Hāngī
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Template:Langr ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}) is a traditional New Zealand Māori method of cooking food using heated rocks buried in a pit oven, called an {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.Template:Zwj<ref>Template:Cite dictionary</ref> It is still used for large groups on special occasions, as it allows large quantities of food to be cooked without the need for commercial cooking appliances.Template:Zwj<ref>Template:Cite transcript</ref>
Process
To "lay a Template:Langr" or "put down a Template:Langr" involves digging a pit in the ground, heating stones in the pit with a large fire, placing baskets of food on top of the stones, and covering everything with earth for several hours before uncovering (or lifting) the Template:Langr.Template:Zwj<ref name="NZFS">Template:Cite book</ref> Template:Langr experts have developed and improved methods that have often, like the stones themselves, been handed down for generations.
Common foods cooked in a Template:Langr are meats such as lamb, pork, chicken and seafood (Template:Wikt-lang), and vegetables such as potato, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (sweet potato), {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (referred to as "yams" in New Zealand), pumpkin, squash, taro and cabbage.Template:Zwj<ref name="Maori TV">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Zwj<ref name="NZFS" /><ref name="NZ.com">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
A Template:Langr pit is dug to a depth of between Template:Convert, sufficient to hold the rocks and two stacked baskets of food. Logs, usually {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, are stacked over the pit with the rocks, commonly andesite or basalt, on top. The logs are lit and are left to burn for 3 to 4 hours, heating the rocks to Template:Convert. Once the fire has burned down, the hot embers and most of the ash are removed. Alternatively, the fire is built separately and the Template:Langr pit is dug while the fire is burning, with the hot rocks transferred to the pit after heating.Template:Zwj<ref name="NZFS" />Template:Zwj<ref name="Maori TV" />
Meanwhile, the food is prepared and placed in wire baskets lined with either {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, banana or cabbage leaves, or aluminium foil. The meat basket is placed at the bottom of the pit, with the vegetable basket placed on top. If seafood is included, it is placed on top of the vegetable basket. Then, wet sacks or cloths are placed on top of the baskets, and the whole pit is covered with earth. The Template:Langr takes approximately 2 to 4Template:Nbsphours to cook. A person supervises the Template:Langr while it cooks, covering up any escaping steam with earth.Template:Zwj<ref name="NZFS" />Template:Zwj<ref name="Maori TV" />Template:Zwj<ref name="NZ.com" />
Once the Template:Langr is cooked, the earth is carefully removed from the top of the pit, followed by the sacks or cloth. The baskets are lifted out of the pit, and the food taken to the kitchen for carving and serving.Template:Zwj<ref name="NZFS" />Template:Zwj<ref name="Maori TV" />
Prior to European colonisation and the introduction of metalworking and wire, food was laid between bark, large leaves and other vegetation. Wire baskets became widely used in the early 19thTemplate:Nbspcentury, with sacking and cloth replacing leaves and bark as the covering of choice.Template:Zwj<ref name="gen">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In the early 21stTemplate:Nbspcentury, gas-heated stainless-steel "Template:Langr machines" are sometimes used to replicate the style of cooking without the need for a wood fire, rocks and a pit.Template:Zwj<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Early umu-tī
Evidence from early Polynesian settler sites in New Zealand such as [[Wairau Bar|Template:Langr Bar]] and in coastal [[Otago Peninsula|Template:Langr Peninsula]] from aboutTemplate:Nbsp1280 shows a significant number of large cooking pits or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} which were designed to cook {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or various other species of {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.Template:Zwj<ref name="gen" />
The distinguishing feature of an {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} was its large size compared to a normal earth oven. The long, carrot-shaped tap root was cooked in a large, stone-lined pit for between one and twoTemplate:Nbspdays. The result was a fibrous mass of sweet pulp with a bitter aftertaste. This was a common east Polynesian practice in the Cook Islands and Society Islands,Template:Zwj<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and the remains of large {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} have also been found in the [[Kermadec Islands|Template:Langr Islands]]. Investigation in Template:Langr shows that most of these pits were used only once or twice.Template:ZwjTemplate:Citation needed
Popular culture
The Hāngī is part of the Aoteroa\New Zealand cultural identity. It is often part of the kai(food) portion of the pōwhiri.<ref>https://www.newzealand.com/nz/feature/powhiri-maori-welcome/</ref> The Hāngī has been adapted for a chip flavour by heartland<ref>https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/hangi-flavoured-chips-brainchild-of-lincoln-high-school-students/EJO3SO5JKESFOSBNSCPTUVTLB4/</ref> and a pizza made by New Zealand pizza chain Hell Pizza called unearthed.<ref>https://hellpizza.nz/wickedpedia/2024/09/20/hangi-pork-belly-pizza/</ref>
New Zealand country music artist Dennis Marsh also has a popular song called Hāngī Tonight which is New Zealand gold certified.<ref>https://www.radioscope.co.nz/2024/04/06/single-cert-search/ Search for "Hangi Tonight" in search field| cert date=2025-04-17 | date-accessed=6 October 2025</ref> The song references the Hāngī in terms of popular foods including puha, pork and pīpīs. The song references the method of the hot rocks as part of the process and Māori cultural celebrations including Haka, Waiata and Poi.<ref>https://folksong.org.nz/hangi_tonight/index.html</ref>
See also
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