(waru means 'to scrape'POLLEX-Online : The Polynesian Lexicon Project Online. Oceanic Linguistics. Entries for WARU (PN) Scrape: Waru - Pollex) is a type of pudding from New Zealand. The dessert is made from cornmeal made into a dough that is wrapped and steamed. The dessert originates from the Māori people and is closely associated with Māori cuisine.
Etymology Scrapping (waru) was one of the common preparation methods used by Polynesians for traditional puddings. Corn (borrowed from English as kānga) was introduced to New Zealand by early Europeans and was adopted by Māori as a food crop. Several dishes were made from corn such as kānga pirau (fermented corn) and kānga pungarehu (corn cooked in ash).
Preparation Kānga waru is prepared from corn, either grated or cornmeal, with flour, sugar, butter, milk and grated kūmara (sweet potato) mixed together and formed into a dough. The dough is then wrapped and steamed for several minutes. Kānga waru is traditionally wrapped in corn husks and cooked in a hāngī, though modern day preparations use foil and is cooked in a similar way to steamed puddings.
See also
Humitas Pamonha, a similar Brazilian corn dessert Tamale Lepat jagung, a similar desert in Malaysia
References