Vegetarian recipes from Fiji

In Fiji two meatless kitchens live side by side without merging. The iTaukei village one rests on roots boiled or baked in an earth oven, taro, cassava and yam, and on taro leaves simmered in coconut cream, which serves as both fat and sauce. The Indo-Fijian one, brought by families who came to work the cane from the late nineteenth century, kept pulses, rice and wholemeal flatbreads, with a dry seasoning of cumin, turmeric, mustard seed and chilli, as in aloo boda tarkari.

The meeting point is the market: the same yams, aubergines and long beans cross from one repertoire to the other, treated either with coconut or with a dry curry. A meal is built around a heavy starch and one strongly seasoned vegetable dish that acts as accompaniment rather than centre; rice gradually replaces taro in town without erasing it. Lime, raw onion and fresh chilli work as table condiments, added by each person to their own plate, which lets the cooking stay mild enough for everyone.