Traditional Maori Food

martine5, Jul 9, 5:01am
Hi,
I am looking to put together as traditional a Maori meal as I can, it is for a group of tourists and I am thinking I may need to cheat a little.I live in Christchurch and have had very little exposure to Maori food.

I am looking at a hangi - although I doubt it will be me doing it.Unfortuntely I have never had a good hangi so any suggestions around this would be appreciated.
Here is what I have so far: kumera and watercress soup with rawena bread.Hangi meat and vegetables, including Maori potatoes.I was thinking of doing some grouper, flounder and maybe eel if I can getmy hands on some.Are muttonbirds still something that you can buy?If anyone has any suggestions/ recipes/ handy hints I would be really grateful.
TIA- Martine

patsy3, Jul 9, 5:21am
A good old boil-up with cress. Yum and easy.
Shellfish. What about pudding? You could do a sweet kumera dish

sarahj1, Jul 9, 5:26am
Paua fritters?
Boil up?
http://www.mindfood.com/at-traditional-maori-recipes-global-tastes.seo http://australianfood.about.com/od/pacificislandpolynesian/r/BoilUp.htm
Have seen muttonbirds advertised for sale in fish shops in Chch but I think this is the wrong time of year for them
Google Maori fry bread (like doughnuts) for dessert

cgvl, Jul 9, 5:27am
pudding generally would be a steamed pudding done in the Hangi and served with custard and cream.
the soup sounds nice or maybe a seafood chowder using fresh seafood.
be careful what day it is as I have come across people who still only have fish on a Friday and will not eat meat.

winnie231, Jul 9, 6:06am
You definitely need to add local smoked eel to your menu. Check out http://www.holysmoke.co.nz/ They should be able to help you. You also need a selection of seafood. If you really want to go 'out there' then that should include Kina. There are some great fish shops in Chch ... ask at your local or let us know what area you are in so we can help further.I love using native 'herbs' for flavour. Horopito is bush pepper & Kawakawa is bush basil.I use to manage a wild foods cafe .... this guy's knowledge & products are amazing! http://www.maorifood.com/

talent.scout, Jul 9, 12:57pm
Hangi without stuffing is not cool..... not traditional, but definately a hangi must!

martine5, Jul 10, 8:20am
I love holy smoke I didn't realise they did smoked eel, and thanks for the link.Any idea where I can get Horopito or Kawakawa from?If not the plants then the seeds?Thanks again

martine5, Jul 10, 8:22am
Can you tell me how I would go about a boil up.I saw an article and it looked like it was a bacon hock with vegetables added, anything else apart from the cress, and it sounds like of soupy, would you serve it with bread to mop up the juices?Thanks heaps for taking the time to respond.

destiny6nz, Jul 10, 8:24am
there is a thread on boil ups here in RECIPEs somewhere..maybe do a search

grumpycow, Jul 10, 8:29am
same stuffing as what you stuff a chicken with they usually put it in tinfoil or muslin cloth

martine5, Jul 10, 8:34am
Have done so now, does anyone know if I can get Kamo Kamo (sp) in the south island, and if so where?Can anyone also suggest how long the boil up would take?

martine5, Jul 10, 8:35am
Cool thanks I really love stuffing myself if it is made with fresh bread, maybe I could make some with Maori bread and watercress.Thanks for your help

winnie231, Jul 10, 8:43am
You used to be able to get dried Horopito & Kawakawa from the Maorifoods website. If no luck there then give Premium Game in Blenheim a ring. That's where we got it for the cafe ...
http://www.game-meats.co.nz/

musegal, Jul 10, 8:44am
If you want to go all out Traditional, it has to be Hangi and it has to be cooked underground, not cooked inside a keg lol (eg. chicken, pork, lamb chops, potatos, pumpkin, kumara and stuffing).Make your everyday stuffing, like you would in a roast chicken.An easier option for a meal, would be pork bones (or muttonbirds, expensive at approx. $20 per bird), potatos and watercress or puha (boiled, of course) and definitely serve with steamed doughboys.Traditional Rewana is made using a Potato-bug not your store bought Yeast.Frybread is always a yummy treat, served with butter and golden syrup or jam.Seafood options eg. Creamed Paua, Paua Fritters, Parengo or Karengo (type of seaweed), Kina, Smoked Eel, Raw Fish.And perhaps for the acquired palate there's Rotten Corn and Rotten Crayfish.......

musegal, Jul 10, 8:49am
If you can get your hands on Maori potatos, great.I love them, and their lovely purple/red colour....Yum