~324 cal · 4g protein · 35g carbs · 20g fat (estimated, per serving)
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Roasted sweet potato with grated coconut
🇵🇬 Highlands
In the Papua New Guinea highlands, kaukau — sweet potato — is life, the staple that feeds families morning to night. For breakfast it is simply roasted in the coals until soft and sweet, then split and eaten with a handful of freshly grated coconut for richness.
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Make it yours
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
Ingredients
Serves 4 —
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4 kaukau (sweet potato)
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1 cup fresh coconut, grated
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1 pinch pinch of salt
Instructions
1
Wash the kaukau and roast whole in embers, a fire, or a hot oven until soft all the way through, 30–40 minutes.
2
Meanwhile crack a fresh coconut and grate the white flesh, or use unsweetened grated coconut.
3
Split the hot kaukau open and sprinkle lightly with salt.
4
Top with plenty of grated coconut so it warms and softens against the sweet potato, and serve.
PNG highlands home cooking.
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🌏 While it simmers — know your destination
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Highlands. Mountain valleys where the mumu earth oven feeds whole villages.
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Papua New Guinea. Highland gardens and the mumu earth oven.
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Oceania. Island kitchens where coconut and the sea rule.
The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.
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Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker
Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →
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