Creole
Pastei: the Surinamese Christmas pie
Surinamese pastei is a savoury pie filled with chicken, peas, carrot, gherkin and sometimes egg: a Dutch inheritance that in Suriname belongs to Christmas and New Year.
Flavour and texture
Savoury with a sour undertone from the gherkin. Sturdy pastry.
Street price, indicative SRD 80–160
The pastei is a Dutch inheritance that stayed in Suriname and turned both sweeter and sharper there, thanks to the gherkin and tomato purée in the filling.
The pastei is the Dutch side of Surinamese cooking, and that side is small but visible. Suriname was a Dutch colony from 1667 and became independent on 25 November 1975, and what stayed in the kitchen from those centuries is mostly baking: the pastei, the bread roll, the sandwich as a meal.
From there the dish went its own way. The filling took on gherkin, tomato purée and sometimes a hard-boiled egg, and the pastei moved to the celebration table, where in December it stands next to the pom and the bami. At bakeries in Paramaribo a portion typically costs SRD 80 to SRD 160.
It is baked in a large tin and cut into wedges, and appears mainly around the holidays. At Surinamese bakeries in the Netherlands it is sold year-round.
Frequently asked questions
When do people eat pastei in Suriname?
Mainly around the holidays: Christmas, New Year and birthdays. Bakeries in Paramaribo sell it midweek too, but December is the season.
What is Surinamese pastei?
A savoury pie of pastry filled with chicken, peas, carrot, gherkin and sometimes a hard-boiled egg, baked in a large tin and cut into wedges. At a Paramaribo bakery a portion typically costs SRD 80 to SRD 160.
Where does pastei come from?
From Dutch cooking: Suriname was a Dutch colony from 1667 and became independent on 25 November 1975. The gherkin and tomato purée in the filling are the Surinamese adaptation.