Hangi in a Parcel

Steamed Hangi Meals

Wrapped in the News of the Day

(Salt Provided)

Waitangi Day Celebrations

Christchurch Art Gallery

February 6, 2010.

More From Waitangi Day

More shots from yesterday's Waitangi Day celebrations at Christchurch Art Gallery.

Hangi meals wrapped in newspaper made for a popular lunch. I liked the presentation - a kind of 'ethnic take' on traditional New Zealand fish and chips wrapped in newspaper.

Red Poi

Red Umbrellas

On a Very Hot Afternoon.

February 6, 2010

Kai Time!

Traditional Maori Foods cooked in a hangi (earth oven)

A mouthwatering offering at Tuahiwi Marae, near Christchurch.

Made to Measure

Yesterday I wrote a little about the traditional Maori hangi - the method of cooking food underground using steam - and specifically about the hangi I attended recently at Tuahiwi. This one had been organised as the final kai feature for Te Karaka magazine. Over the last four and half years a small team of us from Ngai Tahu's editorial team have travelled to all eighteen of the Ngai Tahu runanga scattered around the South Island, writing cooking and photographing the traditional food speciality of the region.
To celebrate the end of the series, a large hangi was organised at Tuahiwi Marae just north of Christchurch and the marae team catered for around 80 people. You can see the work that went into that in previous posts I have made here (click on hangi or Tuahiwi in the label line below to see those). Part of the editorial process for every kai feature has been the styling and photographing of the dishes created by chef, Jason Dell. Every effort has been made to show off both his culinary skill and the featured traditional food.

At Tuahiwi the locals went to a particular effort, weaving baskets from fresh harakeke (flax) so we could show the hangi food off at its best. I was delighted to come upon this young girl weaving in one of the side rooms. She seemed to be about 12 or 13 but was already adept at weaving. A lovely touch and nice to know that the traditional skills are still being passed on to the younger generations. www.ngaitahu.iwi.nz

H is for Hangi

If you’ve read anything at all about the Maori people of New Zealand, you’ve probably heard about a hangi – the traditional Maori of cooking underground via steam. The hangi is still a popular way of cooking and certainly, on a marae, it is really the only practical way of cooking for large numbers of people who gather for hui (meetings), tangi (funerals) and celebrations. Hangi is about celebration. You don’t have a hangi for no reason. It is a celebration of tikanga (custom) and whanaungatanga (kinship). “From a cultural point of view, ‘hangi is us’,” one kaumatua (elder) told me. “I don’t think we could come up with an improvement on the hangi – it encapsulates the whole concept of bringing our whanau together.”

I recently attended a big hangi at Tuahiwi Marae just north of Christchurch – it was to be the basis of the last kai (food) feature for Ngai Tahu’s TE KARAKA magazine. Buy the time I got there – early in the morning, well before the celebrations were due to begin, the men had already dug the hangi pit and the hole (around 2ft deep) had been fired up and river stones and bits of old railway iron were heating in the flames. Willow wood is a popular choice for the fire because it burns cleanly, leaving little ash and greywacke stones don’t crack in the intense heat. The team had gathered watercress from nearby streams and this was being kept wet in buckets prior to being thrown onto the heated rocks to create steam. It also lines the hangi baskets to act as a barrier between the food and the stones to prevent the food burning. In the absence of watercress, wet cabbage leaves are a common substitute.

The fire usually burns for about two hours. Then the big wood, the large rocks and the iron are taken out, and as many embers as possible are removed from the pit. Too much ash and embers in the bottom makes the food too smoky. Once the food has been loaded into wire baskets lined with watercress, the rocks and irons are put back into the pit and covered with watercress. Huge clouds of steam rise and the men work fast, stacking the wire baskets on top, draping them with wet cloths and sacks and then quickly burying the pit in dirt. That is then left for about four hours – by then everything should be cooked beautifully. On the day at Tuahiwi we had a tremendous feast. I’ve already posted some images from the kitchen preparations on the day. If you’d like to see those, just click on hangi or Tuahiwi in the label line below this post. www.ngaitahu.iwi.nz

Preparing a Feast

Tuahiwi, North Canterbury. Aug. 2009 Ajr

The cookhouse at North Canterbury's Tuahiwi Marae was a hive of activity on Saturday as the men prepared the kaimoana (seafood) for the big hangi I was writing about it for Ngai Tahu's TE KARAKA magazine. They made light work of the huge piles of koura (crafish) and green-lipped mussels - cooking, splitting, shelling - making them ready for the hangi table. A feast for sure! www.ngaitahu.iwi.nz

