Ingredients
Main
- 8very ripe bananas, or 800 g taro, peeled and cut
Coconut
- 2mature coconuts, grated, for fresh cream
- or 800 ml thick tinned coconut cream
Sometimes
- a pinch of salt
- a little sweet potato or pawpaw
To serve
- warm, from a communal pot, at a celebration
Directions
- Use bananas that are genuinely very ripe, with skins heavily spotted or largely black. The flesh should be soft and fragrant.
- Grate the coconut, add a little warm water, and squeeze it hard through a cloth. Squeeze it thoroughly, since a good deal of cream stays in the flesh otherwise.
- Set the first thick pressing aside and make a second, thinner one. Good tinned coconut cream works well, and the thick part from the top of a tin stands in for first pressing.
- Put the banana or taro in a pot with the thin coconut milk. Bring it to a gentle simmer and cook until tender. Never let coconut cream boil hard.
- Keep it at the barest simmer with the surface barely moving. Stir gently and occasionally, and scrape the base. Do not stir hard, since ripe banana breaks up easily.
- Add the first-pressing cream only near the end, in the last ten minutes. Adding it early means it cooks for too long and is more likely to split.
- Let it reduce gently until the cream has thickened and coats the fruit. Dia should be thick and glossy rather than soupy. Serve it warm from a communal pot, spooned into bowls or onto leaves.
Technique
- No sugar is added; ripe banana and coconut supply all the sweetness.
- Never let coconut cream boil hard, since it splits irreversibly.
- The thick first-pressing cream goes in only near the end.
Substitutions
- Good tinned coconut cream in place of fresh.
- Taro or sweet potato in place of banana.
Variations
- Made with taro, which is denser and less sweet.
- Cooked in a mumu earth oven, as for a feast.
- With pawpaw or sweet potato added.
History
A Tolai celebration pudding of East New Britain, made without sugar since ripe banana and coconut supply the sweetness.
Frequently asked questions
What is Dia?
Dia is a dessert from Papua New Guinea: banana or taro simmered in thick coconut cream until soft and sweet. A Tolai celebration pudding of East New Britain, made without sugar since ripe banana and coconut supply the sweetness.
How long does Dia take to make?
Dia takes 20 min of preparation and 40 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Dia?
Yes, within limits. Good tinned coconut cream in place of fresh. Taro or sweet potato in place of banana.
What is the most important thing to get right in Dia?
Grate the coconut, add a little warm water, and squeeze it hard through a cloth. Squeeze it thoroughly, since a good deal of cream stays in the flesh otherwise.
