Culinary World Tour: Episode Six: Antigua and Barbuda: Ducana

coconut milk

🥗Healthier: almond milk

💰Cheaper: soy milk

Almond milk is lower in calories and can mimic the creaminess.

sweet potatoes

🥗Healthier: butternut squash

💰Cheaper: regular potatoes

Butternut squash offers similar sweetness and texture.

Welcome to our sixth episode of our culinary world tour, today we are cooking from Antigua and Barbuda.

The dish we are making is called dukkhana, a sweet dumpling made with coconut and sweet potato.

I have a dwarf namwa banana plant and will use the banana leaves to wrap the dukana.

I will peel and grate the sweet potato, which is a Japanese sweet potato that is white from the inside.

I have fresh coconut that I grated and froze, and I will use this for the recipe.

I will soak the banana leaves in warm water to make them pliable.

For the dukkhana, I have above a heaped half cup of grated sweet potato, one third cup of sugar, three fourths cup of all-purpose flour, two tablespoons of water, one fourth teaspoon of nutmeg powder, one fourth teaspoon of ginger powder, and half a teaspoon of vanilla.

I will mix the grated coconut with the grated sweet potato.

Next, I will add the sugar and then the all-purpose flour to bind everything together.

I will add two tablespoons of water to create the right consistency, and I will mix carefully to avoid overmixing.

I will add the batter to the center of the banana leaf and fold it into a package, using foil to secure it.

I will make all the packages and then boil them in water.

I will boil the packages for about an hour, checking for doneness by piercing them to see if they come out clean.

After 40 minutes, I will check if they are done, and if not, I will boil for another five minutes.

I boiled the dukana for a total of 45 minutes and will let them rest before serving.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

Dietary