An Exercise in Learning

Images courtesy John Panoho, Auckland
A hangi (above) is an earth oven and for Auckland's John Panoho (Ngapuhi) and his team at Ko Wai, preparing a hangi is an integral part of the leadership training, development, team building and cultural awareness they offer through Tikanga Maori principles. Ko Wai was developed by John ,and Peter Phillips (Ngati Werehi). It focuses on a better understanding of Maori values - rangatiratanga (leadership), kotahitanga (unity), kaitiakitanga (guardianship) and manaakitanga (nurturing). The aim is to get course participants to build a hangi from scratch (without matches), which focuses their attention on all of the above principles. You can read more about these course by clicking on Ko Wai in the label line below this post. www.kowai.com

Building Team Spirit Through Maori Values

How many New Zealanders really have a clear understanding of the Maori values of rangatiratanga (leadership), kotahitanga (unity), kaitiakitanga (guardianship) and manaakitanga (nurturing/hospitality)? Not nearly enough I’m tempted to say. But now, thanks to an innovative Auckland-based programme, there’s a chance to change that. Ko Wai? (Who are you?) is a leadership development, team building and cultural awareness programme approached from a Tikanga Maori perspective. Whether you’re a corporate business, a private organisation or a school group, the programme (usually 1-2 days but possibly more), is individually targeted to help people enhance productivity, community pride and meeting the demands of living and working in a multi-cultural society.
Images courtesy John Panoho, Ko Wai
The brainchild of Maori tourism guru, John Panoho (Ngapuhi, Ngati Whatua), of Navigator Tours, Auckland, it was developed by John in partnership with Peter Phillips (Ngati Werehi) and includes a number of leaders, including Rewi Spraggon (Ngati Hine,Ngati Maniapoto); Riki Bennett (Ngati Pikiao,Ngati Porou); and Eynon Delamere (Te Whanau a Apanui, Te Whanau a Tutawake), “who ensure tikanga is maintained.” “We’re always looking to include new leaders – people like Chellie Spiller, who is completing her PhD in Cultural Tourism at Auckland University,” says John Panoho (pictured above centre).
The Ko Wai concept is based around the central experience of the traditional hangi. It’s all about ‘learning by doing’ says John. Participants work together to produce a hangi from scratch – without matches! “There are opportunities here for leadership, co-operation and competition in the preparations for the hakari (feast), complete with karanga (welcome call), whaikorero (speeches), waiata (songs), perhaps a haka and the (hopefully) beautifully cooked food,” he adds. And while this is a serious programme, the leaders all subscribe to the philosophy that learning should be fun. The location too, is entirely flexible – “they may be based in the bush, on a beach, in a vineyard, by a stream, or on a lifestyle block.” You can find out more about this terrific programme by clicking on www.ko-wai.com

Making a Meal of It

Gisborne. May 2009. Ajr

Am I imagining it or it the hangi suddenly becoming fashionable?

Maybe it's just more common in the North Island. When I was travelling up there recently I came upon everything from Whakarewarewa's hangi pie (see my May blog) to Northland roadside vendors selling 'hot hangi for $10' and this Gisborne takeaway outlet selling hangi meals, fish and chips, creamed mussels, sticky pork, steamed puddings and, as they say, "a whole lot more."

Hangi Pie

Rotorua. May 2009. Ajr

When I visited Whakarewarewa Village in Rotorua last week, I was delighted to find out that the 25 families (70 people) living permanently in the village, still harness the natural georthermal energy for washing, bathing and cooking. There are seven cooking vents (covered with steaming boxes) located around the village and in addition, the large scalding hot geothermal pool, Parekohuru (95degC at the top) is also used for cooking. Meaning 'murderous rippling waters,' Parekohuru makes short work of 200 frozen corn cobs. They're wrapped in a cheese-cloth bag, tied to a rope and lowered into the pool. Just ten minutes later, they're cooked. The pool will boil an egg in just one minute. While I was in the village, I was treated to one of their unique specialities - a hangi pie. I'd heard from several people in the village that they were the best thing ever invented and I'm here to tell you, they are. The pastry treats are filled with hangi meat and vegetables cooked in one of the geothermal steam vents and they are delicious. Whakarewarewa is well aware of their popularity and they now sell them at some Rotorua outlets beyond the village. I saw this sign above, as I was leaving town a few days ago - just so you know I'm not making this up as I go. Whakarewarewa is now in the process of securing IP rights over the hangi pie concept. www. whakarewarewa.com