National Dish Suriname: Pom (Recipe)
In this article
Pom is grated tayer root baked with chicken and citrus into a firm, savoury casserole. It comes from the Surinamese Jewish community, is eaten by everyone, and appears at every birthday, wedding and funeral in the country and in the Dutch diaspora.
About Pom
Pomtajer is the root, a variety of taro, grated raw. It is mixed with browned chicken, tomato, onion and a great deal of orange juice, then baked for well over an hour until the top browns and the whole thing sets.
Suriname’s population is Indian, Javanese, Creole, Chinese, Maroon and Jewish, and the food shows all of it. Pom belongs to the Creole-Jewish strand.
Ingredients (serves 1–2)
- 300g tayer (arrowroot tuber), fresh or as a paste
- 400g chicken breast, cut into pieces
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tomato, diced
- 2 tablespoons tomato purée
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Orange juice
- Oil for frying
Shopping for the ingredients
Frozen grated pomtajer is sold in Dutch and Surinamese shops and is what almost everyone uses. Fresh tayer needs peeling and grating and irritates the skin. Bitter orange juice, from Seville oranges, is the correct citrus; regular orange with a squeeze of lime substitutes.
Preparing the dish
Wear gloves if grating fresh tayer. The mixture should be loose and wet before it goes in the oven, since the root absorbs a great deal of liquid as it bakes. Chicken thighs give a better result than breast.
Step-by-step instructions
- Marinate the chicken pieces in a mixture of salt, pepper and nutmeg.
- Heat the oil in a pan and fry the marinated chicken pieces until golden brown. Set aside.
- In the same pan, sweat the onions and garlic until translucent, then add the tomatoes and tomato purée and fry briefly.
- Return the chicken pieces, deglaze with orange juice and leave everything to simmer together for about 20 minutes.
- Grate the tayer, or work the paste into the sauce, add the sugar and stir well. The mixture should be loose.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Transfer to an ovenproof dish and bake at 180°C for around 1.5 hours, until the top is golden brown and crisp.
Gluten-free / lactose-free version
Pom contains no gluten and no dairy. Only the bread roll it is often served in needs substituting; a broodje pom is the standard Amsterdam lunch version.
Tips for vegans and vegetarians
Tayer with mushrooms, aubergine and the same citrus and nutmeg seasoning bakes into a real dish. Use vegetable stock. Surinamese cooking has plenty of vegetarian options given the Indian and Javanese populations.
More tips and tricks
Keep the mixture wetter than seems right before baking, since the tayer drinks it. Use bitter orange if you can get it. And give it the full hour and a half: pom needs to set and brown, and pulling it early gives a wet casserole.
Adapting the recipe to your taste
Salted meat or zoutvlees alongside the chicken is traditional. More nutmeg is common. Surinaamse broodje pom is the roll version and is what you buy in Amsterdam.
Ingredient substitutions
Frozen grated pomtajer is the practical form. Cassava or taro can substitute imperfectly. Chicken thighs for breast.
Drink pairing ideas
Ginger beer, Surinamese style. Parbo lager. Dawet or a cold fruit juice.
Serving and presentation ideas
Serve it in squares from the dish, warm, with rice and a green salad, or in a soft roll. It is party food and it is made in large quantities. Sambal on the side.
A bit of history
Pom is credited to the Sephardic Jewish community that settled in Suriname from the seventeenth century, adapting a European potato gratin to a local root. It crossed into general Surinamese and then Dutch food, and it is now the most recognisable dish of Surinamese cuisine.
More recipe ideas
Summary: Pom
Pom is grated tayer root baked with chicken, tomato and bitter orange until set and browned. Keep the mixture wet before baking, use bitter orange, and give it the full ninety minutes.
