COPPERPalu sami recipe
Young taro leaves folded around thick coconut cream and baked in parcels until the leaves turn silky.
Ingredients
- 24 young taro leaves
- 500 ml thick coconut cream
- 1 onion
- 4 banana leaves
- 1 tsp salt
How to make Palu sami
- Take 24 young taro leaves and strip out the stalk and the thick central rib: those stay tough and irritate the throat.
- Grate fresh coconut and squeeze out 500 ml of thick cream, or use good tinned coconut cream.
- Chop 1 onion very finely and stir it into the cream with 1 teaspoon of salt.
- Layer 5 or 6 taro leaves overlapping in the palm of your hand so they form a cup.
- Pour in a few spoonfuls of the coconut cream, then gather the leaf edges and close the parcel.
- Wrap each parcel in a square of banana leaf and tie it shut.
- Traditionally the parcels are buried in an umu, an earth oven of hot stones, for 1 hour to 1 hour 30. At home, bake them at 200°C for 1 hour or steam them for 1 hour.
- Do not shorten the cooking: undercooked taro leaves still contain calcium oxalate and sting the mouth. The leaves should be completely soft before you serve.
What is Palu sami?
Palu sami is a traditional dish from Kiribati, baked in the oven, and takes about 1 hour and 40 minutes from start to finish. It is built around thick coconut cream. The recipe below uses 5 ingredients and is written out step by step.
How long does Palu sami take?
At 100 minutes it is quicker than 61% of the 586 dishes in Copper's atlas. The method runs to 8 steps.
Any tips for making Palu sami?
Strip out the stalks and central ribs and never shorten the cooking: undercooked taro leaves still sting the mouth.
How Palu sami compares
Hard to find elsewhere: thick coconut cream (1) and young taro leaves (2).
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