Closing Assembly for Tongan Language Week

Malo e lei lei 

This morning we closed Tongan Language Week with another fantastic assembly. I was lucky to try 'Otai.

" ‘Otai is a delicious fruit punch made with watermelon or mango or both with a combination of other fruits such as pineapples blended with coconut milk. Unlike a smoothie, ‘otai uses scraped watermelon or grated fruits to give a pulpy fruit drink with chunks of fruit to chew on. Originating from the Friendly Islands of Tonga, ‘otai is normally served with crackers or cabin bread broken into bite size pieces turning it into a course all on its own." 

Two recipes for 'Otai: 

Ingredients

1. 1 Watermelon
2. 1 Mango
3. 1 sml tin crushed pineapple
4. 1 tin (400ml) coconut milk
5. 3 cups approx. cold water
6. 1/4 cup approx. sugar

Instructions

1. Using a spoon or fork, scrape the watermelon pulp into a large punch bowl or similar.
2. Peel mango & if the mango is soft you can scrape the flesh out into the watermelon mix, otherwise use a grater.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and stir in enough sugar to sweeten to taste.
4. Serve with ice cubes and cream crackers in tall glasses.
5. Enjoy

‘Otai - Tongan Watermelon Drink. A refreshing watermelon coconut drink from Polynesia. Easy to make and delicious to drink. www.pineappleandcoconut.com Makes 2 liters 8-10 servings

Ingredients

• 5-6 cups cold seedless watermelon, cubed
• 1 cup cold crushed pineapple
• 1 can (13.5 ounces approx.) cold full fat coconut milk
• 1 c cold coconut water
• 2 Tbsp lime juice
• 2-3 Tsp simple syrup - optional

Instructions

Traditional method:

1. Place watermelon in a large bowl and mash or grate until mostly liquid but still some small chunks remain. Add in the rest of the ingredients except simple syrup and mash a little more, stir well. Taste and add simple syrup if a more sweet drink is desired then chill 30 min then serve over ice
2. My way. The lazy way. Add all the ingredients except simple syrup to a blender ad pulse until blended but still chunky - you don’t want a thin puree. This drink has texture to it. Taste and add in some simple syrup and pulse for a few more seconds taste again and add more sweetener if desired. Chill for about 30 min then serve over ice.

The clothing challenge and parade was a highlight with so many clever and colourful designs. Thank you Abi and Destiny for modelling our Ta'ovala. 

                                                                                                     

 A big thank you to Vai and Faith for your leadership this week in class. You have helped Room 11, Room 18 and I to better understand the language and culture of Tonga. 

Thank you,
Malo