Tokelauan cuisine explained

Country:	Tokelau
National Dishes:	Ota
National Drink:	Kava, Coconut water

Tokelauan cuisine (Tokelau: Meakai tokelau) is the culinary traditions and practices of the island nation of Tokelau.

Ingredients

The original food crops of the Tokelauans were coconut (Tokelau: niu), pandanus (Tokelau: fala), noni (Tokelau: nonu), dyer's fig (Tokelau: mati) and arrowroot (Tokelau: māhoā)^[1] Of these, coconut and pandanus fruit were considered the major food crops while noni, dyer's fig and arrowroot were considered famine food, eaten only during times of scarcity. Coconut in particular was a very important component of the diet, making up the majority of the Tokelauans energy intake.^{[2] [3]} The coconut drupe was prepared and consumed in various forms, the meat, milk and oil are all used extensively in many meal preparations. Sap from the cut flower spathe was also collected and is consumed as a beverage or boiled down into a red syrup (Tokelau: kaleve kukula) that was used as a sweetener for various dishes.

Foods and dishes

• Lolo fala

a pudding made from pandanus fruit pulp and coconut cream, sometimes thickened with starch.^[4]

• Ota

a raw fish dish.

• 'otai

a drink made from grated coconut meat, milk and water mixed together.

• Puleleti

a confection made from desiccated coconut and coconut syrup rolled into balls.

• Puta

a round doughnut.

• Tatuna; coconut cream residue separated during the process of making coconut oil, usually formed into balls and eaten with pandanus fruit.^{[5] [6]}
• Tupelepele

a gelatinous food made from grated coconut meat and coconut water, thickened with starch.

• Vaihalo

a porridge made from coconut.

External links

• Web site: Whistler . W. Arthur . Ethnobotany of Tokelau: The Plants, Their Tokelau Names, and Their Uses . New York Botanical Garden. April 1988. 11 August 2023.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Variety and Preparation of Foods – Ethnology of Tokelau Islands. NZETC - New Zealand Electronic Text Collection. 2023-08-03.
2. Book: Derek F. Roberts, Kanji Torizuka. Isolation, Migration and Health. Cambridge University Press. 1992. 9780521419123. 178.
3. Book: F. Wessen, Albert. Migration and Health in a Small Society: The Case of Tokelau. Clarendon Press. 1992. 9780198542629. 298.
4. Book: Haden, Roger. Food Culture in the Pacific Islands. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. 2009. 9780313344930. 68.
5. Book: B. Kernot, Sidney M. Mead. Art and Artists of Oceania. Dunmore Press. 1983. 9780961100605. 275.
6. Web site: Slicing pandanus (fala) keys to flavour tatuna (balls of cooked coconut cream). DigitalNZ – Ā-Tihi o Aotearoa. 2023-08-11.