'otai (fruit mix drink with coconut milk)

Lita's descriptions, 

Sunday dinner with hubby. Maybe the last time to have otai before winter season kicks in. Just love watching me hubby enjoying my cooking lols.. #litaskitchen #paisiamu #otai #simpleneasy #tasty #nomnom #yum #lovingit — with Dwana Takapu (www.facebook.com-Lita Hola Takapu)

'Otai (tropical Tongan fruit mix drink with coconut milk)
This Tongan homemade fruit mix drink is very popular anytime of the year especially during the Summer season (November-January). Summer season is a time of harvest when so many tropical island fruits are picked like mangoes, pineapples, watermelons, mountain apples, and other fruits. The weather is not very pleasant during this time of year. In the islands, the air is very humid and people would just spend time at the beach and eat less meat but would drink a lot. One of their favorites drink is the tropical fruit mix called "'otai". They would make a lot of it and drink it up as their meals for the whole day especially if the day is very humid, hot and sunny. For the ingredients they are easy to get. You need fruits like watermelons, mangoes, and pineapples. What you also need is some rich coconut milk and some sugar. First, you need to use a grater to grate the fruit of your preference. You can also use a fork to grate the watermelon but for fruits like mangoes and pineapples a grater would be easier to use for grating. Next, pour the mix of grating fruits into a large bowl or container. Pour some water to mix it with the fruits. Add coconut milk and some sugar to make it sweet. Put it in the fridge. Serve. The above picture shows a description of Lita's hubby with his cup of 'otai meleni (tropical watermelon mix). This popular island fruit mix drink can smooth up after a lot of eating or during a hot sunny day. You can just relax in the beach or under a coconut tree and treat yourself with a cup of 'otai.  

From Lita's kitchen: A punch bowl of  watermelon tropical fruit drink ('otai meleni) with other dishes that Lita loves to cook. Other Tongan dishes here are 'ota ika (raw fish) and siaine lolo'i (banana with coconut milk).

 

From Lita's Kitchen

Shared by: Lita Hola Takapu of Liolita.L.Takapu Photograpy

 

Greeting from Japan.. I love to cook homemade island food. i know i am no expert but i try to cook anything that reminds me of home. I have a recipe that might be good for some of our half cast Pacific Islanders. Best for the Non Islanders. Its Time to impress your hubby with some Island Treat.. This is a family Recipe and i didn't think anyone would like it. But then i had a few people keep asking for the recipe. Now i just want to share it with you all. Here it is.

A taste of Poly homemade Cooking from Litas Kitchen.

"JAM ROLL (Lola Siamu)"

Ingredients:

-6 Cups Flour
-1 Cup Sugar
-400g butter
-6 Egg yolks + 1 Egg
- 5tsp Baking powder
-1/2 cup milk
-1 can coconut milk
- 2pkts coconut flakes
-400g Jam (personal favorite Strawberry and pineapple)
- (Excess flour for the dough)

Preheat oven 170 Celcius.
Grease two Large Rectangular Baking Trays

Directions:

2. In a Large Bowl Mix all the dry Ingredients (Flour, baking powder, Sugar, coconut flakes)
3. slice the butter and add it to your mixture(cake mixer is ok, love using my hand it makes the dough a lot softer)
4. Add Egg yolks + one whole Egg.. Mix well with a spoon.
5. Add coconut milk (if its still dry use sufficient amount of milk to the mixture)
6. mix the dough well . When it comes together it shouldn't be sticky to your hand and you need to make a it pliable.
7. Use some of the excess flour and take a portion from your dough and roll it out.. (MUST: USE YOUR HAND to flattened out the dough)
8. Spread the Jam on top.
9. Fold it inward the longest sides first.
10. Press the Edges firmly to seal the dough .
11. Place it onto the tray just like num 11 on the picture. Should make four big size pies (enough for 4 poly guys, or ten Japanese..lols..)
12. Bake for about 25mins until golden brown. use chopsticks to check if its cooked
13. Leave it out for 20-25 mins before serve (Jam is really hot best for it to cool before you eat)

ENJOY!

— with Lita Hola Takapu www.facebook.com

Jam Roll (Pai Siamu)

From Lita's kitchen homemade jam rolls (pai takai siamu)...

From Lita's herself she says, "My kind of weekend. Baked 8 Jam Roll(Pai Siamu ) for dinner with some of our friends from Kamaishi. and I also made two trifle for tomorrow .. There's still more cooking to be done will finish it in the morning . now its time to enjoy some QT with me Love." #happyweekend #lifeisgood #lovingit

My classmate and friend Liolita Hola Takapu from schools (Liahona High School and Brigham Young University-Hawaii) is residing with her hubby in Japan where his hubby plays rugby as a profession. She loves to cook for her husband. Every time her husband craves for Tongans' special delicacies she would cook and make these especially for him. I asked permission from her to use this picture and other pictures and she accepted my request. I also put here captions of her descriptions (Lita's descriptions). Hope you will enjoy the collection of pictures and recipes of the finest Tongan delicacies from around the world.

 

Lita says, "Aho uhouha ke ipu milo pe moe foi pai takai kiai." Best on rainy days Jam rolls (pai takai siaumu) — with www.facebook.com-Lita Hola Takapu.

 

 Pai takai (Jam Rolls) can go with any hot or cold drink but a cup of hot chocolate or milo would go best with it. This fine Tongan delicacy is not easy to make because it takes a lot of practice. You have to keep baking until the taste is right. When the taste is right you will need to eat 10 plus of these yummy jam pies and you will never get tired of the taste. I love pai takai (jam roll pies). With a cup of milo especially on rainy days it's just the right taste especially for this kind of weather. If you want to see more of this tasty little corner. Go to the link above (on caption) at facebook.com (Lita Hola Takapu, Liolita Takapu Photograhy).

Ingredients: flours, sugar, water, homemade jams (pineapple, guava, pawpaw (papaya), whatever fruits available)
Recipes: litaskitchen (www.facebook.com-Lita Hola Takapu.)

more jam rolls from litaskitchen @ www.facebook.com Lita Hola Takapu:

 

Roasted pig

A traditional Tongan roasted pig

A traditional Tongan feast won't be completed without some roasted pigs on the table. Preparations for roasting the pigs take many hours. Hot water and a sharp shave are used for cleaning up the unwanted hairs and the remains of the pigs. It would be all white and clean up after. A long stick is used for roasting. One end of the stick should put inside the mouth and go through the inside body until the other end goes through the back hole of the pig. This long stick is then put on an U stake that will hold the stick for an hour or couple more depending on how big the pig is when roasting. The end product should look exactly like the photo above. For most people the skin is  the best part of the roasted pig especially if they are crisp and fresh off the fire. The unique taste of a roasted Tongan pigs are tempting that every Tongans in the world crave for them still have them on the feast table wherever they are in the world. It takes long hours to roast a pig. When it's cooked it is really tasty and right now I can just imagine sitting in front of a roast pig and eat all of its skin.