
Crock Pot Hungi
Banana leaves can be found at produce warehouses in some cities.
Hungi cooking has found its way to modern methods of cooking. The hungi principles of meal preparation can be done in a crock pot. To make a hungi meal in a crock pot you must combine the ingredients, but you must also seal the ingredients so a fusion occurs. Inside the crock pot, lay down banana leaves then add cabbage, other veggies and meat, and cover with more cabbage and banana leaves. Add water, rosemary and garlic and let the crock pot cook on low between 6 and 8 hours. Add salt on the plate if needed. If you cannot find banana leaves, use tin foil.
Preparation
Pumpkin is a staple in Maori Hungi cooking.
Preparing a hungi meal is cumbersome. Everything must be prepared before the meal can begin. All vegetables must be peeled and left in water and the meat cleaned of all excess fat. There is a correct order of layering food in the hungi basket. Large roasts go on the bottom of the basket, then chicken. Potatoes, cabbage and pumpkin go on top in that order. Once all the food is in the basket, a wet mutton cloth seals the basket when closed. If cooking overnight, place a protective covering over the hungi pit to keep night-time dew from cooling the fire.
Tags: Hungi cooking, hungi basket, hungi meal, banana leaves, basket when, common dessert, hungi meal