Recipe
🍰 DESSERT
Puleleti (Coconut and Coconut Syrup Sweet)
A chewy Tuvaluan coconut candy, fresh grated coconut cooked down with sweet coconut toddy syrup until thick, sticky and glossy.
Tuvaluan · easy · serves 8
prep 10 min · cook 15 min
~292 cal · 2g protein · 12g carbs · 27g fat · 7g fiber · 5g sugars · 25g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Puleleti is a Tuvaluan sweet made from just two things the atolls give in abundance, grated coconut and kaleve, the sweet toddy syrup boiled down from tapped coconut sap.
The syrup is simmered until it bubbles, the grated coconut is stirred in, and the two cook together until the mixture turns thick, sticky and glossy, then it is shaped or pressed and left to firm.
It keeps well in the heat and travels easily, an old-fashioned coconut candy that shows how much Tuvaluans make from the palm alone.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and gluten-, dairy-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 8
2 cups freshly grated or coconut
3/4 cup coconut toddy syrup (kaleve)
Hard to find? coconut sugar melted with a splash of water - a fair stand-in for tapped toddy syrup, a touch less caramelly
a pinch salt
2 tbsp (if needed) water
Instructions
1
Warm the coconut toddy syrup in a wide pan over medium heat until it bubbles gently.
2
Stir in the grated coconut and the salt until every strand is evenly coated.
3
Cook, stirring often, until the mixture thickens and turns sticky and glossy, about 8 to 10 minutes, adding a splash of water only if it stiffens too fast.
4
Press the mixture into a lined tray or shape it into small mounds while still warm.
5
Let it cool and firm up, then cut or lift into pieces and serve.
Tuvaluan coconut sweet, cuisine of Tuvalu records.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Funafuti. Pulaka is the same plant as Kiribati's babai, grown in pits dug below the freshwater lens, and it takes around five years to make a tuber worth lifting. Preservation here is by drying rather than fermenting, because a brackish water table makes deep fermentation pits impossible.
🗺️
Tuvalu. Pulaka is the same giant swamp taro that Kiribati calls babai, grown in pits cut down towards the water table. Tuvalu preserves by drying rather than by fermenting, because a high brackish water table makes deep fermentation pits impossible, so the Marshallese method of burying breadfruit does not transfer here.
🌍
Oceania. Oceania spans Australia, New Zealand, and thousands of Pacific islands, where the ocean and the coconut palm define the pantry. Traditional Polynesian and Melanesian cooking centers on root crops, taro, yam, cassava, and sweet potato, slow-cooked in earth ovens (the umu or mumu) alongside fresh reef fish and rich coconut cream. Modern Australian and Māori kitchens blend these deep roots with waves of Asian and European influence.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Tuvalu
Pulaka with Coconut FishEarthy swamp-taro pulaka served with fish baked in coconut cream, the mainstay of atoll life.
FekeiA sweet Tuvaluan pudding of grated pulaka or banana cooked with coconut cream into a sticky, caramel-rich cake.
Grilled Breadfruit with MitiWhole breadfruit roasted over coals until smoky and tender, torn into pieces and dipped into miti, a fresh coconut cream sauce sharpened with onion, chili and lime.
Browse all Tuvalu recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Keep chilled and covered, and enjoy within 2 to 3 days.
Make it a Tuvalu meal
Crab in LoloDinner
KaleveDrink
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Frequently asked questions
What is Puleleti (Coconut and Coconut Syrup Sweet)?
A chewy Tuvaluan coconut candy, fresh grated coconut cooked down with sweet coconut toddy syrup until thick, sticky and glossy.
Where does Puleleti (Coconut and Coconut Syrup Sweet) come from?
Puleleti (Coconut and Coconut Syrup Sweet) is a Tuvaluan dish from Funafuti, Tuvalu.
Can Puleleti (Coconut and Coconut Syrup Sweet) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Puleleti (Coconut and Coconut Syrup Sweet) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Puleleti (Coconut and Coconut Syrup Sweet) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Puleleti (Coconut and Coconut Syrup Sweet) take to make?
About 25 minutes total (10 minutes prep, 15 minutes cooking), serving 8.
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