Hāngī cooking has been used by Māori for hundreds of years. Long before metal pots and kitchen stoves arrived, families would use the heat of the Earth to cook large meals for everyone. A single hāngī can feed dozens of people at once - it's perfect for big gatherings.
Making one takes patience. First, a fire is lit and stones (or special metal blocks) are heated until they glow. While that happens, food is prepared and wrapped in leaves, cloth or foil. The hot stones go into a pit, the food goes on top in wire baskets, wet sheets cover the food to make steam, and earth is shovelled over the whole thing.
Then the family waits. Three or four hours later, the earth is carefully scraped away, the sheets are lifted, and the food appears - still steaming, with a slight smoky taste from the stones and the leaves. The kūmara is soft. The meat falls apart. Everyone gathers round.
Hāngī is often served at a marae - the community gathering place at the heart of every Māori village - to welcome guests or mark a special day. It is more than just food. It is the work of many people, several hours, and the heat of the ground itself.