
Preparation of the Hangi
It was the day before the day of our Hangi and both classes helped to prepare the food. We all helped with the following jobs.
• Chopping onions
• Cut Pumpkin into pieces
• Peel Kumara
• Prepare the meats (Chicken and Pork)
• Peel potatoes
• Breaking bread into pieces, no bigger than your little fingernail for stuffing.
I was in the latter. We were breaking bread into pieces and we enjoying each others company. Some students were sneaking bits of the bread into their mouths. But then, quite a few of us were hungry. After I ripped a good two loaves into shreds, I wandered off to see what other people are doing.
Matua Haami was busy digging the hole, which is an important process of making the Hangi. They dug a hole which was about 3 feet deep and which was the same dimension of the Hangi baskets. They then scrunched newspapers and threw this into the hole. They carefully placed pallets on top of each other and put all the Hangi rocks (Volcanic or river rocks) on top of the pallets. This would be ready to light tomorrow at 5am. That’s right 5am! We even had some students and their parents come down to help Matua Haami with lighting and watching the fire.
The Day of the Hangi
We were all very excited. The food was ready to eat. It was ready before lunch. There was chicken, pork, stuffing, pumpkin, potato, kumara and heaps of fizzy drink. We lined up to get the food. I took some chicken, pork, stuffing, potatoes and a cup of L&P. I then dumped a big blob of tomato sauce on top, it was delicious.
I had a cup of grape juice, and another cup of L&P. I had two platefuls of Hangi. My friend only had one. He was ranting about plastic knives and potatoes. I was busy eating and drinking. I picked out the onion in the stuffing and ate it. It tastes better cooked. No bad aftertaste. Most of us were tucking in with gusto. If the Hangi had been longer, I guarantee I would have eaten another plate and had another cup of drink. Okay, maybe just another drink. We finished off the rest of the food and left. I was still drinking my L&P. The Hangi was a huge success. Matua Haami is even planning on celebrating another culture. Maybe something with Pizza. YUM! Can’t Wait
Piki Bengal
(Room 11: Blog Editor)





