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canid
03-29-2008, 10:34 PM
i'm going to post today on methods of cooking with the leaves of banana tree and the husk leaves of corn.

baking:

When i'm spending time in areas where ground fires are permitted i like to bake in corn husks. i will start by building a fire up and burning it down to a good base of embers. this can be a fairly small fire.

while that is preparing i will either soak dried corn husks in warmed water for an hour or i will gently wilt the husks over a flame if they are green. either way, the purpose is to make them pliable enough to wrap them closely or tightly around your food without their tearing along the ridges.

i then lay out the leaves in a fan-like arrangement so that the tips are together and the leaves all overlap about an inch with enough leaves to wrap 1.5-2 times around the food i'll be cooking. i will place my food, be it potato halves, chicken thighs, duck breast, etc. onto the center of the leaves and fold the top, broad end over the top of the food. i will then roll the leaves up around the food, forming a sort of cone, being sure it's tight enough to fit the food closely. i proceed to fold the bottom end of the cone up over the side and tie it off with a length of twine, strip torn from the edge of one of the leaves, etc.

the embers of the fire are scooped back to one side of the fire, down 6" or so and the packets set inside, close against one another and the embers are spread back over the top. i like to ensure good heat retention while cooking, so i then cover those embers with a good layer of the fine ash to exclude air and hold the heat, sort of like banking a fire. these embers can thus be made to stay hot or a full day or more.

When i have them on hand, i like to use banana leaves aswell, and they're just fine for this type of baking. these are best used fresh and should be wilted gently over a flame aswell. if they have been warm and you have been out several days, this may not be needed. banana leaves add a unique flavor to foods cooked in them. they should be wrapped several layers thick.

Other common leaves that can be used and can be large enough are ediblewater lilies, the basal leaves of burdock, mustard, etc. common store bought or garden raised leaves which work well also include collard greens, chard and cabbage.

frying and steaming:

i have had good luck with fast cooking food on such leaves as banana by placing the leaves, folded several layers thick over the burned down embers of a fire and using it as a frying surface. if formed over a depression in the embers and filled with water, you can steam or briefly boil food in this manner aswell. for steaming, cover over the top of it all with a layer of leaf and cover that with ash.

these methods eliminate the need to actualy dig a pit.

canid
03-29-2008, 10:37 PM
it should be added than many foods, particularly those moisture rich and quick cooking foods can be cooked directly on the surface of the embers or burried directly therein, though i suspect most of you know that.

Jay
03-30-2008, 12:07 PM
In Sri Lanka, we use a wide veriety of leave to cook in, including serveral verieties of palms.

Rick
04-03-2008, 10:37 AM
I'm having a bit of trouble understanding the wrapping technique. If you use twine to tie off the ends won't the twine burn? Jay - It looks like twine was used in the first picture. Do you tie off both ends?

I've always just packed mud around potatoes and tossed them in the coals and let them bake.

I really like the egg pic. I had never thought of doing that. Great idea!! Thanks.

Jay
04-03-2008, 03:25 PM
I'm having a bit of trouble understanding the wrapping technique. If you use twine to tie off the ends won't the twine burn? Jay - It looks like twine was used in the first picture. Do you tie off both ends?

I've always just packed mud around potatoes and tossed them in the coals and let them bake.

I really like the egg pic. I had never thought of doing that. Great idea!! Thanks.

Hi Rick,
The leaves are fan shaped. you just place the meat or fish in the center and and fold the ends over it. then wrap in one or two more leaves and tie off with a fresh bit of creeper that has been treated over the fire. The bundles are then placed in a pit in which the fire has been burning; after the coals have been removed. the pit is covered up with earth and the embers are piled on top. so the fish, meat, potatoe etc is actually baked. seals in the flavor. With the eggs make the hole about one centimeter (1/2 inch) and stir it well with a twigg to let out the air bubble in the end. Otherwise the egg will explode.
This is for areas where the soil is too sandy to make good mud. In the north (in the pics) of SL the soil is very sandy and it starts to crumble as it starts drying. sometimes it wont retain its shape even when wet.

Rick
04-03-2008, 04:03 PM
Great, thanks. You used creeper. That helped. I've cooked in a pit before using pork. I really like that method. It makes some succulent meat.