A festive baked casserole of grated pomtajer root and citrus-marinated chicken, crisp on top and tangy within.

Where does Pom come from?

Pom is a Surinamese dish from Paramaribo, Suriname.

Can Pom be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?

Yes. This Pom recipe includes ingredient substitutions to make it vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, or egg-free — including several of those at once, such as gluten-free and dairy-free together.

How long does Pom take to make?

About 130 minutes total (40 minutes prep, 90 minutes cooking), serving 8.

Pom — a Paramaribo, Suriname recipe

Name: Pom
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 90 min
Total time: 130 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Surinamese
Ingredients: 2.5 lb chicken thighs, cut up; 3 lb pomtajer or frozen taro root, grated; 1 cup orange; 1/4 cup lemon juice; 2 onion; 4 cloves garlic; 2 tomato; 1/2 tsp nutmeg; 2 tbsp sugar; 3 tbsp oil

South America → 🇸🇷 Suriname → Paramaribo

Pom

Surinamese · medium · serves 8

prep 40 min · cook 90 min

~523 cal · 40g protein · 57g carbs · 14g fat (estimated, per serving)

🍽️

Golden baked root casserole with braised chicken

🇸🇷 Paramaribo

Pom is the celebration dish of Suriname, brought by the Creole-Jewish community and now central to every birthday and holiday. Grated pomtajer (an arrowleaf root) is layered over citrusy braised chicken and baked until the top crisps golden — a tangy, comforting casserole unlike anything else in the Americas.

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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 8 —

•

2.5 lb chicken thighs, cut up

•

3 lb pomtajer or frozen taro root, grated

•

1 cup orange

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1/4 cup lemon juice

•

2 onion

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4 cloves garlic

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2 tomato

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1/2 tsp nutmeg

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2 tbsp sugar

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3 tbsp oil

Instructions

1

Marinate the chicken (or mushrooms and jackfruit) in half the citrus, garlic, salt, and pepper for 30 minutes.

2

Braise the chicken with the onion, tomato, and its marinade until nearly cooked; reserve the juices.

3

Mix the grated root with the remaining citrus, sugar, nutmeg, salt, and enough of the braising liquid to loosen it.

4

Layer half the root mixture in an oiled dish, spread the chicken over, and top with the rest of the root.

5

Bake at 375°F for about 60 minutes until set and golden-crisp on top.

Paramaribo Creole tradition.

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🌏 While it simmers — know your destination

📍

Paramaribo. A wooden colonial capital of layered, many-cultured cooking.

🗺️

Suriname. A South American melting pot of Javanese, Creole, and Hindustani cooks.

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South America. Andes, Amazon, and Atlantic all on one plate.

The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.

👩‍🍳

Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker

Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →