Creole
Heri heri: the dish of Keti Koti
Heri heri is a Surinamese dish of boiled plantain, cassava and sweet potato served with salt cod and egg. It is eaten above all on 1 July, Keti Koti, which commemorates the abolition of slavery in Suriname in 1863.
Heri heri comes straight out of the plantation era: roots and plantain that could be grown in the field, boiled and supplemented with what little protein there was. It was never devised to be delicious, it was devised to fill.
That it is now eaten on Keti Koti is exactly the point. On 1 July Suriname marks the abolition of slavery in 1863, and heri heri belongs to that day the way particular foods belong to any remembrance: everyone knows why.
On the plate: boiled plantain, cassava, sweet potato and sometimes taro, with salt cod, a hard-boiled egg and occasionally a piece of salted meat.
Frequently asked questions
What is heri heri?
Heri heri is a Surinamese dish of boiled roots, plantain, cassava, sweet potato, sometimes taro, with bakkeljauw (salt cod) and a hard-boiled egg. It descends from plantation cooking.
Why is heri heri eaten on Keti Koti?
Keti Koti on 1 July commemorates the abolition of slavery in Suriname in 1863. Heri heri is what enslaved people ate, and eating it on that day is a deliberate act of remembering where it comes from.