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Fekei (Cassava and Coconut Pudding)

Tongan fekei recipe: sweet, dense cassava pudding steamed in banana leaves with coconut cream — a traditional Tongan treat that tastes like the islands.

⏱ 15 minPrep time
🔥 30 minCook time
🍽 4Servings
🏷 DessertCategory
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Fekei (Cassava and Coconut Pudding)

Fekei is the Tongan answer to the pudding tradition found all across Polynesia: ripe bananas or cassava are mashed with coconut cream, sweetened, wrapped in banana leaves, and steamed or baked until set. The parcels are opened at the table, releasing a cloud of coconut-sweet steam. It is served at feasts, church mornings, and family gatherings, sliced into rounds and shared around.

What makes it great: dense, chewy, and sweet with a lightly caramelized edge, and the banana-leaf parcels make it feel like a gift. It keeps well, travels well, and a single slice is wonderfully filling.

Step by stepInstructions

  1. Grate the cassava finely and squeeze out any excess liquid.
  2. In a large bowl, mix the grated cassava, mashed banana, coconut cream, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt until well combined.
  3. Cut the banana leaves into 8-by-8-inch squares and soften them briefly over a flame or in hot water.
  4. Spoon the mixture onto the center of each leaf and fold into tight parcels, securing with kitchen twine or folded edges (or wrap in foil).
  5. Steam the parcels over boiling water for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until firm and set.
  6. Let cool slightly, unwrap, and slice into rounds to serve warm or at room temperature.

💡 Chef tips & storage

The mixture should be quite thick — if it looks runny, squeeze the grated cassava harder. Fekei firms up as it cools, so do not panic if it seems soft straight out of the steamer.

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Recipe details

Prep15 min
Cook30 min
Servings4
CategoryDessert
PublishedAugust 17, 2026
Emily — the cook behind My Comfort Recipes

Hi, I'm Emily 🧡

Hi, I'm Emily — the cook behind My Comfort Recipes. Simple, tested comfort food for real weeknights, written down the way grandma would. Pull up a chair. More about me →