Rewena Bread

2 c flour
1 tsp sugar
3 slices potato

Boil potato slices in 1 cup water to mashing consistency. Cool and when luke warm mix all ingredients to a firm texture. Cover and let rise.

Take 1 tablespoon of the dough and put into a large Agee jar. Feed one day with ½ cup warm potato water and next day with 1 teaspoon sugar.

5 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
Mix flour, salt and soda. Pour in rewena (keep a bit for next time) and mix. Add more water if necessary. Knead 10 mins.
Put in greased dish and let rise to double.
Bake at 150-180C for 1 hour.

For more on making Rewena see:

My rewena trial and error tryout [disaster!]

Results of my attempts to make a nutritious rewena bread

Curious Kai

Everything2

You may have seen the movie “Once Were Warriors”. Well the Maori people were not just warriors they also ‘once were gardeners’! Before the Europeans arrived they worked hard cultivating kumara – a delicious purple root vegetable with sweet golden flesh. Kumara was their main carbohydrate source, along with ferns, kanga wai (fermented corn) and other native plants. They had a diet high in protein from birds and fish, low in fat and low in carbohydrate. This was especially so over summer when the last year’s kumara stores ran low and the people had little to eat. Everyone would hang out for Potuterangi – the star that appeared in March and told them that they could eat the first kumara.

In less than 100 years we’ve gone from gardening to driving, and from kumara to KFC! It’s no wonder that our Maori people die younger than Europeans and even our children are getting Type 2 diabetes – once only seen in older people. All those cheap chips, pies, fried bread and fatty meat is the exact opposite of what the Maori of a few generations ago ate. This food flip has happened in many people but it is especially tragic to see the drastic change in health of a once lean, muscular, fit people in such a short time.

The colonising of New Zealand, as in all countries, brought good and bad. The bad was the decimation of Maori land, mana, wealth, and subsequently health. Many Maori still carry the hurt of the injustices of the past and, like any emotional wound, it often affects physical health and habits. How do we get past this?  Acknowledge what’s happened. If you are European, ask Maori for forgiveness on behalf of the earlier generations. If you are Maori, forgive. This breaks the bonds that tie you to past hurts so you are free to move forward. Then together, as Kiwis, we can restore health – not just through nutrition knowledge but also through re-building confidence and self esteem.

“A heart at peace gives life to the body”

Related post: Recollections of Maori food