Paime

Ingredients

Batter

• 400 gfine cornmeal
• 200 ggrated fresh coconut
• 250 gbrown sugar
• 400 mlcoconut milk
• 150 mlwater, as needed
• 60 gbutter, melted

Spice

• 1 tspground cinnamon
• ½ tspgrated nutmeg
• ½ tspground clove
• 1 tspvanilla or almond essence
• ½ tspsalt

Fruit

• 100 graisins
• 50 gmixed peel, optional
• 2 tbsprum, optional

Wrapping

• banana leaves, cut into squares
• kitchen string

Directions

1. Soak the raisins in the rum, or in warm water, for 15 minutes. Mix the cornmeal, grated coconut, sugar, spices and salt in a large bowl. Use fine cornmeal rather than coarse polenta, which stays gritty however long it boils.
2. Stir in the coconut milk and the melted butter, then add water a little at a time. The batter should be thick and droppable, roughly like a stiff cake batter, and it should hold its shape on a spoon.
3. Fold in the drained raisins and peel. Fold the leaf over the batter, then fold both ends in, making a flat rectangular parcel.
4. Fold it loosely rather than tightly, because the cornmeal swells as it cooks and a tight parcel bursts. Tie each parcel with string, crosswise both ways, firmly enough that it will not open in the water.
5. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and lower the parcels in. Boil them, fully submerged, for 45 minutes to an hour, topping up with boiling water as needed.
6. Top up with boiling water, never cold, which would halt the cooking and leave a raw seam through the middle. Weigh them down with a plate if they float, so they cook evenly.
7. Lift them out and let them rest 10 minutes before opening. Let them settle before unwrapping, because they firm up considerably as they cool slightly. Serve warm, unwrapped at the table, eaten straight from the leaf.

Technique

• They freeze well wrapped and are reboiled from frozen with 15 minutes added.
• Fresh grated coconut makes a noticeably better paime than desiccated.
• Foil works if banana leaves are unavailable, though the perfume is lost entirely.

Substitutions

• Desiccated coconut soaked in warm coconut milk.
• Foil or parchment in place of banana leaves.

Variations

• Pastelle, the savoury minced beef version.
• With more spice and rum, as a Christmas version.
• Made with pumpkin worked through the batter.

History

The sweet cousin of the savoury pastelle, made at Trinidadian Christmas with raisins and spice.

Frequently asked questions

What is Paime?

Paime is a dessert from Trinidad and Tobago: sweet cornmeal and coconut parcel tied in banana leaf and boiled. The sweet cousin of the savoury pastelle, made at Trinidadian Christmas with raisins and spice.

How long does Paime take to make?

Paime takes 40 min of preparation and 1 hr of cooking. The recipe makes about 12 parcels. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Paime?

Yes, within limits. Desiccated coconut soaked in warm coconut milk. Foil or parchment in place of banana leaves.

What is the most important thing to get right in Paime?

Soak the raisins in the rum, or in warm water, for 15 minutes. Mix the cornmeal, grated coconut, sugar, spices and salt in a large bowl. Use fine cornmeal rather than coarse polenta, which stays gritty however long it boils.