Māori kai takes centre stage at Tāmaki Herenga Waka Festival

Be well Jan 27 Tamaki Herenga Waka Festival traditional Maori festival. Kai, food trucks, watercress recipe.

The Tāmaki Herenga Waka Festival will be an evening of (5.30pm – 11pm) land and water performances, live music and temporary tā moko tattoos - and for when you get hungry, there is going to be an abundance of indigenous kai.

Tāmaki Herenga Waka Festival will feature three "kai neighbourhoods": "kai street", "sweet street" and "drink street".

Wandering the neighbourhoods, you will be tempted by Chars Kai Basket offering mussel fritters, whitebait fritters, Taniwha burgers, "Boil Up" and gourmet fry bread with a pesto topping.

You will want to sink your teeth into mouth-watering meat grilled and smoked over native manuka and kanuka wood at the Smokers & Grillers food truck. Or for something sweet but inspired by Māori ingredients, head to Lalele Organic Gelato for a Kawakawa sorbet.

Smokers & Grillers food truck will offer grilled and smoked meat like these succulent Louisiana pork ribs. Photo / Supplied

And of course, hāngi will undoubtedly be a popular choice among festival-goers, served at a few different stalls, namely The Hāngi Master and Mama's Hāngi.

An institution of Auckland's food truck scene, Puha & Pakeha, will also be at the festival serving a fusion of Māori flavours and western cooking. Owners Belinda and Jarrad started Puha and Pakeha in 2014 with the aim of reconnecting people with the kai of Aotearoa.

"We saw a gap in the market for anything that represented Māori kai and native NZ ingredients so all our dishes are designed to hero Māori kai and native NZ ingredients," recalls Belinda.

"We also wanted to present these ingredients in a new and different way which is what we call Modern Māori Fusion."

Get the recipe here.

Puha & Pakeha have shared one of their traditional recipes with us in the lead up to the festival.

"Watercress is commonly found around waterways in NZ and used in Māori cuisine," says Belinda.

"We have made a dip with it and serve it with our fried chicken. It is also great with Kūmara crisps."