Palusami
Palusami - baked parcels of taro leaves enclosing a coconut cream, onion and meat filling - is a famous Samoan dish which has become common in several other Pacific Islands. The taste is unique, particularly if cooked in a traditional Pacific Island earth oven (umu, lovo, hangi, mumu, 'umu, bougna etc. - depending on the location).
Taro (Colocasia) leaves contain calcium oxalate and some varieties possess a considerable "bite", particularly the tips. If local knowledge is not available then you will need to experiment, but most of this "bite" is removed by cooking. Choose leaves with green or pink (not brown or purple) stalks if your taro is the Colocasia genus, but the leaves of all varieties of Xanthosoma can be used.
This recipe has been adapted for fish from the SPC Community Health Programme's Food Leaflet #1: Taro.
Ingredients
(Makes 6 or 7 parcels)
- 500g fish fillets, diced into bite-sized pieces, or shelled prawns
- 3 coconuts
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 bundle taro leaves - about 30 leaves (preferably young)
- 2 firm, clean, banana leaves
- 6-7 breadfruit leaves
Grate the flesh from the coconuts. Using fine cheesecloth or coconut fibre, squeeze out the coconut cream. If you don't live near a tropical coast then buy 2 or 3 cans of coconut cream.
Hold each banana leaf over a flame to soften it. Carefully remove the back of the midrib from the banana leaves, taking care not to tear the leaves. Divide each banana leaf into 4 pieces. If you don't have any banana trees close at hand, then aluminium cooking foil will do, but it doesn't quite lend the same flavour to the palusami.
Take 4-6 washed fresh taro leaves and shape them into a cup in the palm of your hand, with the largest on the outside. Into the centre put 1-2 teaspoons chopped onion and about one cup of coconut cream, plus a couple of tablespoons of fish or prawns and a sprinkle of salt. Fold the leaves carefully without spilling the cream.
Wrap each taro leaf bundle in a piece of softened banana leaf, then wrap again with a breadfruit leaf. Secure firmly by tucking the stem underneath the leaf. If you don't have breadfruit leaves then this step can be omitted. Just wrap the parcels in aluminium foil, but moisten the outside of the leaves so they don't stick to the foil during cooking.
Cook the parcels in an earth oven for 3 hours, or bake in a moderate oven (180-200 degrees C) for 1 hour
This dish is usually part of a feast and is cooked together in one earth oven along with several other food items:- chicken, fish or pork and roots (taro or yam) or breadfruit, and other specialities. (Its not worthwhile making an earth oven just for one dish).
